83. Be a Systems Changemaker with Inside Power with Mildred Otero, President of Leadership for Educational Equity

Do you want a pathway to build a more equitable world?

For this Women of Color Rise Power, I talk with Mildred Otero, President of LEE (Leadership for Educational Equity), where she is creating pathways for leaders to engage civically within their communities to end the injustice of inequity. 

This includes building leaders with inside power (policy leaders, elected leaders) and outside power (advocates and organizers in communities). When we have diverse leaders with inside and outside power, we start to see long lasting change for communities,

Mildred shares skills to developing our inside power to create change:

1. Spot where there are problems and find solutions – Notice when something doesn’t feel right and how we can problem solve and make things better by working and bringing along others. For Mildred, she saw at an early age how hard it was for her hardworking family to get basic services, so she found a way later in life to find solutions and bring others (in politics and other changemakers along).

2. See the gray – Most people tend to see the world in black and white. When we can see the gray, we are able to be open and curious to different perspectives and empathize with others.

3. Have self-awareness and humility- See yourself as a growing person who does not know everything and can learn lessons from others.

4. Being a woman or person of color at the table is a doorway to change – When we bring our unique identities and experiences to the table, know that the conversations and decisions change.

5. Connect to people as humans – When we connect to each other as humans and the childhood experiences that have shaped us, we can get to the root of where our beliefs were formed. We open up shared understanding and the possibility of changing our beliefs.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://analizawolf.com/ep-83-be-a-systems-changemaker-with-inside-power-with-mildred-otero