Note: This letter is in response to a letter shared with FSNE’s Network Leadership Institute facilitators in March of this year.
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August 11, 2020
Dear [names of original letter authors removed for privacy purposes],
This letter is in response to your letter to us on March 6 and does not address any new or different material that may appear in a second version of the letter issued on August 6. We are sharing this letter with all of the original recipients of your March 6 letter and others in our network.
Thank you for the feedback about Food Solutions New England’s (FSNE) Network Leadership Institute (NLI) and your experience in the 2019-20 sessions that you shared with us in March. It was important for us to be able to ask clarifying questions when we were finally able to meet on July 10, despite the scheduling challenges after we sent our first meeting request on March 13 and subsequent follow-ups in May and June.
As part of our process, we consulted with the FSNE Steering Committee and members of the extended network in order to discuss the details of your letter and next steps that our network can take.
Here are actions we are undertaking:
- We are working to be more explicit about FSNE’s lineage and philosophy regarding racial equity, and how that relates to our Network Leadership Institute.
- We will make connections with Black Lives Matter and continue to work with other aligned groups in our host cities and states for NLI going forward.
- We will ensure that expectations and communications are clear on everything from what is covered financially for NLI participants to process and timeline for reimbursements.
- We will explore the possibility of including stipends in the future in circumstances such as, for example, a participant not receiving pay from their employer for NLI convening days.
- We will work to improve NLI participant feedback mechanisms and the NLI program experience overall. This will include actively seeking more ways to remove barriers to participation.
FSNE is a multi-racial network made up of many different people, organizations and groups, all of whom are committed to shared learning and collaborative action, consistent with our long-standing commitment of pursuing racial equity in our food system and weaving that commitment into our activities and programs.
Thank you again for writing to us about aspects of the Network Leadership Institute as we continue to evolve as a regional network.
Sincerely,
Tom Kelly
Curtis Ogden
Karen Spiller
