Alisa Osunfunke Orduna

Like the journey of truth through Octavia Butler's Afro-futurist worlds, I have found my stride and renewed hope in the homelessness response sector by transitioning more and more into working with frontline, middle, and emerging leadership staff in homeless service organizations.

Too often us old timers neglect to create space for leadership cultivation and training.

We expect passion to transform into sound supervisory skills, conflict mediation, even fiscal management and contract management.

We expect essentially strangers or long time peers, to align values, outline communication practices, agree how to disagree, and articulate a shared vision out of written contractual goals - all while "doing the work".

Leadership, inherent in the work at all levels regardless of titles, requires support and intentionality beyond what HRs are trained to do as even a diamond needs to be molded to shine.

I am grateful for supportive mentor bosses like Gloria Guard, Kelli Bernard, Ana Guerrero, Brenda Shockley, Jannie L. Blackwell and many colleague-friends who have invested in me. Not every lesson was or is easy to learn, but in hindsight they helped shape how I move today.

Thus grateful to be in a position to give back and support this generation, putting their all into great work. The greast gift is witnessing someone reclaim their own power and space at the end of our time together; however many takes there are.

BTW, this fabulous collection of Octavia Butler's books are at the new Hollywood-Burbank airport bookstore. I don't know who the buyer is, but totally impressed and did some early Christmas shopping. 🤗