As crisis after crisis rocks the world, the difference between the great leaders and poor leaders has become more and more evident. But what exactly does it take to lead through a crisis? The authors of this 2020 article in the Harvard Business Review offer four behaviors that effective business leaders exhibit during crises; other organizations have adapted and adopted these behaviors to apply to leaders in other fields, such as medicine and government.

 

The world needs more leaders who are up to the task, and we don’t need studies to show that women of color are an overlooked and underutilized resource. A study conducted by researchers at Merrimack College found five factors that positively affect the trajectory of women leaders in politics, education, and the nonprofit sector. Cinnamongirl is proud to offer support and/or education in all five areas.

We are kicking off Cinnamongirl recruitment for the 2022-2023 Passport, Write Your Story and Travelgirl cohorts! Please RSVP to our upcoming information session on Thursday, June 16, 6 PM Pacific Time to learn more about how we are developing a pipeline of female changemakers, innovators, and trailblazers!

The 2021 Write Your Story cohort appeared onstage at the Bay Area Book Festival to discuss the work they did for their anthology, I AM THE DREAM: Voices of a New Generation. Interviewed by authors Robin Claire Barnes and Misa Sugiura, they spoke passionately about the dual feelings of vulnerability and power that come with expressing their experiences as girls of color, and about the importance of being free to tell any story, in any genre that moved them. Buy their truly amazing anthology here!

Our May 7 fundraising event was a truly magical evening to celebrate the publication of our first Write Your Story anthology and the successful launch of Entrepreneurgirl. Community and business leaders joined our Cinnamongirl family to enjoy breathtaking views of the Bay, amazing food, TaLynn Mitchell’s inspirational personal journey, and of course, wonderful company. 

 

Thanks to your passion and generosity, we raised eighty-one thousand dollars—a figure we only dreamed of a few years ago! Our deepest gratitude to our gracious hosts, Justina & Kevin Brown who opened up their beautiful home to us. Special thanks to our host committee, Steve Wasserman, Terry & Thelma Harris, Justina & Kevin Brown, and Derek Smith—we couldn’t have done this without you! 

 

And a huge thank-you to our event planner A’Monique Affair and Red Door Catering for providing delicious food and top notch service.

In three weeks, eleven Cinnamongirls from four states will go on a ten-day excursion to Sydney and Queensland/Cairns, Australia! We are so excited for our girls and everything they will learn and experience.

Phoenix Mercury star and Russian political prisoner Brittney Griner has been a trailblazer for young girls of color in many, many ways. Arguably the best NCAA basketball player in history (she played for Baylor University and is the only player to score 2000 points and block 500 shots), the Houston native went on to become one of the biggest stars of the WNBA. She was the first openly gay athlete to represent sportswear giant Nike, and has used her stardom to bring attention to the bullying of LGBTQ youth, as well as Breonna Taylor’s murder in 2020. 

 

Like many WNBA players, Griner was in Russia during the off season so she could play for a far higher salary than she does in the States. Arrested in March by Russian border officials for having a cartridge of “hash oil” in her luggage, she has been detained with minimal contact with her friends, family, or lawyers. Frustratingly, there has been little news coverage and, to the best of anyone’s knowledge, little government action on behalf of Griner.

 

Representative Cori Bush of Missouri tweeted a hard truth about the situation: “We cannot ignore the fact that if Brittney Griner wasn’t a Black woman, it would be plastered across the news that she is a political prisoner in Russia.” As sports journalist Tamryn Spruill also noted, "If this was an NBA player of her caliber ... this would be on the cover of not only every sports page but every news media page in the world."

 

Go to weareBG.org to learn more, get involved, and help bring Brittney Griner home.