Unpacking Power and Privilege with Seena Hodges

It is important for each of us to reflect on the preconceptions and biases that we may have about the community before engaging – because when we possess a sense of our own strengths, weaknesses, and values, it will lead to more intentional and beneficial engagement.

We are going to be doing a LOT of unpacking of these concepts today with an incredible human and friend, Seena Hodges AKA, The Woke Coach. Seena is a connector who loves people and is passionate about equity, intersectional feminism and access to brave spaces for all. Seena founded The Woke Coach™ as she witnessed the nation’s awakening to racial injustices. She saw an opportunity to help shepherd people through their transformational journeys. She has dedicated herself to helping clients move from Ally to Accomplice.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Hello friends, Welcome to Redefining Volunteerism, a podcast by hands On Twin Cities.
I'm Tracy Nielsen, the executive directorof hands On Twin Cities, and
i'm your host. I'm so happythat you've tuned in today because we are

(00:36):
having a conversation that is so soimportant, possibly the most important conversation that
we're going to have this entire season, about how we show up in community
when we volunteer. It's important foreach of us to reflect on the preconceptions
and biases that we may have aboutour community before engaging, because when we
possess a sense of our own strengths, weaknesses, and values, it will

(00:59):
lead to more intentional and beneficial engagement. We are going to be doing a
lot of unpacking of these concepts todaywith an incredible human and friend, Sina
Hodges aka The Woke Coach. Sinais a connector who loves people and is
passionate about equity, intersectional feminism,and access to brave spaces for all.
Sina founded The Woke Coach as shewitnessed nations awakening to racial injustices. She

(01:23):
saw an opportunity to help shepherd peoplethrough their transformational journeys. She has dedicated
herself to helping clients move from ALLIto accomplice. So much to talk about,
so let's get to it. Hi, Sina, thank you so much
for being with us today and joiningus for our podcast. Hi Tracy,

(01:47):
it's so good to be here.Thank you for having me absolutely, So
let's get started. So much totalk about. Can even kick off by
telling us a little bit about yourselfand your work? Sure? Sure so?
I Sina Hodges. I am thefounder and CEO of a company called
The Woke Coach. I use thepronouns she, her or hers, but

(02:08):
I just love it when people justcall me Sena. Yeah. So,
at the Woke Coach, our missionis really to help people become the best,
most understanding and empathetic version of themselves, specifically around issues of racism,
bias, injustice, and ally ship. And really we do our work by

(02:30):
moving clients through our flagship program that'scalled from Ally to Accomplice. So essentially,
we want to help folks be betterpeople. We started this business because
people often want to go on ajourney of being more understanding, having and
creating more equitable and inclusive environments,and being themselves more anti racist, but
really having trouble figuring out how toget started in that work or getting to

(02:53):
a point in that work where theyfeel like they need additional support. And
so that's what we do here atthe Woke Coach resolutely. Well, I
just have to say from the getgo that I'm a huge fan and that
hands on Twin Cities partners with theLow Coach and the work that we're doing.
I have gone through from LA toAccomplish twice myself and wish that I
could go through it every single year. So I just wanted to get that

(03:15):
out in the world and tell people, you know, I just love love
your work, and oh thank you, Tracy. I appreciate it. You
know it's it's it's hard work.It's not easy work. I tell folks
all the time. We know,you look at our website, you never
see the word easy. You'll seelots of words, but you don't see
the word easy. But it's importantif we're you know, if we're paying

(03:36):
attention to all the things that arehappening around us. How are we engaging
with each other, How are wehow are we showing up for each other?
You know, how are we makingcircumstances better for people. So it's
really important work. I feel like, yeah, absolutely, I agree,
and I agree that it's not easy, but I agree that it's probably the
most important thing that we can bedoing. So let's talk about how your

(03:57):
work correlates to volunteerism. So,just you know, to start things off,
what role do you think that volunteerismeven plays in creating a more equitable
community? Yeah. You know what'sinteresting when we talk about community and we
talk about equity, it's really ourcollective responsibility, right, volunteerism if you
think about it, because it isour responsibility to use our privilege and our

(04:23):
power and our talents and gifts forfor other people. You know, it's
it's it's our responsibility to do that. And you know, when we talk
about things like privilege and power,I want to be clear, everybody has
some privilege and everybody has has somepower. So it is really our collective
responsibility to use those things for thebetterment of our community. You know.

(04:45):
Also, Tracy, I just wantto name that when I think about volunteerism,
I see it as a service,you know, I see it as
action, and I think we canyou know, we can volunteer to do
many things, but really at ourcore, we should really be volunteering to
make a different in people's lives,which means, you know, the extension
of that is volunteering to dismantle andchange systems and processes that are inequitable,

(05:09):
that that don't serve everyone equitably.So I think it's when we think about
what it means to volunteer and creatinga more equitable community that work is on
all of us. That work iscompletely on all of us. Yeah.
Absolutely, So if I'm an individualand I'm considering volunteering, what are maybe
some basic things that I should considerbefore I get started, like looking through

(05:32):
this lens of your work totally.You know, one of the things I
think it's really important is for peopleto consider what they care about. And
the reason why it's important to considerwhat you care about is because if you
care about a thing, you're moreapt to do it. You know,
if someone asked me to volunteer aroundissues of climate change, I love climate

(05:55):
change. I think we need tochange the climate. I think we need
to do so many things. Butit might not be the thing that gets
me out of bed every day,right, And so the biggest thing that
I tell folks all the time.It's also because you think about all of
the things that are happening in theworld. There's so much right, There's
so much you can't even put yourarms around it. And so I think
what I tell folks all the timeis I use the analogy of like choosing

(06:17):
your lane, what are the thingsthat you care about the most, and
how can you make a difference inthat space? And the reality of it
is that what area, whatever areaof volunteerism that you choose it you know,
if you choose housing or if youchoose criminal justice, those issues also
intersect with education and healthcare. Youknow, so you'll you'll touch many more

(06:41):
things. But it is important thatwe don't get overwhelmed, because I see
people get overwhelmed and to how tofind their way in. And I think
the easiest way to find your wayin is to ask yourself, what is
the thing that I care the mostabout? Because if you care the most
about that issue, it means thatnot only will you show up, but
you're not only will you opt in, but you'll opt in was a greater

(07:03):
level of regularity than you would ifit will assign to you randomly, absolutely
absolutely. UM. So after themurder of George Floyd at hands On fin
Cities and across the world, essentially, we witnessed an incredible number of people
who are looking for ways to engagewith community. You know, we heard
a lot about you know, wewant to focus on social justice. UM,

(07:25):
we want to help support bipoc communities. UM. How do volunteers apply
an anti racist lends to their volunteerefforts and how do they even approach you
know? What does social justice mean? Yeah? You know, when when
we think about you know, issuesof social justice and we think about,
um, anti racism or anti racist, I should say volunteerism. I think

(07:47):
what's important to recognize is where weare in time and what's happening around us,
you know, is what I'll sayanywhere, in any way in you
can show up for other people,just take the opportunity. So let's say
that if you have the opportunity tovolunteer, regardless of what it is,

(08:07):
volunteer, right. I want tobe clear about that. But I also
want to say that, you know, in a state like Minnesota, we
have so many Fortune five hundred companies, right, we have some of the
best hospitals in the country. Wehave this huge bustling arts scene and arts
culture. We have lots of philanthropythat happens here, and that's you know,

(08:28):
that's that's cultural. People just youknow, give lots of money and
a lot of times they talk aboutthe Twin Cities as one of the best
places to live in the US.The reality, though, is that the
data tells a much different story.You know, if you look at the
plight of African Americans in Minnesota,African Americans are worse off in Minnesota than

(08:48):
they are in any other state inmost key indicators of life. And that
means you know, employment, education, criminal justice, juvenile justice, income,
poverty, home ownership, health.I mean, you can you can
look at any any area and youcan see the discrepancy. You know,
look at something like home ownership,look at education, and our African American

(09:11):
kids, you know, faring worsethan other kids across the country. That
means every other state. And sowhen we think about how we show up
for folks, it's imperative that welook at what our problems are. We
look at the things that plague us, and what plagues us right now is
this disparity and this inequity. Andso when we're thinking about how we do

(09:31):
the most good, which I'd seeas the mantra of volunteerism. As we
think about how we do the mostgood, that actually means that we have
to show up for the folks thatactually need our help. You know,
if you if you look at somewherelike Minnesota, the black poverty rate is
like five times higher for black residentsthan white residents. Right, It's the

(09:52):
numbers tell a different story. Andso when we know better, we can
do better. And we know thatwe have inequity, we know that it
exists. So it's really important thatwe take a moment to really think about
that as we're thinking about how we'reshowing up for other people. Because this
inequity is its exponential it's it's reallyvast, right. And also, if

(10:16):
you want to just be honest aboutit, race it's one of those things
that's it's a social construct, ofcourse, but it is like our original
sin. It's a thing that plaguesus the most. It's also the seat
of our assumptions. You know,Oh geez, this bill in Georgia has
just unearthed me. You know,the reality of voter suppression at that level,

(10:39):
and it's you can't tell me it'snot rooted in race. It's rooted
in a racial construct. So manyof the inequities that exist are rooted in
racial constructs. So it is importantthat when we're thinking about how we're showing
up for others, that we arereally using an anti racist lens to really
show up to do the most good. Absolutely complex systems that have been deeply

(11:01):
rooted in our community. Totally,totally. I mean, I'm sure you
have these conversations every day about howto encourage people to be better, to
do better, to think about thingsin different ways, and also thinking about
um, you know, then theother nonprofit organizations and businesses that you work
with, and really encouraging them tosee these disparities. We can't pretend that

(11:24):
we don't, and I think that'sthat's what harming us more than anything,
it's just pretending that it doesn't exist. Yeah. Absolutely, absolutely, Well
that's one common mistake. I wantedto talk about other other things, but
you know, sometimes can be misstepsfor volunteers when they're attempting to show up
in community. You know, Ithink, like you just mentioned a bit
of reflection, So like before youshow up, Like, what are some

(11:46):
other things that that we should beaware of as we're showing up in community?
Yeah, you know, I thinkthe number one thing is somehow we
have the tendency sometimes to believe thatthe way that we do a thing is
the way that a thing should bedone right, and that that really leads
on, you know, centering yourselfin someone else's process. And the way

(12:09):
in which that's harmful is that becausewe feel like we do a thing a
certain way, we feel like it'sthe right way, you know, air
quote to do a thing, andour way of doing things might be very
different from other people's. You know, for example, my sister and I
we grew up in the same household, and the way she cleans her kitchen
and like our and the way wediscipline kids, and it's it's completely different

(12:33):
things. So to just assume thatthe way in which you do a thing
is the way that it should bedone is wholly incorrect. And the reality
is that the mistake of showing upwithout a sense of humility is a challenge,
right because when we go into placesand spaces, it's really our responsibility

(12:54):
to listen to folks. It's reallyour responsibility to understand what their needs are,
and it's our responsibility to act intandem with what they're telling us they
need, as opposed to just goingin and thinking that we know better and
doing things and changing things and movingthings around. So really not centering yourself
in the volunteerism process. And ifyou can think about, you know,

(13:16):
volunteerism as being used, you know, being a vessel for work, I
think that's that's an important thing becauseyou're there to serve other folks. It's
not about you in that moment.So if you can forget that and you
know, forget that you know orremember that it's not about you in your
work, I think that's important.I also think the other thing that folks

(13:39):
do that is harmful is not doingyour research. You know, it's really
important to fully understand the mission,the vision, the values of the organizations,
or quite frankly, just the peoplethat you seek to work with.
So so what do you know,what have you done in order to be

(14:01):
in that space. Some folks thinkthat volunteerism is just purely showing up,
but that's only a part of itbecause the other thing about it is what
we want is for folks to createextended relationships. And if you're creating extended
relationships, that doesn't mean that youjust show up this one time and do
this one thing. It means thatyou have done some research, you know
how to not center yourself, andyou show up repeatedly and you develop a

(14:24):
relationship with these folks and you're understandingwhat their needs are as articulated by them,
right, and you're you're serving them. I think that's important part of
it. Yeah, absolutely, relationshipbuilding building trust. You know, I've
had people ask, you know,I live in a suburb, I you
know, most of the people thatI surround myself with, or that are

(14:46):
in my faith community or these youknow, like we in Minnesota, we
can tend to surround ourselves in suburbancommunities with people who look like us.
So they're like, how do I, you know, attempt to diversify my
friend group the places that I'm spendingtime all of those And you talked about
relationship building, but maybe you couldjust touch even more on like how to

(15:09):
build trust in a really authentic way. And if you are in you know,
a suburb of the Twin Cities,or even if you're in the center
of the city, but you havea very homogeneous friend group and life.
You know, how do you enhancethat? I would say totally. I
think it's going back to those coreissues that you care about. It's also

(15:31):
examining how we show up in theworld. Where do you buy your groceries,
you know where, what places ofworship do you attend? What businesses
are you supporting with your dollars.It's so easy to start to diversify those
things, the things that you donormally, naturally every single day. How

(15:52):
do you do those things a littledifferently? How do you shop in a
different place, How do you buythings from different people? How do you
buy you know, black owned businessesor businesses that are run by people of
color. How do you diversify thatright? How do you just start going
to other places that you haven't beento before. We are, you know,
we are creatures of habit I getit, and we're also very busy,

(16:15):
and we're also still in the middleof a global pandemic. I get
all of those things. But thereare ways to think about the ways in
which you engage with the world andjust kind of switched and shift those a
little bit. So it is umit's possible to shift those things. Also,
I think it's really important that weare run by our curiosity, and

(16:37):
so what does that mean. Itmeans that the things that we're most curious
about are the things that we willmost deeply engage in the things that we
will most most deeply research and kindof garner information about. And so lead
with your curiosity as well, becauseit's it's important that we are finding out

(17:00):
up as much information as we can, that we're engaging in ways that make
us feel like we are a partof things, because that's the other part
of volunteerism is that you want tofeel like you're a part of a thing.
You don't want to feel like you'rethere for the day and then you
go away and you don't ever comeback. Like I said, it's about
trying to develop these relationships. Andour relationships, you know, all of
us are just the some of ourlived experiences. And so what that means

(17:23):
is that if you're trying to buildtrust with communities and you're trying to figure
out how to show up differently,it means that you have to have different
lived experiences, and so how doyou carve those things out for yourselves.
Yeah. Absolutely, one of thethings that I wanted to touch on,
and you sort of mentioned it asyou said, like, don't go in
and start moving things around. Imean, I've had explosive arguments about how

(17:47):
a dishwasher should be loaded. SoI totally got that. Goodness your sister
doing things differently, But I wantedto acknowledge sort of a bit about the
power dynamics. So we work witha lot of corporate volun tears, you
know, um, and there islike a difference between the nonprofit world the
corporate world, those kinds of things. Can you talk to me a little

(18:08):
bit about like this dynamic of powerand how to sort of acknowledge that near
experience. Yeah, you know,it's the reason why I talk about entering
places with the sense of humility,because this is you know, one of
the things that we have to rememberalways is when we go into um places
and spaces, even in support ofother people, we are guests, right.

(18:32):
So in the same way that youwouldn't go into someone's house and start
rearranging furniture. You don't go mother, let's you're my mother now, just
kidding you, you know, shejust puts stuff back in different drawers,
but it's okay, she is.Yeah, that's different. That's different.
That's different. You have a youhave a familial connection and you know each

(18:52):
other. But honestly, when weare when we are in service of other
people, we have to approach thatwith the sense of humility because the worst
thing, you know, that couldhappen is folks come in and volunteer and
then after they leave the staff it'slike, oh, thank goodness, they're
gone. Now let's move all thestuff back where it really goes, you
know what, you know what thatto be the case. You actually want
to be helpful. So it meansthat you have to show up, and

(19:15):
even if you're the CEO of acorporation, you have to show up in
a listening and learning mode. Youdon't get to show up as CEO here.
This is not your this is notyour role here. Your role here
is one of service. And soit's important that we're able to switch those
gears. But it's also, toyour point, important that we just can
name that that we can name thatyou know in this space, you are

(19:37):
a guest in this space. Theseare your responsibilities. We so appreciate having
you here, and we thank youso much for your time. But this
is what it looks like because thisis what we have articulated that we need.
So please help us, you know, do the things that we need.
Absolutely, And I think you know, we've talked a little bit about
sort of this idea of like thesavior mindset, you know, and and

(20:00):
not exploiting community. Um, howdo we continue to sort of approach the
idea And you know, like againgoing back to the fact that we work
with a lot of companies and theyhave great intention and it's like you want
to share the good work that you'redoing. You know, we all love
posting photos on Instagram, and youknow, like we can leverage our social
power to also try to inspire peopleto take action. But there's probably a

(20:25):
balance on that. Right, Ohmy goodness, here's a thing. Nobody
is saving anybody. Like That's that'sour reality. We cannot go into places
and faces assuming that we are thatwe are saving people and that people should
be exponentially grateful for our health.That's if that's why you feel like you
need to volunteer in order to takea selfie or to make people understand that
you did this great thing for them. That's not that's not your role.

(20:47):
I would encourage you to not volunteer. How about that? How about you
don't volunteer if if you think thatthat's what it's supposed to be, it's
it's back again to that sense ofhumility and how we show up in a
way where we're ready to listen andlearn, and how do we also understand
what folks have articulated that they needfor themselves. You know, I talk

(21:08):
about when you're when you're talking about, like, you know, how to
educate yourself in order to go andshare time and space with folks. One
of the things that I'd like totalk about is if you're applying for a
job. You go and you usedto your application or your resume, and
they call you up and they say, hey, we want to have an
interview. What do you do?You go on that website and you scour

(21:30):
that website from top to bottom.You have read every news article you can
find. You know everything about thatbusiness. If it's a nonprofit, you
know who's on the board. Ifyou're super savvy, you've looked up the
guide star and you even know howmuch money you can ask for. You
know, but people nerd out onthat kind of stuff. And that's fantastic,

(21:51):
It's really fantastic because when you goin that interview, you know absolutely
everything, right you mission, vision, values, everything. And so what
I'd like to remind people if thereare issues that we care about that's the
same thing. Let that same levelof curiosity kick in. How are you
applying that same type of learning toyour volunteer efforts? How are you going

(22:14):
in as prepared as you can possiblybe, knowing everything that you can because
you know, the other thing thatfolks always talk about, Tracy is how
many questions can I ask? Andcan I ask? Why I see you
know? And no one is eversaying that you can't ask questions, And
let me say that a different way. What we're saying is that the burden
of your learning should not be onthe people that you seek to serve.

(22:37):
So they shouldn't be burdened with tryingto help you figure out and understand their
practices and their policies and and everything. You should come there with a level
of understanding because that's your role thatyou're in the same way, if you
wanted that job, you would goand you would find all that information volunteerism
is service, so go seek thatinformation. And once you've come there with

(23:00):
a level of understanding and information,then it's okay to engage and ask questions.
But it's not okay to come toshow up they want asking the most
basic questions because you didn't even botherto do a quick Google search, right,
I know? I love that.Can we just repeat that the burden
should not be on the people thatyou're seeking to serve. I just I
think that's a new way of thinking. You know, like many of us

(23:23):
to show up and we're like,hey, they told me to be here
at five o'clock and here I am. I going, Please don't do that
to people, because it's annoying tono end to feel you know, for
folks to feel like volunteerism isn't actuallya planful, thought out thing. It

(23:45):
is. It's planful, it's thoughtout. There are expectations because even when
you show up, there are specificsabout things that you have to do.
So someone has put some thought intoit. So if you're going to show
up and put some thought into it, you would not show up at any
other place is unprepared. You're like, this is not the theater and the
theater, you can just show upand sit in the theater and say,
you know, impress me if youwant, right, But this is not

(24:08):
the theater. This is not theatricalby any sense of the word. It
just means that you have to showup prepared and it's not anybody else's responsibility
to ensure that you know all thenuance once you get there. Absolutely,
And can I just take that onestep further? So there is like knowing
about the organization and the experience.But you know, we talk all the
time about a deeper sense of learning. So like we've uncovered so much going

(24:32):
through our work with a little coach, just about historical inequities and you know,
the history I mean of the TwinCities. I mean, what's happened
in the Rondo community in North Minneapolis, redlining. I mean, there's a
lot to learn. Talk to usabout how to even scratch the surface of
that. Oh my goodness. Yes, you know, in that place and

(24:52):
space of research that you do whenyou're finding out about the organization. I
think one of the questions that weshould always ask ourselves is why why is
this service even necessary in the firstplace, Because if you start to ask
yourself the why question. Then youstart to do the kind of research that
helps you have a better understanding ofhistorically why that organization or institution is even

(25:15):
necessary. That's that's the way Iwould tell people to engage with that is
always ask yourself the why, becauseyou know so you're right tracing. We
do get caught up in the partof volunteering and being present and being there
and doing it, and it doesfeel good to give back. But I
think also contending with the why isreally important as you as you seek your

(25:36):
volunteer opportunities and you're about to engagewith folks, Please know why, Yeah,
know why they're there, and knowthe history of that. That that
history is really important because if welived in a society that was fully equal,
a lot of these places would noteven exist. So the sheer fact
that they exist means that there isinequity, and so always do your work

(25:56):
to trace back you know what,where the inequity came from? The German
nation of that, yeah, Imean yeah. Some of my most mind
blowing conversations with you, you know, start with like why do nonprofits even
exist? I mean, and ifyou, like you said, they exist
because of these inequities. Yeah.Yeah, and also you know, sometimes

(26:17):
people that whole concept of white saviorismthat you were talking about and wanting to
to save people, and it's it'spervasive, and we have to really question
and look at ourselves. We haveto understand the history and why we got
here and why these things are necessary. And we also have to do this
deep examining of what our role isin helping to fix these inequities because it

(26:41):
is our, like I said,our collective responsibility. No one gets to
say that well as I don't know, there's those people over there, right,
No, there's no such thing asthose people over there. We're all
here together, So it is ourcollective responsibility to create better circumstances. That's
we just got We have to dothat absolutely. I think one of the
most powerful things you've said to me, and it's just like, continue to

(27:03):
not opt out, you know,in the light of frustration or you know,
challenges or understanding, is just thatcontinuing opting in every day to the
work, because it's just that important. It is. It's so important to
make sure that you are opting inevery day because it is an active choice,
which is why I also say topick things that you absolutely care about.

(27:25):
Because if it's so hard to optin every day, if you're only
lukewarm about the issue, if you'reon fire about it, that needs to
be the place that every day you'refired up and you have to opt in
every day. And I think youknow, as we start to, as
we continue to, I should say, look at all the things that are
happening around us right now, thetime is now to be exponentially engaged.

(27:48):
If you haven't moved to action aroundanything by now, I can't imagine what
the hell you're waiting on. Idon't know what it is you need to
bear witness to or what needs tohappen. We are we are in a
place right now where folks, youhave to opt in. You have to
opt in. There's there's no waythat I'll say it this way. For

(28:11):
everything that is going on in theworld, whether it's voter suppression, you
know, looking at criminal justice,looking at law enforcement, we all are
impacted by something. And that's thethat's the thing that I wish people would
just recognize we're all impacted mostly byall of it. But if we want
to just be very singular in ourthought about it, we are all impacted
by something, and if we cantake a moment to figure out what that

(28:34):
is and see how that has impactedus and really opt into doing something to
dismantle it or to change the circumstancefor someone else, that's that is the
work. We don't get to justoccupy um space because like it is,
there's a moral imperative. I believewe all have a moral imperative to lead

(28:55):
this place a better place than wefound it, any place for that matter,
which is why balin terrorism it's importantbecause you go and you leave the
place better than you found it whenyou got there. So yeah, absolutely,
I know. I mean it justmakes me feel fired up, inspired,
and I hope that this conversation,you know, does give people that
feeling. You know, we've allmade mistakes. I've made many mistakes in

(29:17):
my life and haven't always approached thingsperfectly, and I think it's, you
know, not letting those mistakes thatI've made define what I do going forward.
Absolutely, you know, we allmake mistakes. And that's what I
tell folks all the time about abouttheir anti racist journey. You're going to
make mistakes. There's there's no waythat I make mistakes. We make mistakes

(29:38):
all the time. It happens.It's a part of who we are.
But you will only make mistakes ifyou're opted in, and so opt in
and here's the deal. That's whatapologies are for. That's what authentic apologies
are for. Yeah, absolutely,well, Cina, I could talk with
you all day, every day forever, but tell us about how people can

(30:00):
continue to learn and where they canfind out more information about you and you
know, yeah, sure sure.So we are the Woke Coach and our
website is the Woke Coach dot com. And we are at the Woke Coach
on Instagram, on Twitter, andon Facebook. And you know, we
really love to work with folks whowant to be better and do better.

(30:23):
One of our values is that welove our clients. If not, they're
not our clients. So it's true, it's true. Which is why you
and I, you know, worktogether so well and have for so long
is we feel like it's really importantthat people want to bring their whole selves
to this work. We feel likeonce people say to themselves, you know,
we're going to create a more inclusiveand equitable environment, that it's really

(30:47):
important that you have a support systemthat can help you get there. So
we want to help folks be thebest version of themselves. We want to
kick racism in the teeth absolutely andbeyond. You know, like kicking in
the teeth is not enough, wereally want to bury it once and for
all. Oh gosh, Sina,well, I definitely you see the progression

(31:08):
that our team is making with youand encourage anybody to go out and learn
more about the world coach and continuetheir anti racist journey. We're so grateful
for your partnership and all that youdo for our community and just can't thank
you enough. Oh my goodness.I love the folks over our hands on
Twin Cities. You all are amazingand I thank you for trusting the work
Coach with your journey. We've beenthrough a lot, and I think it's

(31:30):
been it's been amazing. It's beenamazing. More to come, more to
come. We're getting better every day, right, yeah, every single day.
Oh, thank you so much,Sina. Thank you, huge,
huge thanks to Sina for taking thetime to sit down with me and have
this conversation. The wealth of knowledgethat she possesses and her inspiration to opt

(31:52):
in every single day is so powerful. This topic is so important to Hands
on Twin Cities because as an organizationthat sits between volunteers and community, we
need to ensure that we're not causingharm and that we're providing opportunities like this
podcast for all of us to reflecton our intentions and the way that we

(32:13):
show up. Our organization is committedto providing you with ongoing learning opportunities,
so check out the notes for theepisode and our website hands on twin Cities
dot org for some creative upcoming partnershipsand trainings. Also check out theocoach dot
com and follow Sena on all ofthe social platforms. If we all start
where we are and commit to doingbetter and not opting out, we can

(32:37):
create a community where every person cantruly thrive. Thank you so much for
listening. For more information about handson Twin Cities and to follow us on
social media, heads to our website. Redefining Volunteerism is the production of Matriarch
Digital Media executive producer, twil theDay producer and editor Beth Gibbs, and

(33:01):
special thanks to Sarah Edwards, GraceMcAvoy and Ella cochrane. From some great
people. Let's get out there andsee the change. Together, we can
build a more equitable and thriving community.