Convention Schedule

All sessions will have closed captioning, and recordings will be available to registrants after the Convention. Times listed below are Pacific.

Tuesday, November 17

Wednesday, November 18

Thursday, November 19

Session Descriptions

State of the Nonprofit Sector (Tuesday, November 17, 11am)
Our opening plenary starts with remarks from CalNonprofits CEO Jan Masaoka on the state of the nonprofit community and what she sees as the key actionable issues for the nonprofit community right now. Then we've gathered some leaders – each known for having fresh, unexpected insights – to react to the election that will have taken place two weeks before.

Speaker:
Jan Masaoka, CEO, California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits) (San Francisco, Sacramento, and Los Angeles)

Election Town Hall: What Happened and What’s Next? (Tuesday, November 17, 11am)
Given the election, how do nonprofits and individuals think about the future? What stances will help our communities and our nonprofits? This is a moment for California nonprofits to connect with one another and give ourselves a framework to take forward.

Speakers:
Julie Baker, Executive Director, Californians for the Arts and California Arts Advocates (Sacramento)
Jennifer Fearing, Principal, Fearless Advocacy (Sacramento)
José Rodriguez, President and CEO, El Concilio of Stockton
Raphael Sonenshein, Executive Director, Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles
Moderator: Kim Carter, Founder/Ambassador, Time for Change Foundation (San Bernardino and Hayward)

Insider Debrief: Campaigns for Yes on Prop 15, Yes on Prop 16, and No on Prop 20 (Tuesday, November 17, 2:00pm)
With the election just behind us, this session will be an insiders' debriefing of key campaigns around statewide propositions. Leaders from Yes on 15, Yes on 16, and No on 20 will talk about what went right and what didn't work in their campaigns, and what they take away about future work on these issues. This is a rare chance to listen in on how campaign leaders reflect on the November outcomes.

Speakers:
Joseph Tomás McKellar, Co-Director, PICO California (Yes on Prop 15)
Dan Seeman, Partner, Grace Public Affairs (No on Prop 20)
Assemblymember Dr. Shirley N. Weber (San Diego) (Yes on Prop 16)
Moderator: Lucy Salcido Carter, CalNonprofits

From Movements to Public Policy: Implementing Change in Communities (Wednesday, November 18, 11:00am)
This year we've seen social activism and uprising on a scale not seen in recent memory: Black Lives Matter, Indigenous peoples' land rights, #MeToo, Justice for Breonna Taylor, immigration rights, and more. In this session we ask: what are the specific public policy demands emerging from the Black Lives Matter movement? What local policy agendas ideas are winning? How are nonprofits and foundations working to develop policy agendas within these movements and turn them into law? It's a moment when we all need to learn how to "operationalize" movements as nonprofit policy efforts.

Speakers:
Ivette Alé, Senior Policy Lead, Dignity and Power Now (DPN) (Los Angeles)
Jessica Nowlan, Statewide Executive Director, Young Women’s Freedom Center (San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles)
Tamisha Walker, Co-founder and Executive Director, Safe Return Project
Moderator: Chet Hewitt, President and CEO, Sierra Health Foundation (Sacramento)

What Makes Nonprofits of Color Different? (Wednesday, November 18, 2:00pm)
We hear about the need to support nonprofits led by people of color, and/or support nonprofits that serve communities of color. Often overlooked are organizations of color that emerge from communities and stay embedded there. Organizations of color and their leaders face unique challenges and bring unique strengths to human services, health, environment, arts, and more. These leaders also face unique challenges in getting the attention of foundations and securing significant support. Get to know a few refreshing and compelling CEOs of organizations of color, as well as a funder who works to support them, and ask them how to find and work with similar leaders in your field or area!

Speakers:
Milan Balinton, Executive Director, African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) (San Jose)
Joanna S. Jackson, Vice President, Programs, Weingart Foundation (Los Angeles)
Moderator: Vu Le, Writer, NonprofitAF.com (Seattle)

Resilience in Adversity: Personal and Organizational Strategies (Thursday, November 19, 11:00am)
Nonprofits are stepping up in this crisis, as we always do, to serve our communities and be responsive to changing circumstances and needs. But the stress of constant crises and economic challenges can take its toll on us and on our organizations. In this session, we will hear from nonprofit executive directors and consultants about how they are implementing strategies to keep us and our organizations resilient. We will also hear from a foundation colleague supporting nonprofit resilience research about what the research shows works and doesn’t work. In addition, participants will highlight related topics of interest to them, and the panelists will provide their insights on those topics.

Speakers:
Diana Scearce, Principal, Diana Scearce Consulting (San Francisco)
Kad Smith, Project Director, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services (Oakland)
Moderator: Latonya Slack, Principal, Slack Global Consulting (Los Angeles)

Special musical performance by Los Cenzontles (Lucina Rodriguez and Fabiola Trujillo)

Los Cenzontles (Nahuatl for “The Mockingbirds”) dig deep into Latino traditions to promote dignity, pride and cultural understanding. The group has pioneered revivals of Mexican roots music in California bringing traditions to new generations. The Mockingbirds now create a powerful new hybrid sound – creating a fresh Chicano voice for a new generation.

Debate! (Thursday, November 19, 2:00pm)
Should we as a movement prioritize advocating for moving wealth into communities through increased taxes, or should we focus on tax incentives (tax breaks)? One side will argue that tax policies that generate more income for government are the best way to get money into communities. The other side will argue that tax breaks and tax incentives are the best way to bring money into communities.

Speakers:
Iris Fluellen, Capital Campaign Director, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank (San Francisco and Marin)
Iimay Ho, Executive Director, Resource Generation (Washington, DC)
Kim Klein Principal, Klein & Roth Consulting (Oakland)
Moderator: Geoff Green, Chief Executive Officer, Santa Barbara City College (SBCCF) Foundation (Santa Barbara)