On Oct. 22, 2024, The Children’s Partnership held the culminating event of its year-long 30th anniversary celebration, For Our Children’s Future: 30th Anniversary Speaker Series, at the Japanese American National Museum in Downtown Los Angeles.
With live jazz music from the Harmony Project, photos by Las Fotos Project and food and beverage from The Aisha Life, guests – past and present partners, colleagues, staff, board members, friends and family – gathered to commemorate TCP’s past three decades of advocacy for children’s health and recommit to partnership in the work ahead.
Featuring a powerful panel discussion with women of color leaders, the evening’s program also included opening remarks from TCP Board of Directors Chair Berenice Nuñez Constant; a tribute to Kristen Golden Testa, who retired from TCP after 23 years of leading our health care policy efforts; and thank-yous from board member James Perez. (Watch a recording.)
The centerpiece of the night was the discussion with our panelists: Shimica Gaskins, president and CEO of GRACE and End Child Poverty CA; Priscilla Huang, executive director of the Center for Asian Americans in Action; and Virginia Hedrick, executive director of the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health. TCP President Mayra E. Alvarez moderated the talk, which focused on partnership and the value of culture and community leadership in addressing challenges to protecting children’s health and well-being.
One of the themes that emerged from the panel discussion was about uplifting community voices in our advocacy work.
“Amplifying community voice…[to hear] the meaningful stories of resilience, of collaboration, of love that is happening in community solidarity. And having community members share their own lived experiences – not having us tell their stories but having them tell their stories themselves – because that opens the door to dismantle the stereotypes that are being perpetuated, to create opportunities and space to build trust in relationships and openness that we need with each other and have that real solidarity. So continuing to educate our communities so they can be advocates for themselves, and be the leaders that they already are, [to] be able to have meaningful impact on policy change and the narrative is really important.”
Shimica Gaskins, President & CEO, GRACE and End Child Poverty CA
“Stories matter, and in particular, my story matters. I did not grow up in a space where we told our personal stories, or we shared what was happening and what we learned from it, so it took me a while to get there. What I try to instill in the policy and advocacy work that I do now, which is mostly working with direct service providers who are at the front lines of the daily crises that our families are experiencing, is that our stories are worthy. A lot of us feel like our stories are not worthy or not worth telling or we don’t have the data. But the stories are the data. That is what is so important. We all have something to share, something to contribute. And there are so many similarities in the families and communities we work with…The power of being seen, and the power of being heard, and how transformative that can be, especially when you’re a part of a community that is often overlooked or misunderstood. That is the future that I hope for my kids and all our kids.”
Priscilla Huang, Executive Director, Center for Asian Americans in Action
“[TCP board chair] Bere made a comment earlier, ‘those closest to the problem are closest to the answer,’ and I think that couldn’t be more true. It’s going to the community and being prepared for an answer you weren’t expecting. American Indian children’s second-leading cause of death is suicide. There are many interventions you could throw at a community to address suicide – and communities are asking for language classes, for basket making classes. They’re asking for investments in rebuilding traditional ceremonial places. And that might not be what the funding structure [of the grant] is for. If you’re going to ask communities what it takes to heal, be prepared for an answer that you weren’t expecting. Be willing to take that answer and be humbled by it. I’m humbled every day by the work that we do in community, and we can’t assume that we have all the answers. Every community is going to be different, and in some ways our communities are going to be the same. It’s shifting the paradigm on what the solutions are and thinking creatively.”
Virginia Hedrick, Executive Director of the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health
For Our Children’s Future: 30th Anniversary Speaker Series was made possible only with the support of our generous sponsors. Thank you to our event sponsors and all who have donated in honor of TCP’s 30th anniversary!
“To everyone in this room today, I want to thank you for being a part of our village,” Alvarez said. “One of my ways of being is something my mom taught us growing up: “Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres.” Tell me who you’re with, and I’ll tell you who you are. We’re in this work together. And we’re so proud to be in this work with you.”
