Reimagining what is possible when building just communities
aven Leadership Collective is an ideas lab that creates the conditions for talented queer and trans social impact leaders of color and allies to build ecosystems of support for more just communities with greater ease, agency, and belonging.
Maven Anthony Sis (They | Them)
Maven Rising
What if? Maven Leadership Collective began with the deceptively simple premise that if we are to change the narrative about justice-centered social impact then we need to change who shaped that narrative. What if we focus on people at the center of the work? Increased the agency of the communities most impacted by policies they had little opportunity to influence, but must live with the consequences? What was initially a training-forward model has evolved to become a robust ecosystem of support that includes coaching, funding, travel. At its core, our approach has always centered queer and trans social impact leaders of color, encouraged experimentation and play.
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Planting Seeds
What If
Maven invited us to reimagine how communities thrive when we are intentional about creating a robust ecosystem of support for talented QTPOC social impact leaders in the areas of civic engagement, economic independence, health equity, access to the arts and public education. It incorporates and begins planning how to become an effective community resource.
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New Beginnings
Redefining Leadership
Maven invites its first group of extraordinary social impact leaders to form a learning community in South Florida after gaining its tax-exempt status as a nonprofit organization. Our team organized impactful workshops, arts & culture events, community dialogues, and well-being activities at no cost to participants–a practice that continues today for all initiatives.
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Growth
Thinking More Expansively
As word spread about Maven’s impact in providing operational skills, deeper professional connections, and wellness activities, additional opportunities to build community arise. We launched our first cohort in Central Florida, provided organizational support in Boulder, Colorado, and convened change agents who are building more just communities in Miami for our first Maven Rising.
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Impact
Elevating Equitable Impact
Recognizing a need to support Mavens who are scaling their community initiatives, we launched our first advanced learning lab. Maven also elevated stories of alumni success in our first annual Impact Report.
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Rest
Centering Greater Ease
Building on the momentum of a growing community well-being initiative, Maven increases access by building a digital platform and institutes Maven Camp, a gathering where leaders unplug, share big ideas, and focus on individual care and collective healing.
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Milestone
Celebrating 5 Years
Our anniversary year was special in that we were joined by our first multi-city professional development cohort and traveled internationally; produced creative digital content to influence the equity narrative and increase access to learning beyond the classroom; and expanded our ecosystem of support to include extraordinary leaders in North Carolina.
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New Chapter
Maven enters a new era of reimagining what is possible in building more just communities when leading with experimentation and values-aligned collaborations.
Our Values
Maven Leadership Collective is an ideas lab that creates the conditions for Black and Brown social impact leaders who are queer, trans and allies. As an organization we commit to prioritizing:
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- Multi-year commitment to providing an ecosystem of support for practitioners in our learning community.
- Building a community of lifelong learners, exchanging ideas and reframing the leadership narrative through practice–based on meaningful relationships and a culture of care.
- Holding sacred space for individual and collective healing that restores the covenant of trust that must exist for those in service to each other and community.
- Identifying financial resources that are values aligned with our work and trusting our learning community to connect them to opportunities with true promise.
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Maven Vibes Sound Healing
Maven Kyle Maharlika (He | Him)
Vanessa Charlot: Preserving Democracy
Vanessa Charlot says she found photography by chance— it was through her mother’s encouragement. When the award-winning photographer and filmmaker was 12 years-old, her mother encouraged Charlot to go to an art school outside of her Little Haiti community. Her mother bought a disposable camera from Walgreens and told Charlot to go outside and take pictures. Charlot immediately knew where to go. She knew the mom and pop shops, the guys on the corner, the Jitney riders–this was the community she had grown up with. They invited her into their homes, their businesses, to tell the authentic story of her community that had seldom been shared with such intimacy and care.
Investing in Black Queer & Trans Leaders at Critical Junctures
What does it look like for queer Black leaders to have greater ease? We believe that early, robust funding catalyzes creativity, innovation, and sustainable impact. More than just funding, it is a way of saying we believe in you. We are with you. We have your back.
The Fifth Anniversary Cohort
The Fifth Anniversary Maven Leadership Cohort allowed us to find a deeper embrace of intuition and intimacy in the ways we heal, build power, and strengthen community. We are deeply grateful to the extraordinarily talented queer and trans social impact leaders of color and allies who accepted Maven’s invitation to join our community of learners. Together, we were able to dream big, experiment, collaborate, and share in a true sense of belonging.