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.
Please join us in congratulating our Anniversary Mavens on their on-going commitment to investing in themselves, each other, and our community. We are inspired by their contributions to strengthening Maven and building a more just community.
Maven Nadege Green
(she | her)
Striking. A truly appropriate word to describe Nadege Green. The way she commands the room with a dancer’s posture; her gift of language; an unmistakable model’s flare for fashion; and a professional reputation affirmed by community love–all striking.
Nadege Green has embarked on what for many of us is a daunting task–resisting the erasure of Miami-Dade County’s Black past. She is the founder of Black Miami-Dade, a multimedia history and storytelling platform that does just that. Nadege is a mother who is raising free Black children.
Earlier this year, Nadege co-curated Give Them Their Flowers, the first-of-its kind exhibit that pays homage to Miami’s Black queer history by merging historical research, archival imagery, artifacts, oral histories, video and portraits of Black LGBTQ+ Miamians over the age of 40. The Miami Herald said it was “the most relevant exhibit right now.” ArtForum chose it as a must-see critic’s choice. The Community affirmed and embraced it. Give Them Their Flowers was made possible with support from Maven Leadership Collective and University of Miami’s Center for Global Black Studies.
Founder & Lead Researcher
Black Miami-Dade
Maven Christopher J. Cuevas
(they | them)
When you are in Christopher’s presence you are immediately aware that it will be necessary for you to elevate your analysis and practice. A certain mix of calm and playfulness colors the intensity they bring to their work.
Over the cohort experience, Christopher ensured a steadiness to our exploration by sharing their expansive knowledge of emerging trends and best practices in the fields of philanthropy, capacity-building, and social impact. Their national expertise was invaluable to our reimagining of how best to provide catalytic sponsorships for initiatives being advanced by Maven’s participants and alumnx.
A lifelong peace practitioner, educator, and community organizer, Christopher leads Colibri Consulting Group, a movement-centered capacity builder and strategy center, strengthening the leadership of those at the forefront of racial, gender, and economic justice movements. A child of immigrants and a transgender person of color, Christopher interconnects their lived experience and drives the necessary heart work of building a culture of peace, compassion, and change through advocating for racial, gender, and economic justice movements.
Founder & Principal
Colibri Consulting Group
Maven Dejha Carrington
(she | her)
There is a simple elegance in everything Dejha does–from her personal style to the way she organizes curious members to collect art in community, a collaborative approach to supporting artists. Dejha has leveraged an expansive network of artists, art enthusiasts, collectors, gallerists, donors, and arts administrators and educators to build a deeply collaborative approach to supporting artists.
Building community in an organic, values-aligned way resonates with us because it is the only way the work can truly endure. She has built Commissioner with the careful eye of a curator and the exuberance of an organizer throwing the doors open in such a way that even the most ardent gatekeepers are charmed into acquiescence. Dejha is generous in sharing the fruits of her curious exploration and adventures in a way that feels simultaneously democratic and insidery.
We have had the pleasure of collaborating with Dejha on a number of initiatives over the years, including commissioning queer and trans artists of color and providing member-access for queer and trans patrons of color for the past two seasons of Commissioner. While the journey may have begun in Miami, the organization’s impact is quickly being felt in multiple other cities in North America. As Commissioner celebrates its fifth anniversary, we are confident that its presence will only continue to grow.
Co-founder
Commissioner
Maven Doris Parent
(she | her)
We are all learners in this space. This is one of our favorite commitments that guide our professional development sessions. Doris Parent models it exquisitely. She is not only an Anniversary Maven, but serves as our Board Chair. In both roles, Doris has demonstrated the very definition of allyship.
Her quiet, yet unmistakable leadership style is born of years of philanthropy and nonprofit management in which diplomacy served her well. She has a knack for gleaning key lessons from collective action. As a result, Doris has developed a steady approach to shifting organizational culture–a skill set acquired from her time in service to youth, higher education students, and artists. Her effectiveness has culminated in Doris occupying the first-of-its-kind C-suite strategy position within a beloved global arts institution and its peers. Doris has amassed an impressive portfolio of accomplishments that have made her a sought after advisor.
As a child of immigrants, Doris Parent is ever-mindful of extending opportunity to all members of society. For her, the extension must be more than a promise. There must be tangible efforts toward making opportunity a reality for our neighbors, colleagues, and loved ones.
Board Chair
Maven Leadership Collective
Maven Pioneer Winter
(he | they)
What does it mean to find performance that dwells in the unexpected? Like his eponymous dance company, Pioneer Winter, contests conventional understanding of movement, access to the art form, and who gets to engage in both.
His contribution to the Anniversary Cohort was an invitation to explore process, collaboration, experimentation, and language in ways that led us to a place of deeper intimacy. Pi’s observant nature and quick wit added a certain levity to our vibrant conversation and allowed us to reveal layers to common social impact concepts.
We are inspired by his ongoing artistic exploration into identity and transformation–both individually and as a collective. The evolution of his current work throughout the pandemic, Birds of Paradise, is a lesson in how to adapt and still deliver at a high level. These themes parallel Maven’s work in building more just communities. The values-alignment serves as the basis for collaboration since our inception. Pioneer is actually the second Maven from his organization, preceded by Hector Machado (they | she).
Choreographer & Director
Pioneer Winter Collective
Maven Gaby Garcia-Vera
(all pronouns)
The spiritual verse warns of the fire next time. This proud Aries brings the fire each and every time. Whether it is championing reproductive justice at the intersection of faith or advancing protections for queer and trans communities, Gaby is an impactful catalyst for change. Quite simply, he is a fighter.
A proven strategist and organizer, Gaby brought his unique perspective to our cohort–both cerebral and practical. He made us all desire to be more vulnerable, authentic, and trusting. Gaby is the Maven who is going to show up to support you–perhaps even with a big sign, as he did for fellow Maven, Nadege Green who was speaking at the Miami Book Fair.
After years of building for others, he is now developing his own practice, Flamboyán Consulting. His interests are organizational health and infrastructure focused on organized people, money, and power at the intersection of culture, gender, race, and equity.
Founder & Managing Principal
Flamboyán Consulting
