By Tamara Jolly, Adirondack Diversity Initiative Community Initiatives Manager
“This was a place to come and find yourself, explore, and move forward with a sense of new beginnings. Seeing people who look like me feel so comfortable and excited about the natural world made it okay for me to feel that way too.”
~ Cultivating Community Leaders Participants
My heart and mind are still buzzing from a truly transformative weekend, brimming with community, growth, connection, and reflection. In partnership with the Harriet Tubman Liberation Foundation, and Great Camp Sagamore, I had the profound privilege of spending meaningful time with an extraordinary group of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) women. Our time was filled with deep conversations, shared experiences, and collective empowerment. The retreat not only fostered personal growth but also strengthened our bonds, leaving me inspired and energized. The wisdom and resilience of this remarkable group have deeply impacted me, and I’m excited to carry forward the insights and connections we cultivated together.
The Adirondack Diversity Initiative’s new Cultivating Community Leaders Program emerged from a vital need. As part of ADI’s Sustaining BIPOC Leadership Program, it focuses on women leaders, and individuals with lived experiences as women, who often bear the greatest responsibility, particularly within BIPOC nonprofit organizations. Rest, healing, and wellness are essential for leaders who bear the immense responsibility of managing nonprofits and social justice organizations, while also carrying the long-term effects of structural racism. Leaders deserve a chance to refresh, refocus, and recover. Programs like this invite a shift away from a burnout culture and create a nurturing space for leaders experiencing deep exhaustion — allowing them to benefit from the healing power of nature, particularly the Adirondacks. I am proud to follow in the footsteps of the strong ADI leadership who recognized this gap and laid the groundwork to fill it.
While the goal of this weekend was to pilot and plan for future retreats, it felt hard at times to focus on the future when we were so grounded in the present. The weekend was filled with laughs, hugs, jokes, tears, and the feeling that we were a part of something special. Our bellies were filled with delicious and hearty meals, and our senses tuned into the sights, sounds, and colors of nature. Our bodies and souls were warmed by the fireside, while our visions and dreams were gently nurtured beneath the night sky.
We expressed our gratitude to our ancestors during a moving and sacred libation ceremony, honoring their legacy and seeking their blessings for our journey. We participated in a profound exercise focused on discovering our own True North, guided by the legacy of astronomer Harriet Tubman, culminating in stargazing over the lake. We slowly and mindfully walked through the forest, connecting with and learning about the flora and fauna along the path. The incredible staff at Camp Sagamore even created tailored activities to enhance our experience, including a unique bowling activity aimed at addressing our limiting beliefs, and a compass navigation exercise that taught essential wilderness skills and guided us in finding materials for the evening’s fire.
Tamara, front, joined other BIPOC women for the inaugural Cultivating Community Leaders retreat.
At the retreat, I wrote in my journal:
“Today, I awoke to the beautiful chorus of black-capped chickadees and peered out my window overlooking Sagamore Lake. A foggy mist crawled across its black surface as the sun slowly warmed the crisp air. I took a deep slow breath; feeling it fill my body deep to my toes. I can’t remember the last time I simply paused.”
In the end, it was clear that this program was necessary and deeply impactful to everyone involved. Participants shared that they felt safe, supported, and authentic in the space, which fostered a sense of wholeness and allowed them to reflect, play, and connect with nature. One participant shared a beautiful blacksmith metaphor of feeling forged in the fire and compared it to the feeling of a hand perfectly placed on the small of your back offering gentle support. Themes like respite, reconnection, and reimagining emerged from our conversations and drove our mission moving forward.
There was a palpable sense of excitement as we discussed expanding the program and planning for next year’s retreat. Both participants and facilitators assessed the effectiveness of each activity and workshop, offering suggestions for the future and dreaming about new possibilities for our potential impact. We realized we needed more time to integrate and balance the networking and community-building activities with rest and nature experiences. Overall the weekend filled us with hope and rekindled our commitment to ourselves and one another. It also highlighted the importance of continuing to grow and expand these Adirondack-based BIPOC retreats.
Participants in ADI’s inaugural Cultivating Community Leaders retreat for BIPOC women leaders
To learn more about this and other ADI programs, please visit the ADI website at www.diversityadk.org or contact us at diversity@adirondack.org.
Banner photo courtesy of Great Camp Sagamore
