DIVERSITY. EQUITY. INCLUSION.

Social justice is at the root of why Wonderfolk exists. 90% of the students we serve identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), immigrant/refugee and/or LGBTQIA2S+, all of which are eligible for free and reduced lunch.

In our work at Wonderfolk we seek to reframe the narrative and interrupt cycles to give BIPOC youth the same step up ladders to a bright future that their peers are born into. We know the system is unjust. We know there is much work to do. Until we can truly break down unjust systems that actively block BIPOC community access to wealth and justice, and until our systems are rebuilt and reframed with the true history of our country included, we are not free.

Students from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities often have less access to leadership development opportunities due to continuing inequity in resource distribution across systems - including school districts and neighborhoods. Wonderfolk seeks to disrupt this pattern through mentoring, global travel experiences, leadership opportunities, career development opportunities, and college-prep. Our students are brilliant, motivated changemakers and we recognize that where we come from is a part of our strength. Investing in our fellows’ future allows us to enhance the power of our communities. We know that empowering these youth is a sure way to reconnect power to people and places with the most potential to solve the systemic challenges that they face. Youth from underserved communities are often caretakers, connectors and translators in their families. Uplifting them uplifts communities.

We celebrate multiple perspectives. Our staff and board consists of diverse individuals who share lived experiences with our students. Internally, our leadership has undergone regular DEI trainings our partner Empress Rules Consulting. As a result, we have audited and revised our mission statement, website, printed materials, and organizational approach to ensure that DEI is - and remains - at the forefront of our work. This included integrating anti-racist outreach practices in our staff and board recruitment, onboarding, and professional growth. It is critical for Wonderfolk that our staff and board reflect the demographics of the populations we serve. Diversity of race, skills and experience is an essential part of our staff and board recruitment process.

In addition to our staff and board, we work with a Wonderfolk Youth Advisory Board to guide our work; this currently consists of four former participants, who all identify as Black or Latinx women of color. We know that their perspective is essential to making sure we are centering the voices of the communities we serve. They know best what youth from our community need and they are a part of our board and committee meetings and are compensated for their expertise.  We often invite our youth alumni to be a part of our local programs and come back to share their experiences with each year's cohort of youth fellows. 

Externally, our youth co-create the direction of our programming, working with community members and organizations representing diverse backgrounds. For example, our youth co-create murals and work a local artist, Salomeé Souag, who is a queer woman of color and an immigrant in her early twenties, to create the design and install murals around Portland. The themes of Migrant Rights, Black Lives Matter, and Defunding I.C.E. were chosen and the related designs created based on a brainstorm with our youth. This public art is important because it amplifies the youth voice in the city where they live. We believe equity work is amplifying and championing underrepresented voices.