Evolution of the Leadership Circle

Beginning in April 2020 soon after COVID lockdown, CPCP invited a cohort of (primarily BIPOC) colleagues, each of them an artist and process facilitator around the US, to participate in a learning circle that Spring. We listened to each other describe practice and core inquiries, we shared the ideas and approaches that CPCP bases its work around, and we talked about what individuals, communities and fields of practice need right now.

Out of this experience, a direction for CPCP emerged around a new governance and fiscal structure that could be co-imagined with this cohort of artists/facilitators. This new direction will more clearly manifest CPCP’s values and vision while simultaneously expanding CPCP’s perspectives, practices and possible contributions.  

In late Summer 2020, the three former co-leaders, Rebecca Martinez, Shannon Scrofano, and Michael Rohd (who were operating at that time with the collaboration and support of long-time CPCP artist/staff member Sara Sawicki) invited this cohort to join in a process of redesigning how we fulfill our mission, how we set criteria for what work we take on, and what conditions need to be present before we will accept an invitation to collaborate. After the collective re-design, this circle of practitioners joined CPCP as artist-facilitators with a voice in organizational decisions moving forward. This group of practitioners include Mark Valdez, Estefanía Fadul, Anu Yadav, M. Simone Boyd, Ashley Hanson, Quenna L. Barrett and Nikiko Masumoto. 

We are now engaged in an intentional, collective process to build out organizational protocols, priorities and accountability practices.We have committed to a new structure wherein a leadership body that includes these visionary colleagues will make collective decisions for CPCP moving forward. In addition, this group of colleagues now serve as artists/facilitators, doing the work of CPCP in the varied contexts we currently work in, as well as determine new directions and contexts for our collective practices. These artists are leading thinkers and practitioners, and the new circle will collectively learn greatly from supporting work in communities across the nation as we simultaneously reimagine our organization through an internally focused collaboration that centers new perspectives and counsel.

Catalyst project teams will form around these artists and the local community partner with whom they choose to work. Find out more about Catalyst here. 

If you are interested in working with CPCP or learning more about Catalyst or the Leadership Circle, please contact us.