ENGAGING COMMUNITY VOICES IN YOUR WORK: AN IMPACT MULTIPLIER
Date: September 29, 2022
Time: 5:30 – 8 p.m.
Location: Taller Puertorriqueño, 2600 N. 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19133
Light fare and a cash bar available. Attire is smart casual.
Free visitor parking lot is located in the rear of the building. Gated entrance on right side of Huntington Street, one half block after crossing 5th Street. We encourage car pooling for the environment and to ensure enough space for all.
Join Impact100 Philadelphia for an interactive evening of learning and discussion as we explore how community-based providers and funders alike can multiply their impact by engaging the voices of the communities they serve.
Our program will spotlight several organizations and initiatives in Eastern North Philadelphia that are leading the way in elevating community voices, including two Impact100 Philadelphia nonprofit partners, Taller Puertorriqueño and Kensington Corridor Trust. Also participating will be funders and community participants from the Kensington Community Resilience Fund, a participatory fund centered around community voice.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet, engage with, and learn from each other as we collectively explore the concepts addressed during our panel discussion.
As guests of Taller Puertorriqueno, we ask that our program attendees adhere to the venue’s COVID-19 entrance requirements.
- Masks must be worn at all times in the building (except when eating/drinking).
- Please remove your mask only when appropriate, and if you’re sick or exhibiting flu-like symptoms, please stay home.
Click here for Impact100 Philadelphia's COVID-conscious event policy.
Event Recap
Impact100 Philadelphia welcomed four thought leaders to share their wisdom in a vibrant panel discussion, Engaging Community Voices in Your Work: An Impact Multiplier. The evening was hosted by our nonprofit partner Taller Puertorriqueño, whose mission is to use art to promote development within its community and the Latino Diaspora and build bridges to the Greater Philadelphia region.
As we grow, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the nonprofits we serve. We continue to connect with our nonprofit partners by renting their space for events and sharing their stories and accomplishments with our members, supporters, and networks. Two Taller Puertorriqueño neighbors, Boricua Restaurant and Pound Cake Heaven, catered dinner and desserts for the evening's one hundred attendees.
The panelists spoke from the heart about their professional and lived experience seeking to engage community voices in establishing funding priorities. They spoke about the importance of trust-based philanthropy, encouraging funders to take steps to ease application burdens and to continue to hold each other accountable to positive changes made in the sector.
If you missed it, a recording of the panel discussion is available here.
Adriana Abizadeh is currently the executive director of the Kensington Corridor Trust (KCT) in Philadelphia. The mission, duty, and purpose of the KCT is to help the Kensington community reclaim control over a once-thriving commercial corridor by reactivating real estate, fostering local entrepreneurship, and reinvesting capital in the neighborhood. With deep interests in public policy Adriana has taken every opportunity to utilize her privileged position as a nonprofit leader in order to speak out for what she believes in and to lift the voices of impacted community members. Immersed in policy initiatives, she has facilitated community collaboration to address the intersectionality between immigration status, housing, poverty, and race. All of Adriana's professional working experience has been in the nonprofit sector and she is passionate about serving others. Adriana has a BA from Rutgers University in Political Science with a minor in Security Intelligence and Counter Terrorism. She also has an MS in Public Policy from Drexel University. She has committed herself to serve on several boards that reflect some of her deepest passions: immigration, racial and health equity, and youth development. When Adriana isn’t serving her community, she is at home with her two children and two dogs.
Sonja Bingham is a native Californian who currently resides in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. She graduated from Hampton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. She furthered her education at Northampton Community College to become certified as a Library Technical Assistant. Her professional background includes managing producers, songwriters, and signed recording artists. Sonja previously worked for Channel 13 WNET/PBS as a Revenue Administration Analyst in New York, NY for six years before going on hiatus to raise her three children for over a decade. She enjoys sports (playing, coaching, and watching), working in the community, and is quite the baker. She has been with Ciox Health for 8 years, during which she has worked with Einstein Hospital, Tower Health, and Tufts Medical Center to name a few. Sonja’s motivating ideology is twofold: “leave a place better than the way you found it” and “be the change you want to see.” These statements capture her driving force perfectly.
Alyson Ferguson, MPH, oversees the operations, grant, and project portfolios at the Foundation, including having advisory roles to several organizations implementing Mental Health First Aid initiatives and providing technical assistance to the Foundation’s many partners. Alyson previously contracted with the Brandywine Health Foundation to manage their youth philanthropy program. She completed the Lebow Leading for Change Fellowship in 2016, which recognized Philadelphia’s emerging public sector leaders. She has also been a Grantmakers In Health Terrance Keenan Institute Fellow and was named one of Main Line Today’s 2017 Women on the Move. Alyson holds a Master of Public Health from the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science in Health Behavior Sciences and Biological Sciences from the University of Delaware.
Nasheli J Ortiz González is a native of Puerto Rico, a respected academic leader, and a creative entrepreneur committed to social justice, Ortiz González brings a unique set of skills to the Executive Director role at Taller. In her roles as Associate Professor and Chair of Fashion Design at Moore, Ortiz González developed a department that pairs a humanistic approach with a cutting-edge global vision. Students in this department enjoy a 98% employment rate upon graduation. She also oversaw the transition of all fashion design instruction to a remote model due to the Covid-19 pandemic, successfully managing and supporting both faculty and students during Moore’s extended closure. Furthermore, Ortiz González has been successful in securing competitive grants for Moore including a 2020 grant from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. In addition to her role at Moore, Ortiz González is a highly sought-after fashion designer who serves as the principal owner of Nasheli Juliana (NJ), an apparel company focused on social justice, as well as co-founder and principal of 22 studio, a women-led transdisciplinary design practice that operates between the United States and Puerto Rico. She is also a founding Board Member of the Philadelphia Fashion Garment and Industry Task Force, a group for professional and business development, education, trade events, supply chain and local manufacturing, social impact, and sustainability in the city. Her fashion designs have been shown at Paris, London, New York, and Miami Fashion Weeks, to name just a few. Ortiz González’s work has been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ, and Forbes, among other prestigious publications. In 2020, she was featured in the Netflix series “Next in Fashion,” and was named one of Al DÍA News’ 40 Under 40.
Ashley Feuer-Edwards, Panel Moderator, is building on more than 15 years of experience in strategic planning, project and program management, and business development. Ashley founded AFE Strategies in 2017 to help social impact organizations move their ideas to action with strategic advisory and project management support. Drawing on her passion for helping others and an ability to see both the forest and the trees, she helps clients connect the dots in order to find solutions that are at once strategic, operational, and sustainable. Both professionally and personally, Ashley is deeply committed to public service and her community. Since 2019 she has served as a consultant to the Managing Director’s Office of Philadelphia, where she has led the design, launch, and management of the Kensington Community Resilience Fund, a participatory fund focused on building resilience and improving the quality of life for communities most impacted by the opioid crisis in Philadelphia. Prior to starting her consulting business, Ashley held roles leading education and funder partnerships at Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, developing business development strategies for JEVS Human Services, and consulting on economic development projects with Econsult Corporation. Ashley currently serves as Program Chair on the board of Impact100 Philadelphia and Vice President and Development Chair for Ryan’s Case for Smiles, a national nonprofit that builds resilience in and supports children and families struggling with childhood cancer and other life-changing illnesses. Ashley previously served on the board of Girls Rock Philly. She currently lives in Philadelphia with her husband and two children.