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Women Executive Directors of Color (WEDOC)

The network of Women Executive Directors of Color in the Bay Area (WEDOC) is four years strong and growing! The group began through a series of luncheons for women executive directors of color, and has developed further through annual gatherings, the WEDOC email listserv, and other peer events organized via the listserv.

Upcoming Events:

WEDOC Gathering and Farewell Luncheon for Lynette Lee, Executive Director of East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009, 11:30 am to 2:30 pm
The Fellowship of Humanity
390 27th Street, Oakland CA 94612

RSVP by email: boonache@aol.com

In 2003 we surveyed WEDOCs to understand the composition and interests of our group. We created a report from the results, On The Rise: A Profile of Women of Color in Leadership. The report is available as a free download [PDF].

Based on this survey, we convened the first gathering of WEDOCs in the Bay Area in May 2004 with a dynamic keynote from newly elected San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris (the first woman of color in this position), a poem by Janice Mirikitani, Executive Director of Glide Foundation and former San Francisco poet laureate, and peer panels on fundraising, leadership style and life work balance. We had over 80 WEDOCs in attendance at the San Francisco site of our major funder for the project, The Levi Strauss Foundation. Read the conference program [PDF] from 2004.

WEDOC Conference 2004

In June 2005 we held the second annual gathering, On The Rise 2005: Power and Wellness for Women Executive Directors of Color. Our inspiring keynote speaker was Aileen Hernandez, first female member of the EEOC and 2nd national president of NOW. Our format involved small group interaction through a World Café exercise and Open Space Topics. We received support from the Women's Foundation as well as the continued support of the Levi Strauss Foundation. Read the conference program [PDF] from 2005.

WEDOC Conference 2005

In 2006 we held our third annual gathering On The Rise 2006: Celebrating the Power and Wisdom of Women Executive Directors of Color for conversation, celebration, and inspiration at Preservation Park in Oakland. Our speakers included Sweet Alice Harris from Parents of Watts and Dr. Sandra Hernandez of the San Francisco Foundation.

In 2007 we did another survey of the network members about their needs and are developing a program for 2008 which includes more informal gatherings as well as structured events. If you are a woman executive director of color and would like to be added to our email discussion list, please email VictoriaL@compasspoint.org with your name, organization, title, address, phone # and preferred email. Thank you!

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