What does it mean to build a culture of care? This month, we answer this question as we say goodbye to our outgoing Director of Mindful Operations & Finance, Lindsay Majer, who shares her experiences and reflects on her growth during her eight-year journey at Tzedek.
In this episode, Lindsay opens up about the complexities of crafting people-centered policies that align with organizational values and withstand legal scrutiny. This candid conversation offers a glimpse of the struggles around identity, privilege, and trust innate to equity work as we examine what it truly means to create and maintain an organizational culture of care.
Tune in for an inspiring discussion and heartfelt farewell as we honor Lindsay's contributions, spirit, and service. We are honored to call you colleague and co-conspirator in this shared pursuit for a more just and equitable world.
We'll see you same time, same place next month. Until then, peace.
What does it mean to build a culture of care? This month, we answer this question as we say goodbye to our outgoing Director of Mindful Operations & Finance, Lindsay Majer, who shares her experiences and reflects on her growth during her eight-year journey at Tzedek.
In this episode, Lindsay opens up about the complexities of crafting people-centered policies that align with organizational values and withstand legal scrutiny. This candid conversation offers a glimpse of the struggles around identity, privilege, and trust innate to equity work as we examine what it truly means to create and maintain an organizational culture of care.
Tune in for an inspiring discussion and heartfelt farewell as we honor Lindsay's contributions, spirit, and service. We are honored to call you colleague and co-conspirator in this shared pursuit for a more just and equitable world.
We'll see you same time, same place next month. Until then, peace.
Speaker 1:
We're profoundly, profoundly interconnected. We don't always live that way, we don't always acknowledge it, but if we're going to heal, we have to live it, experience it and create institutions that celebrate it. Can we create a we where no one's on the outside of it?
Speaker 2:
Welcome to the Uplift with Zedek Real talk for real change. Before we jump in, a quick reminder of why we're here and what we hope to achieve. We're here to build authentic community relationships and help fuel social transformation in Asheville, north Carolina. We believe collective liberation is not only possible but probable as we share, listen and learn together. We're here for the process. However, the views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent. Welcome to the Uplift Real Talk for Real Change. I'm Michael Hoban, director of Communications and Zedek, as well as your host today, and I am joined by Lindsay Major, our outgoing Director of Mindful Operations and Finance. Lindsay, thank you for joining us. Hello, hello. So, lindsay, can you share a bit about your Zedek journey? It's like eight years, yeah.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, yeah, I joined Zedek in May 2016. Is that right? Yeah, may 2016. So almost exactly eight years. And I was hired as Administrative Support assistant.
Speaker 3:
I believe was my title, and Zedek was actually the Zedek Social Justice Fellowship and actually it wasn't even the Amy Mandel and Katina Rodas Fund yet it was just Amy funding this program. The fellowship was a program for emerging leaders, mostly young adults, entering into the social justice field. Amy wanted to and I'll say Amy, because it was really Amy's brainchild wanted to provide skill building, connecting, networking opportunities and experience for these leaders coming into the social justice field. The idea was the organization gets capacity, gets a staff member, gets you know human resources and the person coming in gets work experience and training and skill building and all of those things. So that was what it was.
Speaker 3:
When I came along, Really again, I was a support person. So we were doing the fellowship program and we were hiring more staff. The Mandel Foundation, which manages Amy's assets, manages Amy's trust, said hey, you have all this staff. Now this is becoming an organization you need to incorporate. That's what we set out to do and I had never been involved with that process. Yeah, I remember meeting with lawyers. My eyes would just cross.
Speaker 3:
Then, like, things started happening. And then it was like, okay, now we're a bonafide organization, we need a budget. And so I worked to establish our first budget and then I started. You know, it's like, ok, well, now we have staff, we are an organization, what's our mission statement? What's our vision? I remember sitting down with staff and I think Desiree Attaway was our facilitator and just really trying to nail out a mission statement.
Speaker 3:
And again, if you've ever been involved in creating an organization, it's like, yeah, it's wordsmithing, but it's really a lot of okay, what exactly are we trying to do here? And then, of course, along came the need for policies, everything from benefits policies Now we have a staff, what kind of benefits are we offering? Pto policy, what happens when you're out sick? Who do you need to report to All of those things?
Speaker 3:
And so there was a bulk of my time for many years where it was just creating policies. You know, libby likes to say clarity is kindness. And it was interesting because we were also at the time examining as an organization how we perpetuate white supremacist values, and if you're familiar with those, one of them is worship of the written word, you know. So here I am writing all of these policies and we're learning about different aspects of white supremacy, but ultimately, clarity is kindness and it's helpful to know in staff are asking questions about things. Policies are important so that you can be consistent across everyone in the organization and not treat people differently or treat people based on your own bias. So really I think policies are a tool for equity.
Speaker 2:
No doubt. So this is your background, right? We're talking about. You're working in your wheelhouse, or is this? You're just learning and juggling as you go?
Speaker 3:
Oh no, I'm totally learning as I go. I have a bachelor's degree in geology and not human resources, not operations, you know. And I also have some work experience. And of course we all know that, yes, college degrees are helpful, but they are only so helpful or they're not irrelevant.
Speaker 2:
But these are major skill sets. Entire departments devoted to.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, right. So to answer your question, no, I don't have any experience in human resources and so, needless to say, I had imposter syndrome. I'm searching online. Okay, well, let me just find a template. Yeah, so I'm looking online for these policies, looking for templates, hopeful that I can plug and chug copy paste.
Speaker 3:
But when you really read the fine print of a lot of policies, they center the employer. So not only do they center the employer or the institution, but they're also punitive, oftentimes, where they don't extend the benefit of the doubt, the employee is guilty until proven innocent. So you kind of read these policies and I was like this doesn't align, this doesn't fit our organization. And so what I would have to do a lot of times is I would read maybe five different templates or examples and just extract different pieces and then hobble together Zedix policy integrating language that we use as part of our culture and working more to center the employee versus the employer. Yeah, I mean I was writing all these policies and, like I don't even know if these pass muster you know, major imposter syndrome.
Speaker 3:
So I did have an attorney review all of our policies and boy were they redlined. Lots and lots of track changes on those policies. I remember talking to her on the phone saying we don't believe in that, that doesn't fit our culture, and she'd say I understand, I understand your intention, but this doesn't hold up in court. And so really the conversation was more okay. What are all of the things that have to hold up in court? Okay, well, we're going to include that in the first paragraph and then we're going to add a second paragraph.
Speaker 2:
So it sounds like you're kind of reverse engineering people-centered policies, which is really innovative, yeah, yeah. So, lindsay, you have seen a lot of iterations of Zedek. How has your understanding of social justice or equity work changed over? This time it's hard.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, there's a lot of infighting. Yeah, it's kind of sad and shocking. There's a lot of well, you don't know, because you don't identify as, or you don't look like me, you're not with me or I. Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2:
I hear you since you started. Do you feel like your voice over time has been less and less welcomed or accepted?
Speaker 3:
yeah, I guess, to answer your question, how have I viewed social justice in the past eight years? I think I can really only speak to my own journey. You know, and I think it's more a matter of me examining my own well, identity, privilege position, how I show up, how I step up or step back as someone who comes from privilege or you know, being a white woman from privilege, or you know being a white woman, educated English speaking on and on and on. When I'm in a diverse setting, I do sort of hold back because I don't want to center myself. But then it's like oh, we want to hear your voice, you have something to say?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I hear you. So if you could go back to your first day here, what advice would you give yourself your first day here? What?
Speaker 3:
advice would you give yourself? Don't sweat the small stuff. Don't sweat the small stuff. I think this is really hard work and to keep the big picture in mind. Even today, I notice I get really amped up, anxious, irritable about small things that I have no control over, Big or small. My partner's family is in town. I have no control over what they say or do, but I have to go along with it, right? I'm reading the news. I have very limited control over what's happening here or there in our country abroad. You know, I find I get really stressed out, hung up about what I can control and what I can't control. Yeah, Don't sweat the small stuff. Do what you can. You're only one person. Keep the big picture in mind.
Speaker 2:
And even that's hard right.
Speaker 1:
Because I'm like okay.
Speaker 2:
I'm only one person and yet there's so much I can do and I can burn myself till there's nothing left. And sometimes in this work it feels like I mean, there's a need, there's a need that maybe I can fill or maybe I can help, and it's not always helpful to the self or anyone else.
Speaker 3:
Really, that's just it. There's always going to be something that needs to be done and there's only 24 hours in a day. Do what you can. Take precious good care of yourself.
Speaker 2:
Great advice, all right, so let's talk about Zedek. Be honest, because you can be. If you could change one thing about Zedek right now, snap of fingers, what would it be and why?
Speaker 3:
Are you setting me up One thing that I could change about Zedek? Okay, here's the good one. If I could change one thing about Zedek, I wish that we could receive more than 5% of our funders' assets. Right now, our annual budget is 5%. The investment company that manages that that's the limit they have drawn. Amy in the past has really pushed for increasing that to maybe 8% or 10%, and it's always a hard no. So if I could change one thing, I would want to free up more of that money, because there's a huge need.
Speaker 2:
Okay, if you could change another thing about Zeddy.
Speaker 1:
Another thing he said one.
Speaker 2:
Yes, I'm messing with you, but I'll focus it more on kind of who we are and how we move with each other, with community.
Speaker 3:
Sure, I mean, maybe this isn't changing one thing. But as I leave, my hope is that we can maintain a culture of care for each other. I know I've worked really hard and even alongside former staff as well is to really have a work culture where you actually want to go to work, where you're sitting at a staff meeting and you actually deeply care about the person sitting next to you, that you accomplish your work not just because you have deadlines but because you want to deliver. Your co-workers depending on you, the community is depending on you. So that's your North Star, not just kind of slugging along and going to work.
Speaker 3:
I think over the years I've seen that really ebb and flow, where there's been moments of yeah, this feels really good, where you know we're all kind of in that flow, we're all high-fiving each other, we're getting work done, we're getting money out into the community, we're funding individuals, we're funding great work doing really good things. Of course, there's also times where it just piles on and it gets to be too much and it keeps you up in the middle of the night. All of our fuses become a little short. Of course that's going to happen. Of course it is, but my hope is that we can come back to the core, come back to being grounded, come back to again keeping the big picture in mind. Yeah, just maintaining that culture of care for each other.
Speaker 2:
Fortunately for me, I have you kind of like ingrained in my head tape. It used to be my mom, but I've done a lot of work to change that up. I think one of the biggest gifts that I've heard repeated over and over from you is pause, this push to just slow down. Without that intention, risk of harm is exponentially increased, to the self, to the team, to community.
Speaker 3:
Yep, well, and you know, michael, when are you most creative? When you are feeling overwhelmed with your to-do list, constantly responding, reacting, things happening. It's no, we don't have time to think creatively or be innovative or respond with patience, love and care, and I understand pausing is a luxury, but it's one of the more important things that we can do. Yeah, to pause, take a breath, get our feet on the ground and move from that, that place, rather from a place that could potentially create harm.
Speaker 2:
Oh no. What do you think you're going to miss most?
Speaker 3:
Oh, of course I'm going to miss the people the most. Don't be surprised if I drop in on a Wednesday at noon. I'm also going through my emails and say, okay, you know I'm going to, I'm going to take this email with me, I'm going to take this email with me and so, yeah, if you're listening to this and you want to stay in touch with me, please, please, do, please reach out. I think that's always the hardest thing. Over the course of eight years, you meet people you know and, yeah, of course it's professionally, but on some level you connect with them and have shared an experience with them, and it's always a little strange just leaving your job and then never seeing that person again. I mean, asheville is a small town, I suppose, but still not. Just not acknowledging that, hey, we have this shared experience together or always makes for something you know fun to talk about If you do run into those people is kind of.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, there's a connection. Yeah, that's right. Do you think that, even leaving Zedek, that you'll still find ways to kind of plug into a local social justice scenes and movements, or do you need a break? I mean understandable, for real.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I, you know it's in me, Like I know I'm always going to be doing something to work towards a more just world. I don't know exactly what that looks like. I kind of have inklings of staying involved, staying connected and using my skills to contribute to, yeah, more thriving Asheville. Yeah, I don't think that that's something that I'm ever going to walk away from.
Speaker 2:
So what's next for you?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, what's next for me is something that I've done the entire time that I've been at Zedek these past eight years and I teach yoga. I'm a certified Iyengar yoga teacher and so when I leave Zedek I will continue to teach. It's kind of been one of the most constant things in my life actually is my yoga practice as well as teaching. So I'll probably do more of that and we'll see I might also do a little freelance copy editing, content editing on the side. I might do some consulting. Some folks have reached out to me to review employee handbooks, review policies and kind of just have that eye, have that perspective of are these were truly aligned with our organizational values, kind of just making myself open and available to do that, which is a little scary and unknown but I trust. I trust where it will go.
Speaker 2:
You mentioned yoga. Is there any connection, like foundationally, between yoga and social justice?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, 100 percent. The goal is liberation. The goal is liberation and kind of breaks my heart a little bit. How most people perceive yoga in this country is something that only a small demographic of people I mean. Let's be honest, it's a multi-billion dollar industry and it really, really saddens me. But yeah, I mean the goal. The goal of yoga is liberation and there's so much suffering, you know, in our bodies. You know our bodies are aching, our minds are overwhelmed, our minds are suffering, and so the goal of yoga is to relieve that suffering. You know, of course, the postures that we're all familiar with help to relieve some of that physical suffering. The breathing, the practice, the philosophy helps to relieve, provides, I should say, provide tools for us to calm our brain. And they say the fluctuations of the mind, or minds, is always fluctuating. That's ultimately the goal of yoga is to liberate ourselves from that suffering.
Speaker 2:
So you're still doing the work. You've been doing the work, you're just shifting up a little.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, yeah, I mean, I always appreciate when a student comes up to me and says that's just so transformative, or your classes have just changed my life, and I'm like, can you say more what you know what, how? So? And they don't always have the words, but it's just, I just feel less stressed out, I just feel less overwhelmed, I just feel which has nothing to do with stretching your hamstrings, right. So when I, you know, hear from students that it has those kinds of benefits, I get really excited and hopeful.
Speaker 2:
Is there anything different in terms of a practice when you're working with like trauma?
Speaker 3:
Oh for sure. Yeah for sure, I don't necessarily work specifically. I mean there are classes that are specifically trauma informed, that require a lot more training, which I don't have. But yeah, there's a organization called Lydopath and they work a lot with veterans and veterans who have experience or are experiencing PTSD. Yeah, I mean, there's a whole field or specialty within yoga that is specific for trauma informed and the goal is really again, healing right Healing and liberating ourselves from that suffering. You know you can't attend a yoga class and expect your teacher to do all of that. I mean, as we know, it's really an inward journey and requires a lot of work. It requires us each to do the work for ourselves, but ultimately for the world. Sometimes I'll thank my students for coming to class, not for my sake, but for the sake of the people who are in their lives, on behalf of the people who are in your life. Thank you for coming to class today and thank you for taking care of yourself.
Speaker 2:
I'm guessing that you have relied on these tools often in doing this work.
Speaker 3:
Oh yeah, for sure, for sure.
Speaker 2:
You see any avenues for community healing? Is this something that is this individual level work? Is it possible to do this together, with yoga being part of that?
Speaker 3:
Yoga definitely builds community. It's been really sweet to see you know. I'll start teaching a class and people will come, people will go, but as regulars start to come, they set their mat up next to a stranger and then the next week maybe they'll see them again, and the next week they'll see them, and week after week. Finally they start to get to know each other and I've seen, you know, over the years that I've been teaching. I've seen students become good friends with each other and bring each other food when they're sick, go shopping for them if they are unable to. When I first started teaching, I never anticipated the community that would happen inside the class level of individual work. But when you come to class it's more fun to come and be in community and see each other and do it together. So I think, to answer your question, it's both really personal but also involves being in community with others. And so, yeah, I do think that there is opportunity for healing in the social justice community with yoga as a tool for that.
Speaker 2:
What's kind of beautiful there is that you get to opt in. You just have to be someone who's like I, want to do yoga. We're getting in like in community here. I mean it could be nearly impossible at times, so that's really beautiful. It's just the desire to be part of. Lindsay any final words?
Speaker 3:
It's anything left unsaid.
Speaker 2:
Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 3:
Well, Michael, I don't want this to be goodbye it won't. I really appreciate talking to you and having my voice as part of Zedek's podcast series.
Speaker 2:
Lindsay, thank you so much for being here. Yes, lindsay, thank you so much for being here. Yes, you will continue to live on right in the audio world, as well as in our hearts and in our work.
Speaker 3:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
Thank you.
Speaker 3:
Likewise.
Speaker 2:
Okay, wnc, in honor of Lindsay, we're leaving you with a song from Low Wolf. To me, this song beautifully speaks to the spirit and ethic Lindsay brings to her work and world. Like water, she can be everything from calm stillness to a raging hurricane, but she is always flowing towards justice, liberation and healing. With deep gratitude and sincere admiration, lindsay, thank you for being part of Zedek and this community. You will be missed and you are loved. We'll see you same time, same place next month. Until then, peace.
Speaker 1:
Let me be like water fluid and forgiving. Let me be like water. Let me be like water. Let me be like water. Let me be like water. Let me be Like water. Let me be like one lying on the water. Let me be like water. Let me like water. Let me be Like water. Like water, let me be Thank you, let me be. Let me be, let me be like water. Let me be like water.
