ELL 1: What Comes Next? - DEI 2.0 Reimagining the Systems We Need for Shared Prosperity and Belonging

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Experiential Leadership Lab (ELL) Session

About the Program

What does philanthropy’s role look like when the systems we’ve relied on are under attack?

Federal funding cuts have sent shockwaves through the nonprofit sector, and political narratives about waste, fraud, and abuse are undermining trust in vital community institutions.  Across the country, equity, belonging, diversity and inclusion efforts also face renewed resistance—legal challenges, corporate rollbacks, political attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion itself. 

These aren't just institutional challenges. They're deeply personal and moral. Our philanthropic leaders are navigating the space among what they believe, what their boards expect, what their peers model, and what feels politically safe. This moment demands more than reaction—it calls for reimagination.

In this session, we’re co-creating the conditions to discover:

• How to advance economic justice through wealth-building, power-shifting, and participatory approaches in an era of government defunding
• How to return to the heart of DEI—not as performance or rigid strategy, but as a living, evolving practice rooted in imagination
• How politics and public policy influences philanthropy's work. It's worth revisiting the law and how White House actions can (or can't) change what we do 
• How philanthropy must evolve to stabilize our communities and shape what comes next when government—the largest funder of social good—retreats from its commitments

What to Expect

This full-day session is highly interactive and peer-driven. You’ll engage with thought-provoking content from faculty, then immediately connect the content to your own role and organizational context in small facilitated groups of 5 peers. These Learning Peer Groups (with the same 5 peers) meet three times throughout the day, giving you space to:

• Process and integrate what you’re learning 
• Share challenges from your work (or simply listen and learn)
• Give and receive feedback from fellow peers in a safe space 
• Build relationships across different foundation types

The small group format allows everyone to learn from each other’s varied experiences and perspectives.

This is a complete standalone leadership development experience. No prior Lab participation is required, and you’ll gain value from attending this single session. 

Program Flow

Who’s Invited

All Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF) members are welcome. This work belongs to all of us, whether you’re in grantmaking, operations, leadership, communications, finance, board service, or any other foundation role.

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Muneer Karcher-Ramos, Program Director of the Vibrant & Equitable Communities, McKnight Foundation 
Muneer’s work focuses on building a future for Minnesota defined by shared power, prosperity, and participation. He previously served as Director of the Office of Financial Empowerment for the City of Saint Paul, where he pioneered guaranteed income pilots and childhood savings accounts to directly disrupt poverty. He was named a Minneapolis/Saint Paul Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree and a Saint Paul Foundation Facing Race honoree. He earned a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in political science, sociology, and social justice from the University of Minnesota.

Uma Viswanathan, President, Samuel S. Fels Fund 
Viswanathan is a mission-driven leader dedicated to fostering belonging in communities, institutions, and culture. Currently serving as President of the Samuel S. Fels Fund, she previously led New Pluralists, a groundbreaking collaborative where she raised and invested over $40 million to support the emerging field of pluralism, enabling diverse storytellers and practitioners to heal our polarized culture. As a grantmaker at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Uma stewarded over $200 million in philanthropic investments toward racial equity, civic engagement, and cultural transformation. A certified meditation instructor, she earned a BA in psychology and an MA in the history of science from Harvard University.

Anil Hurkadli, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution 
Anil’s research focuses on the evolving role of philanthropy in shaping and implementing policy, AI's implications for communities and how national policy connects—or fails to connect—with local practice. He recently served in the Biden-Harris Administration as Acting Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology, where he led federal AI policy development and released landmark guidance on ethical AI use. His career spans executive roles at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, Teach For America Twin Cities, and Harvard Kennedy School’s Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

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Awale (Wally) Osman, Director of Organizational Learning and Leadership Development for Equity and Belonging, Minnesota Council on Foundations 

Wally leads the Minnesota Council on Foundations’ strategies for advancing internal equity, belonging, diversity, and inclusion (EBDI), as well as efforts to support the philanthropic sector in putting these values into practice through the Equity, Belonging, Diversity and Inclusion Institute (EBDI Institute). The EBDI Institute offerings include the Experiential Leadership Lab, Center for Organizational Learning and Practice, Rural Urban Bridging for Impact, People of Color and LGBTQ+ Community of Practice, learning and evaluation.

About the Lab

The Experiential Leadership Lab deepens your capacity to lead through the complexity of equity, belonging, diversity and inclusion work through quarterly full-day, in-person sessions. Participants engage with thought-provoking content on challenging topics such as governance, investments, and bridging rural-urban divides. In small peer learning groups, you’ll bring real challenges from your context, then give and receive feedback in a supportive environment. You’ll leave with greater capacity to see multiple perspectives, work through discomfort, and navigate the relational dynamics of organizational transformation.

Questions or Accessibility Needs? Connect with Wally!

Email Wally at [email protected].