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In January, Tzedek welcomed a Board of Trustees composed of phenomenal leaders whose work and lives are rooted in Asheville.
Desiree Adaway (Chair), Althea Gonzalez, Carmen Ramos-Kennedy, Deborah Miles, Lucia Daughtery, Mirian Porras, Phyllis Utley, and Tamiko Ambrose Murray embody vision and heart, profound experience and wisdom, transformative practice and relationship. We are humbled and honored to work alongside this beloved collective. Their primary role is to help Tzedek staff tend to this question: How can Tzedek be a co-conspirator in the fight for liberation? Our hope is that the Board serves as the godparents and guides of Tzedek’s work, providing accountability, imagination, and mentorship.
Amy Mandel has transitioned from day-to-day leadership and from her role as Board Chair. As Tzedek’s Founder and Funder, Amy’s vision will always ground our work. Our new strategic plan reflects Amy’s commitment to combating antisemitism and white nationalism, LGBTQ justice, racial justice, and trust-based philanthropy.
Libby Kyles is joining the Tzedek team as the Director of Community-Led Grantmaking, a role focused on developing a new participatory grantmaking program, the distribution of Tzedek’s non-financial resources, local advocacy, and participating on our grantmaking team.
At the beginning of 2021, Marsha Davis transitioned into an Executive Director role, holding our organizational strategy and practice. Key components of her role include facilitating the leadership of our new Board of Trustees, building relationships with other leaders in the philanthropic sector and with the Mandel Foundation, evaluating and assessing Tzedek’s impact, and serving on our grantmaking team.
In response to COVID-19, Heather Laine Talley decided to step back from Tzedek leadership as parenting has shifted to a full-time role. She remains a critical member of the Tzedek team in a new part-time role of Director of Communications and Culture, focused on storytelling, building a culture rooted in transformative practices, and advocating locally for change in the philanthropic sector.
Lindsay Majer and Jennifer Langton continue to fulfill essential roles. Lindsay Majer’s part-time role as Director of Mindful Operations and Finance ensures that key organizational tasks from budgeting to resource distribution, human resources to compliance are tended intentionally. Jennifer Langton’s role as Director of Philanthropic Partnerships focuses on grants management and philanthropic partnerships and leading our grantmaking team.
Each of these decisions has been guided by the work we’ve done on power, white supremacy, and the legacy of philanthropy. As we grow in new directions, we are guided by a shared organizational vision: We dream of a thriving Asheville, where everyone’s needs are abundantly met and where everyone is safe, respected, and celebrated. We believe that a community rooted in joy and love is possible.
May our future be guided by these emergent strategy mantras offered by adrienne maree brown:
we are not victims of circumstance; we shape change. i practice what i want to become. we practice what we want to create.
With gratitude and hope,
The Tzedek Team
Thanks to Kara Brown for creating this image!