"Around the same time, a local music education nonprofit, Willie Mae Rock Camp, founded in the 2000s and named after legendary blues singer Willie Mae Thornton, was looking for an executive director. When Sci was asked to put her name forward, she declined. The music camp's model didn't chime with her. After some encouragement, she pitched her alternative vision: more electronic music, more tech, and many more children of color. Impressed, the board appointed Sci in June 2020."
"In 2020-in the midst of the pandemic and at the height of a resurgent Black Lives Matter movement-a window of opportunity cracked open for leaders of color in the nonprofit sector. Alongside grief in families' homes and anger on our streets, change was in the air. People of color nationwide rose to the helm of nonprofits-often for the first time in their careers."
LaFrae Sci lived in Flatbush as COVID-19 emerged and the neighborhood endured both the pandemic's first wave and Black Lives Matter uprisings. Sci was appointed executive director of Willie Mae Rock Camp in June 2020 after pitching a vision centered on electronic music, technology, and increased inclusion of children of color. Since becoming executive director, Sci led a fourfold increase in revenue and youth participation and opened a Creative Sound Lab. The events of 2020 created opportunities for leaders of color to assume nonprofit leadership, spur new organizations, and attract corporate commitments, though philanthropic interest later declined and DEI initiatives faced backlash.
Read at Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
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