Advocating for Yourself to Advance Equity and Inclusion in Services for Survivors

Guest: Kenyatta Grant, Co-Director, Shoulder to Shoulder

Host: Dr. Froswa Booker-Drew

For this Aspiring Leaders Lab podcast, we speak with Kenyatta Grant, Community Organizing Coordinator at West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Kenyatta has worked for the last two decades to lend her voice in support of victims and survivors of domestic violence and has led many efforts to eliminate racism and promote equity in service provision. Kenyatta and host Dr. Froswa’ Booker-Drew discuss the importance of personal values, passion, building a network of support, and self-advocacy. Tune in, get inspired to build your leadership, and bring these ideas back to your organization.

Learning Objectives:

· Apply personal values and passions to take leadership in advocating for survivors of intimate partner violence.

· Explore ways to advocate for yourself personally and as an advocate to address gaps in culturally sensitive services for survivors.

Guest Biography:

Kenyatta Coleman Grant is the Community Organizing Coordinator for the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WVCADV). Ms. Grant joined the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence in 2001. Since then she has been a passionate advocate for social justice, change and equality. In this time at the WVCADV, she has been the Criminal Justice Specialist at the where she focused on statewide coordination of the Batterers Intervention Prevention Programs (BIPPs), collaborating with law enforcement agencies and coordinating statewide trainings. Today she is the Community Organizing Coordinator where she is responsible for educating and raising awareness of domestic violence in marginalized communities such as communities of color and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning and Intersex (LGBTQQI) community. Ms. Grant coordinates and facilitates culturally specific trainings on anti-oppression, implicit bias, diversity, cultural competency and awareness to statewide domestic violence advocates, law enforcement and other non-profit agencies

This podcast is part of the Supporting Organizational Sustainability, SOS Institute, a project of Futures Without Violence. ⁠We offer resources, technical assistance, and professional development⁠.

This project was supported by Grant No. 15JOVW-21-GK-02206-MUMU, awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.