Liz Zagraniski

✨ Discover the Power of Storytelling for Innovation! ✨ On the first day of the Virginia Housing Alliance’s (Brian Koziol, Arley Bell) inaugural BIPOC Leadership Institute (BLI) cohort,  where I’m a co-facilitator along with Ebony Walden, we had the privilege of walking the historic streets of Jackson Ward in Richmond, VA, with a remarkable group of housing leaders (Justin Ferguson), as Gary Flowers a fifth-generation Jackson Ward resident shared powerful stories of this community, known as one of the Black Wall Streets of the South, and highlighted stories of vision, determination and resilience from leaders such as: 🌟 Maggie L. Walker: The first African American woman to charter a bank, breaking barriers and inspiring us to think beyond limitations. 🌟 William "Bojangles" Robinson: A philanthropist and entertainer who invested in the safety, education, and future of Black children, teaching us persistence in the face of challenges. 🌟 John Mitchell Jr.: The iconic editor of the Richmond Planet, using his words to inspire and influence the community towards advocacy and change. Their stories inspire and remind us of storytelling's profound impact on innovation. How can we use storytelling to inspire new ideas and grow as leaders?  Here are three ways in which I believe stories can influence innovation: 🚀 Inspiring Vision: Stories help us dream big and think creatively. 🚀 Learning from Challenges: Narratives of perseverance teach us resilience about overcoming challenges we will encounter. 🚀 Building Empathy: Shared experiences foster connection and collaboration. 🔗 Check out the full article, "A Lesson from Jackson Ward: How Our Stories Can Inspire Innovation", on Jordansydnor.com to explore how we can use storytelling to innovate and grow as leaders. Let's transform our communities by embracing the lessons from Jackson Ward. What stories from your past inspire your innovative thinking? Share in the comments below! 👇🏾 #Innovation #Leadership #Storytelling #JacksonWard #Inspiration #Community

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"Public investments alone will not cut it—especially if they reinforce a deeply inequitable economic system. An economic justice agenda needs to address deep distortions in our economy." In Nonprofit Quarterly, Suzanne Kahn (vice president, think tank) outlines five key pillars of such an agenda: 1️⃣ Reining in corporate power 2️⃣ Labor law reform 3️⃣ Tax reform 4️⃣ Racial equity 5️⃣ Care agenda #childcare #taxes #racialequity #labor #monopolypower https://lnkd.in/g7SnVzN4

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Today, May 16: Join the White House Global Accessibility Awareness Day Convening Livestream will begin at 10AM EST https://lnkd.in/dZkTDjU2 Access Stream text: https://lnkd.in/dt8Wv8UK #a11y #Accessibility #UXDesign #UserExperience #DigitalDesign #WebDesign #DesignSystem #InclusiveDesign #GAAD #UX

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The latest report from Center for Democracy & Technology (authored by Maddy Dwyer!) sheds light on how data and technology can help child welfare agencies overcome these challenges while acknowledging the inherent risks. CDT offers key recommendations: 1. Identify the problems data or technology can solve and potential harms. 2. Engage affected stakeholders, from caseworkers to foster youth. 3. Establish or enhance data and technology governance for decision-making. 4. Implement and manage AI tools safely and responsibly. 5. Diligently vet third-party vendors. As public agencies increasingly adopt AI-powered tools, these guidelines are crucial for maximizing benefits and mitigating harms. By following these recommendations, we can better support our foster care system, ensuring that every child receives the care and opportunities they deserve. https://lnkd.in/erexfRhj #ChildWelfare #FosterCare #Data #Technology #AI #Governance #CDT #SocialWork #PublicService #Innovation #ResponsibleAI

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This article by Carrie Fox (she/her) at Mission Partners, Benefit LLC raises an important point about equity language at an important time. If the election goes one way (Harris/Walz), building buy-in for diversity training, job positions, and initiatives will be critical – because the backlash against “wokeness” will persist regardless of who’s in the White House. On the other hand, if Trump/Vance win, anything even remotely related to diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, etc. will be an immediate target. Project 2025, which JD Vance has endorsed, would eliminate DEI programs and remove terminology like equity, inclusion, gender identity, and sexual orientation from all federal laws, regulations, and executive orders. The plan would eliminate federal positions and titles related to DEI, and prohibit federal funding for any DEI training. Under either scenario, language matters when advocating for equity. As Carrie says, when it comes to DEI, JEDI, etc., “It’s not the letters or their order that matters. It’s the work that matters. And if we can’t talk about that work plainly and directly, we can’t expect people to understand or connect with it.” Carrie also points to Governor Walz’s refreshing use of plain language. But it’s not just plain – it’s strategic. Have you noticed how he talks about “gun violence prevention” and not “gun control”? Even if both terms would include some element of gun control, the first is more likely to appeal to -- or at least not turn off – people across the political spectrum. Working with political consultant and pollster Frank Luntz has opened my eyes (and ears) about language that appeals to most Americans -- and terms that immediately create resistance. A word and concept that works well is “fair” or “fairness.” Framing an issue around fairness taps into a deep-seated human desire for justice, which makes it a powerful tool in political communication, regardless of the topic. Other widely embraced concepts and values are: - Accountability (we want our leaders to be responsible and transparent) - Security (we want to be safe and secure whether that’s financial security, national security, or job security) - Common sense (we want policies to be practical and reasonable, not complicated or driven by partisanship) - Opportunity (we generally believe everyone should have a chance to succeed) Applying that to DEI values, a person who recoils at the term “equity” very well may support common-sense initiatives that are fair and expand opportunity for everyone. Or as Carrie puts it, it’s about “treating people fairly, caring about each other, and creating environments where everyone can thrive.” If you focus on the battle over terms and the titles, you may be losing the war for true equity and opportunity. #DEI #diversity #inclusion #equity https://lnkd.in/et3ABd6z

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"INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP: TOP-DOWN CULTURE CHANGE For DEI to become truly integrated from the top down, organizations need to help their managers become more inclusive leaders if they’re going to be successful in steering more and more diverse workforces.This has not historically been a priority in an economy that focuses on “leveling the playing field” and bringing entry-level talent into corporate America. Inclusive leaders are those who go out of their way to understand diverse perspectives, build an atmosphere of psychological safety, support their employees’ growth, and keep them engaged. Inclusive management cuts down on employee attrition risk, increases team performance rates, and creates a culture where workers feel like they belong. These leaders are the people in your organization with the power to make a difference in the experiences of your employees—and, ultimately, a difference to your bottom line. They are also—crucially—managers at all levels of the business. Today, a lot of focus is placed on training and empowering senior leaders at a company, while middle managers are neglected (which is an oversight, considering they suffer higher levels of burnout than executives). But I believe that all leaders, regardless of race, experience, or seniority, need to be given the necessary tools to lead teams and cultures inclusively." #adei #dei #inclusion #inclusiveleadership

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For over three decades, the Americans with Disabilities Act has been the cornerstone of ensuring rights and access for millions of Americans with disabilities. However, a quick glimpse at recent headlines reveals just how much work remains to be done to create true equality and access. One area where we’ve seen significant progress is in the realm of technology and accessibility. Platforms like Yelp have introduced new features to make the world more accessible. Recently, Yelp announced the launch of AI-powered alt text and new ways to search for accessible businesses. These features, introduced in collaboration with American Association of People with Disabilities, Disability:IN, and The Arc of the United States allow users to search for businesses with braille menus, ADA-compliant buildings, and closed captioning on bar TVs. As Yelp’s Senior Vice President of Product, Akhil Kuduvalli Ramesh, stated, “With these new accessibility attributes, we’re excited to help businesses more clearly indicate their inclusive practices to make it even easier for people to find the right business for them.”​ Despite these advancements, recent legal developments underscore the ongoing challenges we face. The Supreme Court's decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, which permits criminal penalties for people experiencing homelessness, disproportionately impacts those with disabilities. As disability rights lawyer Evan Monod writes for Slate Magazine, “At the trial court level, multiple people submitted declarations that they were not able to stay at the only shelter in Grants Pass because of their disqualifying disabilities." Justice Sotomayor’s dissent emphasized the critical issue: “Grants Pass’s Ordinances criminalize being homeless. The status of being homeless (lacking available shelter) is defined by the very behavior singled out for punishment (sleeping outside)”​ This decision echoes a dark chapter in U.S. history, where laws effectively criminalized disability. Monod highlights how “ugly laws” once prohibited disabled people from existing in public spaces, a practice that was deemed unconstitutional but seems to be resurfacing in different forms today​. Disability Pride Month is not just a time to celebrate but also to recognize the work that remains. While we embrace technological advancements that make our world more accessible, we must also confront the systemic barriers that continue to exist. These incidents are not isolated. They highlight the gap between the promise of the ADA and its real-world enforcement. As we celebrate Disability Pride Month, let's remember that advocacy is an ongoing journey. We need to hold institutions accountable and push for policies that ensure equal access and inclusion for all. #DisabilityPride #ADA34 #InclusionMatters #AccessibilityForAll #DisabilityRights #EqualAccess #TechForGood #AdvocacyInAction #InclusiveFuture #CelebratingDiversity

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Timely #communications advice for #communityfoundations from Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE): the terms you use with your board and external stakeholders can further unite or divide them. Great resources at https://lnkd.in/etftwyR9

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I am a reluctant leader. At least I used to be Not because of a lack of desire, but rather of knowledge. My path to being an (imperfect) leader in public history was tough and graduate school didn't help at all. Fresh out of school, I landed a job as manager of museums for a rural county in California. I had six employees to manage. With more than a decade of time behind me, I can admit that I crashed and burned. I remember sitting in my own boss' office (who was not a museum person), across from an HR analyst, with tears of frustration in my eyes, begging for any resources on how to lead and manage a team of people. I didn't find those resources until: -- I landed another job at a larger government agency that valued employee growth and learning. -- I found mentors whose leadership styles I admired and sought guidance (I'm looking at you Erin Gettis and Kyla Brown, MPA, CPRE, and -- I was finally making a livable wage and was able to invest in more online tools and conference opportunities. But what would have happened had those things not come to pass? Had I gone on to work at a small museum with no budget for employee development and an executive director who her/himself didn't know how to lead? This HBR article susses out why people in the corporate world choose not to lead, but for museums? How many don't step up because we as an industry don't value leadership training or the threshold for that training is too high for small-to-mid-sized museum professionals to attain? Museum leaders and leaders-to-be, how do you learn leadership skills? Are there any graduate programs in museum studies/public history that do a good job at this kind of training? Share you thoughts! 👇

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**The July 15 Distinguished Communicators submission deadline is quickly approaching.** Over the last few years, one of my greatest professional joys has been creating the space to celebrate distinguished PR and Communication leaders who identify as racially and ethnically diverse and who contribute powerfully to their organizations and our industry. Beyond well-deserved recognition, it’s an opportunity for our honorees to fellowship in a room and not be among few or an “only” in a gathering of formidable industry leaders. Nominate colleagues (or yourself) who are established practitioners, strategists, and leaders (mid-to senior-level) for the Distinguished Communicators of Color annual recognition. We welcome in-house, agency, publicists, agency-owners, and freelance professionals. There is one submission form for all, from which our judges will select:  -Class of 2024 honorees -2024 Top 5 Honorees -Industry Legends *new* ❗Tag someone who should be listed as one of our industry’s Distinguished Communicators of Color. If you cannot think of someone to nominate, I encourage you to consider attending the reception and expanding your personal network. Submissions due: Monday, July 15, 2024 Submit here: https://lnkd.in/g_tPaMKh

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When we talk about designing for accessibility, it's not just about addressing the obvious disabilities. It's about inclusivity for everyone, including those with changing abilities, including me. I've had low vision impairment my whole life and wear glasses/contacts to correct my vision, which would leave me legally blind without them. In 2023, I had 13 visits to the eye doctor and discovered my vision worse despite corrections, due to genetic dry eye syndrome and other complications. It's not technically a disability, but a "changing ability." Driving at night is different one day to the next. Some days, I can see a website just fine, while on other days, I have to strain to see anything with low contrast or I have to adjust my light settings. Sadly, I often encounter some digital equity advocacy websites with such low contrast designs that I cannot view them at all if on mobile. Creating truly accessible websites at the design layer (not just as an overlay) is more than just making digital experiences inclusive - it's about accommodating diversity of abilities. This is the lowest hanging fruit to reach every user, from those with low vision to those who are D/deaf or hard of hearing, and those with dyslexia. Here are some great posters worth sharing on accessibility. From my experience, I'd like to add two thoughts to the low vision section: Do: Provide a Dark Mode Option: This can reduce eye strain and be more comfortable for some users with low vision. (In other words, please help me reduce the need for Frownies at bedtime! If you don't know what Frownies are, please google and thank me later.) Do: Allow Users to Turn Off Animated Effects: If you must use an animated cursor or similar effect, provide an option to turn it off. Users with low vision or color blindness may struggle to see or differentiate the animated cursor from the background or other elements on the screen. (Googly eyes and Y2K stars are fine for Cookie Monster or arts and crafts, but problematic when completing a task on a website) This blog post is from 2016. I love seeing these and knowing how the UK government has actively promoted inclusive design capabilities for years, adopting an integrated approach and making huge contributions to the field

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Does the state have a role in moving us away from extractive racial capitalism and toward an abolitionist future? Andrea Ritchie and Mariame Kaba's response for the Boston Review’s “Climate, State, and Utopia” forum. "The immediate task, then, is assessing what work needs to be done to create the conditions for something new to emerge. This requires that we grapple with practical questions, such as how to organize at the community level at a scale necessary to meet collective needs in a global society in ways that do not replicate the policing functions of the state. What liberatory mechanisms of individual and mutual accountability can we imagine and practice within these projects? How might we preserve collective resources for the common good against those who would seek to accumulate them for private gain or put personal preference above collective goals? How do we navigate strategic questions focused on limiting the state’s power to do harm and maximizing its capacity to meet collective needs while practicing and fighting for more participatory forms of governance?"

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I've noticed something. We find ourselves in a time of deep peril, where we desperately need community, coalitions, and movements that are connected in order to resist and defeat fascism. Yet the very real work of building communities, coalitions and movements is the work deemed not measurable, not real and not worthy of investment. Movement building is relational. It's facilitating. It's connecting dots, weaving threads, building skills and preparing others for groundwork. This is the work that is currently proving so crucial right now, and yet this is the work that seems hardest to fund. Add to that, the layer of racial labor from Black women who often fill these relational, community-building, thread-weaving roles, and it's astounding to me how - on the one hand, we see memos and white papers about the importance of building leadership among women of color, yet on the other hand, investing in the labor of women of color to do the necessary work of coalition building is so hard to secure. Anyway, I'll just leave this here... "Building robust collaborations, performing agile coordination, managing conflict, triaging resources to meet specific needs, facilitating learning, and strengthening capacity are the roles of nurses, teachers, secretaries, and office managers. They are downplayed as “housekeeping,” yet effectively executing these functions is what makes organizations tick. There’s a parallel in the ways that women’s labor, particularly women of color’s labor, is not valued. Just as women of color are disproportionately responsible for reproductive work (the uncompensated labor to maintain social and family structures in households to support a workforce), similarly, inside of the workplace itself, we are also responsible for that same reproductive labor. We are responsible for building community to provide support during times of stress, organizing social events, managing communal resources and spaces, raising up the next generation through coaching and mentoring junior colleagues, and the labor of mediating conflict. All of these are labors that are both expected and taken for granted." https://lnkd.in/eVWK4_uZ

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#Voting is the most important thing we can do as citizens. #Disabled voters have to deal with more than, getting to the poll on time--have a read of this The New York Times article! Every person deserves to be heard. We need to do better as a country and in our American communities to make sure everyone's rights to participate in democracy are ensured. #Covid made it easier. "Dr. Kruse said a particularly revealing finding was that, from 2018 to 2022, turnout increased among people with disabilities even as it decreased overall." We need to make accessible voting--i.e. easier for EVERY PERSON not just the disabled a priority for the Election of 2024! #VotingRights #Voting #Disability #Accessibility #Vote #Inclusion #Election2024 #Democracy #AccessibleVoting #PwD #PeopleWithDisabilities Great work from my alma mater Rutgers University. https://lnkd.in/enJcxQDH

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Brilliant piece by Matt Laslo in Columbia Journalism Review on the evolution of governing and messaging via the intersection of tech and innovation. Proud to have produced @Bannons_WarRoom and co-created @RepMattGaetz Firebrand, both mentioned in this piece: “Steve Bannon is in prison, but his show must go on. Lucky for him, there’s a Congress for that. The other week, Bannon’s popular digital show and podcast, War Room, had an unusual guest host: Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas).” “Roy is one of a handful of lawmakers who have filled in this summer while Bannon serves a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) guest-hosted the show in mid-July; Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) are reportedly slated to take the mic in the coming weeks.” “It’s the latest example of a trend on Capitol Hill, as new tech, coupled with mass media layoffs, has enabled lawmakers—especially, but not exclusively, from the far right—to bypass the nation’s beleaguered press corps and become the first-person storytellers of Washington.” “Republican leaders are so overjoyed by their members’ bypassing the traditional press corps and packaging their own stories to their personal audiences that the GOP created a page to list their podcasts.” “Gaetz—ever the media-savvy self-promoter—may have blurred the line the most. He has an entire media operation, including his digital show Firebrand, which he hosts from a set in his congressional office, and the Gaetz Network—a livestream of what he calls “the biggest moments in the United States Congress.” “While Gaetz has amassed an enviable 2.8 million followers on X, and built a sizable fan base on Rumble—320,000 followers—that pales in comparison to the reach he and his fellow lawmakers have with Bannon’s million-strong Rumble “posse.” https://lnkd.in/eedz7xvz

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Let's talk about how allyship, while well-intended, often falls short for marginalized and oppressed communities. We need more accomplices who take action in hostile environments! 🚀✊ With the election looming, I’m ramping up my blogging to help develop strategies for navigating the media chaos. Here’s my take on how we can all become better accomplices. Stay tuned for actionable tips and insights! 💡🔍 #Allyship #Accomplices #Election2024 #SocialJustice

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Artifical Intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving which requires rapid, adaptive, and collaborative strategies to ensure accessibility and people with disabilities are not only included in but driving innovation, safeguards, and responsible use of AI. Thank you Government Technology and Julia Edinger for elevating the intersection of AI and Disability as well as the AI-centered partnership between the United States Access Board, Center for Democracy & Technology and American Association of People with Disabilities. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gd83NeVQ #a11y #ArtificialIntelligence #AccessibleAI

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