1. Strengthen the capacity of staff and volunteers to discuss and address issues of culture, power and difference;
2. Strengthen organizational systems for communicating about and addressing issues of culture, power and difference;
3. Build community and connection among the staff, and volunteers of WCRC.

With support from Laurin Mayeno, our CompassPoint consultant, we organized a planning team that includes staff members Jessica Drummer-Ryan, Alma Loos and myself and Sheila Head from our Board of Directors. This planning team has created an ambitious agenda of activities that includes: a staff retreat held on January 30 focusing on our communication practices with each other; a Community Dialogue held on April 21 with staff and volunteers to identify how each of us practices cultural competence with the women we serve; the Volunteer Recognition event on June 24; a staff workshop on August 7 to create "Principles of Cultural Humility" based on feedback from the first Community Dialogue (these principles are being integrated into policies, training and performance reviews); and a second staff retreat held on August 21 focusing on the importance of self-care in order to sustain our work with the women we serve and each other.
 
The next community dialogue will be held from 6-8 pm on November 19 at the Center, and all volunteers, community partners and supporters are invited to participate.