Penguin Random House (PRH) is the international home to more than 300 editorially and creatively independent publishing imprints with the mission to ignite a universal passion for reading by creating books for everyone. With a multi-year DEI strategic plan already in place, PRH partnered with True North EDI in 2021 to standardize the application of a racial equity lens throughout the U.S. Division and equip managers nation-wide with a model for more equitable leadership. Through a highly collaborative design process with PRH’s core DEI team and equity leaders, TNEDI created a series of self-guided video modules for staff members accompanied by a digital workbook and a tool designed to identify areas of possibility and facilitate the creation of equity action plans that center the lens of race as an entry point.
PepsiCo Global Foods R&D is a global food and beverage leader operating in more than 200 countries and territories with a product portfolio that includes 22 world-famous, billion-dollar brands. In 2021, PepsiCo launched a pilot program with a mission of engaging their R&D colleagues in meaningful conversations around Diversity and Inclusion. Topics included: understanding of bias and blind spots, building empathy, allyship, and privilege. True North EDI was a key partner as the company and lead team reflected on the successes and challenges of the pilot program, and used the feedback and lessons learned to refine a second phase of implementation. TNEDI supported this team in developing the art and science of facilitation in a way that led to stimulating and robust conversations and engagement around DEI topics. TNEDI has continued to partner with PepsiCo R&D Community Circle leads to refine the content of their internal trainings and provide targeted support and feedback around facilitation techniques.
Philanthropy New York (PNY) is a nonprofit membership association of more than 280 foundations and corporate giving programs based in the New York metropolitan region. Philanthropy New York provides professional development, peer networking, and conferences for professionals ranging from short panel discussions to multi-part program series and conferences. PNY began working to build a racial equity practice internally in early 2016. At the urging of several members, PNY decided to replicate their learning process in a professional development cohort designed to support foundation staff. PNY engaged True North to design and co-facilitate a six-month-long cohort-based learning experience collaboratively. Following a full-day training provided by Race Forward, True North generated a series of four workshops over six months that combined community-building with deep learning and personal and professional reflection. The courses built participants' understanding of the historical and present-day manifestations of racism in the issues that funders support and included group work to establish goals and action plans around changes they wished to implement within their foundations. In the course of three years and across two different cohorts, fifty participants from various foundations have participated. They returned to their organizations with action plans to begin their racial equity journey. True North's partnership with PNY is ongoing. Between 2018 - 2019, True North supported the organization in reimagining its values. In 2021 and 2022, True North helped the organization build a new Strategic Framework that keeps equity at the center of its work and builds commitments to become an anti-racist organization. True North continues to provide training to Philanthropy New York's Board Committees and working group leaders to guide the development of anti-racist commitments within their governance and leadership work.
Bowery Residents’ Committee Inc. (BRC) is an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of homelessness by offering opportunities for health and self-sufficiency. BRC engaged True North EDI in 2021 for a year-long partnership that paired staff learning sessions with small-group racial equity action planning. The partnership culminated in high-impact executive leadership coaching for BRC’s Executive Management Team (EMT). TNEDI’s coaching model is built around developing a deep understanding of industry-specific equity issues as well as harnessing the individual leader’s unique history and strengths to create equity-centered leadership values and actionable goals. BRC’s 5 year strategic plan, with a DEI-specific addendum, "BRC Beyond 50: Reflecting and Recommitting" can be found here
SIX the musical began Broadway previews on 13 February 2020 at the Lena Horne Theatre and won 23 awards in the 2021/2022 Broadway season, including the Tony Award® for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics) and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. True North EDI partnered with the producers of Six to design and facilitate full-day training sessions for both the Broadway and Boleyn touring casts to build community and develop tools for sustaining relationships through an equity lens. Through the partnership, cast and crew members built an essential toolkit for thriving under the high-pressure environment of Broadway theater.
Milbank Memorial Fund (MMF) is a nonpartisan foundation focused on improving population health and health equity. In 2021 MMF engaged True North EDI in a year-long partnership designed to improve racial equity internally and build capacity to address racial equity both in the Fund’s long history as well as in population health today. TNEDI generated a series of learning sessions tailored to Milbank Memorial Fund’s positionality and focus with the parallel intention of creating a more equitable community within the organization. After the learning phase, TNEDI led the staff through a strategic planning process to help them create a five-year action plan. True North also guided MMF through the Memory, Obligation, Future, Action™ process in order to design a racial equity statement of purpose that acknowledged the Fund’s role in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. That public statement and action plan can be found here.