Note: This event has been postponed. Stay tuned for details from Paru about rescheduling.
What makes a community based organization effective and what are the factors that allow some to succeed over others? Why do we believe that community-based organizations can be effective actors in long-term social change? What do we mean when we talk about purpose in place or community based leadership? Why are some community based organizations better able to identify and develop local leadership and why is developing this type of leadership critical to the success of efforts rooted deep in a community? Join a conversation with two organizations — Somos Mayfair and Firelight Foundation — who are successfully tackling these questions thus advancing the communities they serve. This rich dialogue will focus on how each organization is effectively supporting and carrying out community based efforts, the challenges and opportunities common to each and what they can learn from each other’s local and multi-country/international experience.
Somos Mayfair, an SV2 grantee, is a San Jose community-based organization addressing systemic inequities by supporting children and families and developing local leadership through their highly successful promotores program. Camille Llanes-Fontanilla, Executive Director, Somos Mayfair, will lead the conversation for Somos Mayfair.
Firelight Foundation funds and supports community based organizations that are working towards health, resilience and education of children in Africa. Firelight is also building a new initiative to deepen past support for community based leaders — Africa’s unsung heroes. Africa based Managing Director, Joshua Kyallo, will lead the conversation for Firelight.
When: Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Time: 11:30am – 1:00pm, please bring your own lunch
Place: SV2 office (Sobrato Center for Nonprofits, 350 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 103, Redwood City)
Please RSVP by January 26: paruyusuf@gmail.com
More about Camille and Joshua
Camille Llanes-Fontanilla has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from San Jose State University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications, with a minor in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She has extensive executive management training from CompassPoint’s Next Generation Leaders of Color Program and the Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute. Camille has eight years of non-profit management experience with expertise in resource development, communications, strategic planning, and program development. Prior to joining Somos Mayfair in 2010, she was the Director of Development and Communications for Kidango, one of the largest Bay Area child development agencies spanning three counties with a $28M organizational budget. As the Associate Director of Somos Mayfair, she co-led the development and implementation of the In Our Hands Campaign, re-visioning Somos into an organization that combines the best of traditional family resource center service provision and grassroots community organizing. Camille is excited to continue to move the organization’s community work forward as Executive Director. Camille is committed to working alongside community members to collectively address our most pressing social justice issues.
Joshua Kyallo is Firelight’s Managing Director, overseeing our team and initiatives in Africa. Joshua is a Kenyan-born international development specialist with 25 years of experience providing child-centric, program management, and community-based development strategy across Africa and has been a respected thought partner to an array of regional and international organizations supporting sustainable development on the African continent. Prior to joining Firelight, Joshua was President and CEO of Universal Technology Outreach Community Hubs (U-TOUCH), a non-profit organization whose mission is to transform lives in disadvantaged regions by bridging the digital divide. He also served as the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Text to Change Mobile, a non-profit organization that utilizes technology to support global development in emerging markets. For nearly four years, he served as the Director of Africa Programs at the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, overseeing programs and partnerships across Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to this, Joshua was the Country Director of AMREF Health Africa in Uganda. Previously Joshua served in multiple senior leadership positions with Partners for Development in Nigeria; Save the Children in Tanzania; Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD) in Somalia and CARE International in Kenya. He has also been a University Lecturer in Kenya. He has served on the Board of Directors of UTOUCH, AMREF Health Africa and the University of Cape Town (South Africa).