Advancing Racial Equity In Philanthropy, Non-Profit, and Fundraising
THEME: LOOKING BACK TO LOOK FORWARD
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Breakin’ It Down. The conference will take place on Friday, October 27, 2023. We, the Planning Committee, would like to celebrate this milestone year by reflecting on our accomplishments as individuals, as an organization, and as a community; by assessing the consequences of recent high court rulings; and looking at what lies ahead. We hope to put together something different, something disruptive, perhaps. The theme will be “Celebrating 20 Years of Breakin’ It Down: Looking Back to Look Forward.”
Launched in 2003, the Breakin' It Down conference grew out of a desire to engage diverse nonprofit management and fundraising professionals in conversations about the present state and future of the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Our programs are under the organizing rubric of racial equity and healing practices.
This one-day event incorporates concepts and strategies that enhance learning, such as:
- Kaynote addressddress or plenary panel discussions, workshops, and Speed Networking sessions that prioritize engagement and participation.
- Templates, tools, and other takeaways from each session that you can implement immediately at your organization.
VISIONARY
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COMMUNITY BUILDER
PARTNER (In-KInd)
Keynote Speaker
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Justice Informed
Xavier Ramey is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Justice Informed, a globally-reaching, Chicago-based organizational design and social impact consulting firm that works with various institutions to evolve their cultural, operational, service and community strategies. From small startups to Fortune 500s, small nonprofits serving refugees to associations representing dozens of CDFIs across America, and spanning the gambit of corporate and nonprofit institutions, Xavier and his firm have built the organizational designs; led equity-focused trainings; provided executive team advisory services; and mediated challenging legal, reputational, or financial hazards for clients seeking to be socially impactful institutions that integrate powerful inclusive workplaces with industry-leading services and products. Known for bringing his “invitation-based approach” to urgent social change issues, his clients have included Ingredion, Emerson, Taproot Foundation, Northwestern University, Chicago Foundation for Women, the Museum of Contemporary Art, BBIF Florida, and more. READ MORE...
FANNY DIEGO ALVAREZ
Director of Learning and Leadership Developmen - Grand Victoria Foundation
Healthy Communities Foundation
Fanny Diergo Alvarez leads the Grand Victoria Foundation’s strategic priority of accelerating leadership growth and development by supporting grantee leaders engaged in racial justice work. Her role also supports internal learning and development crucial to advancing the Foundation’s commitment to systems change and movement building.
Fanny was born in Mexico and raised in Chicago’s west side. As a student activist at Farragut Career Academy, Fanny was shaped the by immigrant rights movement and the fight for social and racial justice locally and globally. Her foundation for organizing and transformative leadership comes from her community in Little Village and neighboring North Lawndale. Fanny joined GVF originally to lead the Education Program and prior to that role, she led the creation of the Sustainable Community Schools project at Chicago Public Schools, an effort born out of a grassroots education campaign and a contract negotiation between the school district and the Chicago Teachers Union.
From 2004 to 2017, Fanny worked at Enlace Chicago, a grassroots community-based organization on the city’s west side. Some of her roles included education organizer, director of education, and associate director. Under her leadership, Enlace secured over $1 million annually of additional education funds to eight schools, expanding and deepening its work in out-of-school time programming, social-emotional learning development, postsecondary readiness, family engagement, and resident-led strategies. During that time, Fanny established the Little Village Education Collaborative (LVEC), a collective impact strategy where that parents, students, educators and other stakeholders strategized and worked together to strengthen the local education ecosystem and advance racial equity.
In her volunteer roles, Fanny has served on local school councils and is active in several non-profit boards including Chicago United for Equity. She earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an AM in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.
NORA GARCIA
Director of Programs
Healthy Communities Foundation
Nora Garcia is the Director of Programs at the Healthy Communities Foundation and is responsible for developing and implementing a grantmaking strategy focused on health equity. Nora leads strategic initiatives and builds partnerships with stakeholders that include community-based organizations, health institutions, government and residents. Prior to joining the Foundation, Nora was a philanthropic consultant to local family and private foundations and she also managed the Peace Grants Project, a fund established by the City of Chicago focused on youth violence. Nora has worked on issues of educational equity, youth development, and immigration reform with roles at CIS of Chicago, BUILD, and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), respectively.
Nora earned an MSW from the University of Chicago and a BA in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
TYRONE MUHAMMAD
Founder and CEO
Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change
Social Change Advocate Tyrone F. Muhammad, is an author, mentor, and entrepreneur.
Tyrone knows first-hand how incarceration affects individuals, families, and communities.
While serving twenty years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, he taught self-development programs aimed at reducing recidivism, such as behavior modification, social and emotional training, critical thinking, job interviewing skills, budgeting, financing, and resume writing.
Tyrone co-founded the Education Justice Project (EJP) with the University of Illinois Danville where students earned bachelor’s degrees. Tyrone holds degrees in basic and advanced automotive technology, horticulture, custodial maintenance, and cosmetology.
After his release, Tyrone continued working with ex-offenders and found ECCSC, Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change, an organization committed to helping ex-offenders become productive members of society. He believes that ex-offenders play a key role in reducing crime in inner-city neighborhoods.
His book, Men on the Inside, has been a resource for law, sociology, and criminology college curriculums. His radio show, “The Frontline Show” on intellectualradio.com, supplements his works as an author by connecting to the community in real-time.
PARIS THOMAS, PhD
Executive Director
Equal Hope
Dr. Paris Thomas oversees Equal Hope’s strategic vision and leads business decisions to increase Equal Hope’s community reach and impact. Dr. Thomas is a Chicago native with experience in promoting health equity through health system transformation and improvement. She is a health and racial equity leader and researcher whose work focuses on promoting health through intersectionality to eliminate disparities for historically marginalized communities through culturally competent interventions. She earned a BS in Physiology from Grand Valley State University, a MPH from the University of Cincinnati, and a PhD in Health & Human Sciences from Northern Illinois University. Her dissertation explored the lived experience of high-risk Black men exposed to community violence in Chicago and their health challenges and behaviors in highly violent communities.