Please join me in expressing our heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Val and come celebrate 40 incredible years with our Founding Director at the 40th celebration event on September 27th in Boston - I look forward to celebrating Dr. Val and all four of our special founders and their remarkable journeys with us. We encourage everyone to attend and further strengthen our relationships with one another.
We warmly invite you to join us for this momentous occasion. Your presence and support mean the world to us, and we look forward to celebrating together. A celebration like this is not possible without the support of incredible sponsors and donors, and we’d love to add your gifts to ensure this is a celebration to remember! Your generous support will help us continue our vital work and expand our reach to serve even more individuals with projects like the Institute. Whether you or your workplace choose to become an event sponsor, make a donation, attend the event, share with your networks, or volunteer your time, every contribution makes a meaningful difference. We appreciate your commitment to our shared values!
If you are interested in serving as an ambassador for VISIONS for the 40th anniversary, please let us know! We would love the support and to be in community with you as we plan this momentous occasion. We would also be happy to provide some resources you can share with your networks.
To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact our event team at eventinfo@visions-inc.org or call 617-541-4100 or visit our website.
Thank you for being a part of our journey and for your unwavering support. Together, we can create the world we envision and continue to build on the incredible foundation laid in VISIONS’ early years by Dr. Val and all our co-founders: Angela Bryant, Ida Hickerson, and Dr. John Capitman.
An earnest reminder that we have four more months until the election of my lifetime. There is much work to do, and I hope we can link arms (so to speak) and see democracy at work. Amanda Gorman’s words at our last inauguration ring loudly and clearly: “We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be: a country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free.” We’ve got work to do. AND I’m hopeful that all of us, and especially our youth and younger generations will keep on keepin’ on.
And lastly, I am saddened that violence has become a common response to holding different beliefs - not just in the U.S., but also around the world. I hope we can depend on forms of civic engagement to settle disagreement. Now more than ever, we need to build bridges to foster social cohesion rather than division. I am grateful that VISIONS has the tools to help in these contexts.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Elika
VISIONS (Vigorous Interventions in Ongoing Natural Settings) is excited to announce its upcoming 40th Anniversary Celebration. This event will mark four decades of transformative impact as a bridge-building and change-making organization. We cordially invite you to join us on Friday, September 27, 2024, at the State Room in the heart of Boston (MA) for an unforgettable evening.
During our anniversary celebration, you will have the chance to hear from renowned speakers like the legendary activist Gloria Steinem, inclusion strategist Vernā Myers, and social justice leader Bishop William Barber II, who will grace our 40th Celebration event, reaffirming the importance of inclusion in our collective journey.
Our anniversary committee is hard at work so stay tuned for ticket information.
Interested in becoming a sponsor?
For more information, see below or contact our event team at eventinfo@visions-inc.org or call 617-541-4100.
From the VP of Administration - Nikki Glass
VISIONS is 40!!! We are celebrating this milestone in September by reflecting and envisioning our future. VISIONS founders created a model that has been tested to last and has been a true benefit to communities at home and abroad. We are also celebrating Dr. Batts as she moves away from administrative staff duties and hones in and on her ever brilliant, trailblazing consulting and teaching for VISIONS. Working with Dr. Val and other consultants in the VISIONS community over the last four years, I have learned that taking the time to understand ourselves and others helps build more collaboration that we can all find benefit.
Show your support. Consider donating to honor the work or become a sponsor!
We encourage you to show your support with a gift in honor of this important work. A $40, $400 or $4,000 donation in honor of VISIONS’ 40th Anniversary today will help provide scholarships to those who want to learn the model to make a positive, inclusive impact for us all. Make your impact today. In addition, consider a sponsorship to honor the work. Join us September 27, 2024 in Boston (MA) or sponsor tickets for those who may want to come but may not be able to.
Other ways to support this vital work:
- Matching Gifts: If your workplace matches donations, double the impact of your gift by simply filling out your company’s application. VISIONS is a registered organization with Benevity to receive matching gifts). If your company has their own matching gift application, contact us so we can support you in making your gift go further.
- Stock or Mutual Fund Donations: We are able to receive stock or mutual fund donations. Give us a call or email nglass@visions-inc.org and we can assist.
Be courageous in spite of the noise around us. Make recognizing and incorporating differences to benefit us all the norm…make your impact today!
From the Senior Director of Consulting - Dr. Rick Pinderhughes
We hope to see you at our Fall 40th Anniversary gathering and celebration!
Please join VISIONS for one of our upcoming PACE (Personal Approach to Change and Equity) workshops. This is the most thorough way to experience the key aspects of our model. Participants come out of this 4-day experience with new learnings at the personal, interpersonal, systemic and cultural levels. If you have not attended a PACE session in many years, do join one this season, as the multicultural process of change is on-going. Alternately, do look out for the next PACE II session and for the next round of our on-going supervision groups. Stay tuned for more information on these upcoming experiences.
The upcoming PACE I session dates are:
To learn more click the button below!
2024
If you have taken PACE I and would like to be a part of our On-Going Skill Building program you can see our upcoming offering dates and can learn more at the link below.
East Coast (9:00am - 4:30pm EST)
- October 25, 2024
- January 10, 2025
- April 4, 2025
- July 11, 2025
West Coast (9:00am - 4:30pm EST)
- November 1, 2024
- January 17, 2025
- April 11, 2025
- July 18, 2025
Also be sure to check out our Theory and Application Transactional Analysis (TA 101) program coming up in Augsut:
Schedule/structure: 3 days
- August 22: 11:00-2:00 / 3:00-6:00 EST
- August 23: 11:00-2:00 / 3:00-6:00 EST
- August 24: 11:00-2:00 / 3:00-6:00 EST
More From Programs Director - Dr. Leena Akhtar
Elder Storytelling continues on VISIONS’ ‘Into Liberation’ podcast!
Check out the rebranded VISIONS Podcast! ‘Into Liberation: A Podcast about Transformative Change, Equity, and Working Against Oppression’ which, among its standard episodes, features a series of stories from VISIONS elders in honor of our 40th Anniversary. You can find all of the episodes on the VISIONS website or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen to podcasts).
Elder story episodes:
- Transformational Leadership with Dr. Julian Sonn Part I (Part II will play after) : Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Web
- Championing Equity and Maternal and Child Health with Dr. Cassandra Joubert: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Web
- The Transformative Power of Empathy with Vincent Johnson: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Web
- Felipe Garcia and the role of Feelings in the Workplace: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Web
- Dr. Deborah J. Walker and the Alabama Civil Rights Movement: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Web
Have you attended our Guidelines workshop?
VISIONS is offering a 75-minute, pay-what-you-can (free if you want!) workshop on the last Wednesday of every month! Guidelines for Effective Cross-Cultural Dialogue offers participants an overview of the VISIONS Guidelines, a powerful tool for communicating effectively across difference, working through conflict, and cultivating deep, authentic relationships.
All are welcome, whether you’re new to VISIONS or would like a review of one of our most fundamental tools!
Looking for CE credit?
This program is Approved by the National Association of Social Workers (Approval # 886744521-8290) for 1 continuing education contact hours.
Vigorous Interventions in Ongoing Natural Settings, Inc. (VISIONS, Inc.) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7400. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Vigorous Interventions in Ongoing Natural Settings, Inc. (VISIONS, Inc.) is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Fundamentals of Inclusivity – Fall Dates Posted!
Fundamentals of Inclusivity offers participants a comprehensive introduction to the VISIONS model over the course of four weekly 3-hour sessions. Participants learn key frameworks and are supported in powerful reflective exploration, and will leave with skills for effectively fostering and building relationships across difference.
- September 2024:
- Thursday, September 5, 12, 19, & 26, 2024 from 3-6 pm ET / 12-3 pm PT
- October 2024:
- Tuesday, October 1, 8, 15, & 22, 2024 from 3-6 pm ET / 12-3 pm PT
- November 2024:
- Thursday, October 31, and November 7, 14, & 21, 202 from 3-6 pm ET / 12-3 pm PT.
Register at the links above! Questions may be directed to programs@visions-inc.org.
Looking for CE credit?
This program is Approved by the National Association of Social Workers (Approval # 886744521-5919) for 10 continuing education contact hours.
More News
We are thrilled to announce the addition of two new members to the VISIONS board. Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Fatou Wurie and Riley Hewko. Their expertise, passion, and dedication will be invaluable as we continue to grow and achieve our mission. We are excited to have them on board and look forward to the positive impact they will bring to the VISIONS community and beyond!
Fatou Wurie is an award-winning Scholar, Sustainable Development Practitioner and Communicator leveraging her 15 years of experience at the nexus of technology, gender equality and health policy to engineer social change globally.
She has worked extensively in the social impact sector, starting her career in Maternal and Newborn Health Policy where she served as Reginal Advocacy Advisor for six-African countries. She went on to serve in consulting and technical roles with governments, in the United Nations, UNICEF and the WHO Foundation. She has led and built high-impact global health, gender, protection programs and deployed to several global public health emergencies spanning 25 countries.
Fatou’s expansive career is fueled by her commitment to transformative justice and health equity. Her work spans multiple mediums & multiple disciplines. She is a TEDx speaker on Climate and Women’s Financing, and a Moth Storyteller published in their NY Times best seller ‘Occasional Magic’. Fatou has collaborated with professors from the New School of Design, contributing to a case study in the book “Design for Social Innovation: Case Studies from Around the World”. During the Ebola Outbreak she co-authored a paper on “Psychosocial effects of an Ebola outbreak at individual, community and international levels” published in the WHO bulletin based on her work with female survivors of Ebola. Her work is featured in Al-Jazeera, The Huffington Post, Forbes, Amnesty International and UNICEF blogs.
Riley Hewko (they/them) is a nonbinary, transqueer, Xicanx organizer, prison abolitionist, and reproductive justice lawyer focusing on gender, sexuality, and transformative justice. Their ancestors are from Mexico, Ukraine, Norway, the borderlands of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Los Angeles, California. With over 18 years of experience in the nonprofit and public sector, they co-founded various projects supporting incarcerated parents in Seattle, worked at various LGBTQ+ and Reproductive Justice and health organizations, and at the Washington State Office of the Governor. They are most proud of training incarcerated folks on leadership and policy, successfully passing “The Children of Incarcerated Parents Act” in 2013 and changing Washington State's child welfare laws to keep families together. Most recently they were Senior Legal Counsel at MoveOn.org and the Movement Voter Project.
Out Doing the Work
Check out Dr. Valerie Batts' article in North Carolina's The Daily Advance, "Stop stalling monument's removal. Our kids are watching."
As well as this article by Dr. Val in the Chowan Harold, "Batts column: Where is God in the counter-protests to keep monument?"
From the Office
Organized by the Islamophobia and Antisemitism Working Group, we have recently hosted trainings by Mx Yaffa (check out their poetry book here) and Dr. Nevien Shaabneh. These are part of an ongoing series for our internal community of VISIONS staff and consultants, allowing us to continually deepen our learnings and skills as facilitators addressing Antisemitism and Islamophobia -- and how these "isms" intersect with other forms of oppression.
- VISIONS’ 40th Anniversary Celebration is September 27, 2024 in Boston, MA
- The office will be closed on the dates below. If you need assistance while the office is closed, you can refer to the VISIONS Help Cheat Sheet.
- Labor Day - Sept. 2, 2024
- VISIONS Office Closed Fall Break - Sept. 3-6, 2024
- Indigenous Peoples Day - Oct. 14, 2024
- VISIONS Office Closed Fall Break - Nov. 25-29, 2024
- Have any general feedback, questions, or ideas? Let us know! You can complete this survey and someone from VISIONS will reach out to you.
Upcoming Events
VISIONS’ 40th Anniversary Celebration - Friday, September 27, 2024
Visit our landing page below for more updates!
