Choosing Wellness: Investing in Well-being @ Philanthropy Northwest Virtual Conference

Our individual and collective wellness is essential to our humanity and to the work of racial healing and social justice. Yet, so many of us have bought into the dominant-culture belief that the more we produce, the more valuable we are — to our families, employers, communities, and ourselves — hardly stopping to challenge that assumption. What would our lives look like if we centered wellness? Our organizational cultures? Our movement? As funders, you can play a role in embracing wellness. Explore ways to restructure your own organizational workplace; reimagine relationships to partner more powerfully with nonprofit leaders; and invest in people’s well-being.

Presented by BIPOC ED Coalition Co-founders:

Andrea Caupain-Sanderson

Andrea is a lifelong advocate for racial healing and social justice. She currently serves as CEO of Byrd Barr Place, which works to build an equitable Washington through innovative programs and advocacy that empower people to live healthy, prosperous lives. Inspired by the uprising for racial justice in 2020, Andrea joined with three community leaders to co-create the BIPOC Executive Directors Coalition, uniting 200+ Black, Indigenous, and People of Color nonprofit leaders statewide through healing and advocacy initiatives. At the same time, Andrea, together with three Black women leaders, launched the Black Future Co-op Fund, the state’s first philanthropy by and for Black Washingtonians to ignite generational wealth, health, and well-being. She also serves as a commissioner of the Washington State Commission on African American Affairs; on the boards of Craft3, Crescent Collaborative, and Africatown Community Land Trust; and as a steering committee member of the Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance.

Victoria Santos

Victoria is a facilitator, trainer, community organizer, leadership coach, and certified counselor, with a depth of experience in racial healing and social justice work with institutions, schools, and community organizations in the United States and internationally. In her work, Victoria emphasizes intersectional awareness, individual and collective healing, and compassionate action. With three other community leaders, Victoria co-founded the BIPOC Executive Directors Coalition to promote wellness and restore resources in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities across Washington. She also serves as senior advisor with Young Women Empowered (Y-WE), which seeks to create a community of belonging through mentorship-based empowerment programs centering young women of color and youth who have been marginalized. Victoria is a Spanish-fluent Afro-Latina immigrant born in the Dominican Republic.