Keynote Interview: Christina Chang

Christina Chang, of Christina Chang Equity Consulting, previously headed the Finance, Talent and Administration teams for University of Washington (UW) Advancement for 15 years, with responsibility for the stewardship of advancement’s people, finances, and space. At the UW, she developed a race-conscious strategy for the Advancement Talent Management program that was considered a best practice organization for over 10 years.

In May, Christina and I sat in front of our computer for a rich conversation. As we began, I robotically asked, “How are you?” and she thoughtfully encouraged me to consider my words. “I just read an article about casually asking people how they’re doing during COVID. It’s like asking people who are starving how they’re doing.” 

Immediately, she indirectly asked me to look in my heart. This set the tone for our conversation. 

Tell me about the work you do.

I’m a race and equity consultant for nonprofits, particularly higher ed advancement, working with predominantly white audiences to understand how any marginalized community tries to live in a patriarchal white supremacist culture. Trying to get folks to understand what it feels like to be excluded. 

Race work has to start in the heart. You have to start with yourself. Gain knowledge, build skill, and become an advocate. This work isn’t linear. It folds back in on itself. Everyone is on this continuum, including me. 

You’ve worked in advancement. What did you see or not see that awakened this vision or this calling? 

Yeah, that’s what it was. For me, my awakening began really, really late. When Katrina happened, the inequality laid bare the country’s reality, as is the case now with COVID. But what really smacked me in the face was Trayvon Martin. I don’t have to worry my child won’t come home because he’s wearing a hoodie. The veil was lifted. 

Trayvon started this cascade for me personally. On campus, it was Michael Brown and the Ferguson uprising. UW president Ana Mari Cauce gave permission and advocacy from the top. It’s really difficult to make sustained change without support from leadership. 

I went to two bosses who were 60-something and white, and they also gave permission to do this. I want to reiterate, you can’t make big and sustained changes in institutions without support from the top, particularly if you aren’t majority culture. 

I set about to turn talent management around, into an inclusive program looking through an equity lens. We coded our values. In order to hire strong, you need to recognize implicit bias. In order to retain smart, you need to recognize microaggressions. 

Then we designed the entire talent management program around that. We were able to improve our numbers: 12% racial equity up to more than 20%. We moved the needle but there’s more progress needed. 

Why is this work so important?

There is voluminous research that diversity is profitable, that diverse teams perform better. They’re more creative, more innovative, and they are simply more successful. 

Diversity is destiny. By 2045, the United States will be majority minority. We are moving toward a pluralistic society. If current numbers hold, that’s where we’re going. 

There is sound research that diverse teams perform better. 

You said race work has to begin with ourselves. What do you mean by that? 

You have to dive deep in your heart and figure out why diversity is important to you. Dominant culture values the intellect, everything in one’s brain, how rational you are—it’s about the head. I believe this work must begin in the heart. 

When I work with small groups, I ask them “What do you want for your kids?” You want your kids to be happy, contributing members of society. Do you want to prepare your kids to be able to interact successfully in a racially diverse society? How will you do that? What I hope is that getting them to understand the benefit to their kids is tugging both head and heart. 

Do you care that a fellow human being is being hurt, and systemically undermined at every turn because of the color of their skin? That people are dying prematurely because of endemic racism? Does that matter to you? 

In order to make transformational change, you have to tie heart and head. But I think you have to start with yourself. Understand where your perspective comes from, how your upbringing, your biases, your origin story, shapes your racial lens. In the final analysis, it’s not just “the right thing to do.” It’s good for all of us. My humanity is tied up with your humanity. Your liberation is tied up with my liberation. 

How did the transformation of your advancement office at University of Washington change the way people interacted with donors? 

In the philanthropic space, 72% of giving is currently by white donors, but white generations are getting older, and being replaced by minority donors. The sense in my office was “I care about diversity but I have to secure these white donors now. They’re the ones with the money.”

Peter Hayashida, VP of Advancement at University of California, Riverside, says your organization will suffer greatly if you aren’t cultivating diverse donors today, to prepare for 30 years from now, when today’s alumni will be major donors. 

Advancement is the nexus between student and alum. We are a critical piece to lead higher ed in the shift toward more diverse giving. 

As you transformed your advancement office and went from 12% to 20% racial equity, what changed?

We did all-staff workshops. We budgeted for training and hosted one major training a year. Many institutions stop here. 

We created an equity team with 40 people who self-selected. We met monthly, and over the course of 12 months we were able to break open the stigma—not wanting to talk about race, not wanting to say the wrong thing, not wanting to offend. Everybody knew there was a safe space to talk about race, and thus began the shift in culture. 

We strategically shifted the way we delivered talent management, by taking an equity lens to the work.We need liminal leaders, willing to be vulnerable, transparent, and honest. Ironically, dominant culture tells us: “Whatever you do, don’t be vulnerable, don’t be scared, don’t show your humanness.” WHAT THE HECK? How did we get here? 

How do you get people to take the plunge, to agree to get uncomfortable? 

In moments of clarity, you want to recognize what a privilege it is to say “I’m not going to think about that. It’s too difficult. I’m going to turn away,” because some people don’t have that privilege. It is important to think about what we’re saying when we don’t address it. If you are brown or black in this country, you can’t avoid race, racism and white supremacy. 

For dominant culture, you want to hold up that mirror in a loving way. You aren’t going to get anywhere if you beat people over the head. You get folks to understand that talking about diversity and difference is about embracing that discomfort, sitting with it, like when you exercise muscles you haven’t used in a long while. It’s uncomfortable, right? You also know you’re getting stronger, and that it’s so good for you. Same thing.  

Digging into that, just a little bit more. How do you create a safe place for people to make mistakes? Do you have to ask people to prepare to be offended? 

You have to recognize who your audience is. Vulnerability is different depending on your audience, right? When you make yourself vulnerable, which dimensions of diversity are you speaking to and from? Depending on where you’re standing at a particular time, you’re either a target or an agent of oppression. It’s getting people to embody the work. There’s a lot of power in working with a partner one on one. 

I always prepare the space with ground rules—some call them norms for courageous conversations. We interact with and define the norms. 

What gives you hope that we’re going to make meaningful change? 

I’m inherently an optimist. Glass is always half full. I was blessed with serotonin and that’s a privilege. 

COVID gives me hope amidst all of the horrifying tragedy. This isn’t an equal opportunity disease. It is bringing to the surface everything we knew we would see. We needed an earth-shattering thing like this to bring us out of our stupor. 

I am hopeful because there is no other way to be. Ibram Kendi talks about how humans for 200,000 years lived without this fake construct of race; racism and white supremacy is only 600 years old. We can cut it out, like a cancer, but we must be methodical, unrelenting, and single-minded. This metaphor gives me all kinds of hope. We plan to eradicate cancer, right? My plan is to help eradicate racism.