C06 Session: Lessons from the Nexus Project

Lessons from the Nexus Project: Success Factors and Promising Practices in Capacity Building with Immigrant- and Refugee-led Organizations

Friday, August 4, 2:15pm - 3:45pm

Track:  Cultural Competency

Presenters

Sarah Gleason and Sida Ly-Xiong, Fieldstone Alliance; Barbara Fane, Nonprofit Assistance Center

Description

In the recently completed Nexus project, experienced capacity builders from across North America teamed up to capture the approaches and strategies that have helped them be successful in working with refugee- and immigrant-led organizations.

Nexus is a two-year collaborative research and learning project, completed in March 2006. It is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the partner organizations (ten leading capacity building organizations working with refugee- and immigrant-led organizations), and sharing the results widely in order to strengthen capacity building with refugee- and immigrant-led organizations (RAILOs) across the nonprofit sector.

Presenters will explain the approach, process and results of the Nexus project, including lessons learned by partner organizations along the way. They will present the results of Nexus research, which examined a range of projects completed by partner organizations from the point of view of both capacity builders and immigrant leaders.

Presenters will share a framework for successful capacity building with RAILOs. The Nexus framework of success factors builds on the research results, in combination with wisdom gleaned from the collective experience of the partner organizations, as well as a literature review of previous work on capacity building with RAILOs.

The diversity of capacity building organizations collaborating on the Nexus project means that partner organizations use a wide range of specific approaches to achieve success with RAILOs. The presenters will give participants a taste of some promising practices through case study examples.

Participants will learn about and discuss the results of research with capacity builders and immigrant leaders; factors for success in capacity building with immigrant-led organizations; and examples of promising practices used by the Nexus partner organizations.  Participants will be invited to react to the content of the presentation, and to discuss the implications for strengthening the sector. They will also receive a copy of the Nexus project report.

About the Presenters

Sarah Gleason, Fieldstone Alliance

Sarah Gleason is a consultant with over 13 years of experience in facilitation, training, and program management. She has worked in the areas of leadership development, community leadership, civic engagement, and cultural diversity. She currently manages the Nexus project which focuses on increasing the capabilities and performance of refugee-and immigrant-run organizations. She lived and worked in West and Central African countries for nearly nine years, during which time she trained Peace Corps volunteers in community development and cross-cultural adaptation. Sarah has degrees in history and education.

Sida Ly-Xiong, Fieldstone Alliance

Sida Ly-Xiong is a program associate with experience in youth programming, conflict resolution, policy analysis, and environmental management. Her work in the nonprofit and government sectors has included creating youth leadership programs for immigrant and refugee communities in Wisconsin; researching community development and environmental management initiatives in Botswana; and mediating dispute resolutions for the State of Minnesota. Sida has degrees in science and technology policy, environmental studies, and biology.

Barbara Fane, Nonprofit Assistance Center

Barbara W. Fane is the Training and Technical Assistance Manager at the Nonprofit Assistance Center (NAC). She leads the agency's organizational capacity building strategy; which includes coordinating trainings and helpline services, awarding technical assistance grants, linking organizations to consultants, facilitating other capacity-building services and managing the consultant network. Joining the NAC in January 2004, Barbara has more than 15 years of program management and leadership experience, with a focus on refugee, immigrant, low-income, disenfranchised and marginalized communities. Her personal avocation is the empowerment of women and children.  Prior to joining NAC, she was Director of Family and Social Services at Neighborhood House, and had also worked for six years at the YWCA of Fresno in multiple positions, including Residential Director of transitional housing and domestic violence services, Resource Manager and the Grant writer. Barbara has volunteered on the boards of Habitat for Humanity and Girls Scouts of America and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta and Iota Phi Lambda sororities. She has a B.A. in History from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, a M.A. in Business Management, and Masters-level course work leading to M.B.A./J.D. from National University in San Diego, California.