18.3: Building Power, Organizing Our Communities and Moving Money with Taylor Stewart

Taylor Stewart is the Vice President of Organizing Leadership at Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE). Her work centers on developing the leadership of LEE members to build powerful ecosystems in their communities filled with elected officials, policymakers, advocacy leaders, and organized constituencies. In this conversation Taylor talks about what organizing really means, finding that sweet spot between self-interest and community advocacy, and the ways we as a society can become more anti-racist from our office to our policies.

Join this conversation on the intricacies of how to utilize people power to support diverse candidates in the political arena and the strategies to find support and funding for their campaigns.

Episode highlights:

(01:48) - Who is Taylor Stewart? Her background as an educator, a fundraiser, and what brought her to work in Educational Equity.

(06:01) - What does “organizing” really mean?: Giving and shifting the power in communities with intentionality.

(10:08) - Representing diversity in mutual benefit: Finding that sweet spot between self-interest and advocating for a community.

(18:07) - An anti-racist framework: Understanding bias from an internalized personal level to systemic racism. 

(23:26) - Is a white savior complex at play?: How to stop perpetuating harmful systems and actually give power to leaders inside communities.  

(32:39) - Resources, support, and alignment: The biggest barriers and systemic issues keeping diversity from positions of power. 

(38:37) - Vulnerability and the importance of community: Why we need a shift in our mindset and an emotional support system for fundraising.

(44:54) - How to get in touch with Taylor + A shoutout to her favorite nonprofit, Strong Schools Maryland.