Are you a mid-level or executive manager seeking a more grounded course of study to support your organizational shift to an anti-oppressive working philosophy?
Let me rephrase that:
As a mid-level or executive manager, you'd better be seeking a more grounded course of study for anti-oppressive leadership! The days of the mandatory half-day Cultural Competency training with a pat on the back and a "good luck and do your best out there" will no longer cut it. You are no longer allowed to check boxes, sustain White Comfort, and minimize the experiences of your Black and brown employees.
You have a responsibility to curate an equitable environment. This is your chance to get it right and sustain a culture steeped in evidence-based scholarship and applied praxis.
Yet, here you are...
Exhausted
Terrified
Stalling
"The gap between wanting to do and needing to do this work is only as dire as your commitment to equity.”
-Wanda Swan
The A.B.L.E. Institute wants to help close that gap by offering a space that allows for the unraveling of anti-oppressive and anti-racist belief systems. Together we will identify common oppressive habits, connect them to larger systemic conditioning, and dig into just why White Supremacy is everyone’s default (yes, even mine)!
We currently offer two arms of engagement:
1. The #PracticeLiberation Academy
2. The Anti-Oppressive Advocacy® Certification.
INTRODUCING...
Anti-Oppressive Advocacy® Certification
This 12-month curriculum provides White-identified and/or White-assimilated managers an interactive learning hub comprised of the four main components of the Anti-Oppressive Advocacy® framework:
- +Examining The Impact of Culture
- +A Racialized History of the Strategy of Whiteness
- +Oppressive Strategies in Human-Centered Industries
- +Developing An Anti-Oppressive Lens: A Praxis
What’s Included
Each quarter learners will join other decision-makers across the country in unraveling personal and professional barriers to liberation. Guided by Wanda and her team of Institute Facilitators, learners will receive:
Monthly self-guided introductions
to each subtopic
A workbook/digital folder
of content for further application
Weekly engagement opportunities
to connect to a trademarked curriculum, reading and thoughtwork
Anti-Oppressive Coaching
from Wanda Swan
Access to a library
of self-guided trainings on various off-shoots of White Supremacy.
Three months of your learning experience
dedicated to structural change within your sphere of influence with the help of a technical assistant provider.
“I had the pleasure and benefit of working alongside Wanda for a number of years, so I have seen her powerfully connect, help, and heal others firsthand—and time and time again. Candid and brilliant, Wanda sees through the blinders, bias, and BS, both in people and in organizations. And that’s what you want! She approaches the work with both skill and talent, with candor but without meanness or harm, despite the painful, personal places anti-oppression work can and must go. Her time is worth every penny, and your team (or just yourself) will leave motivated and transformed. “
cara b.
“I am profoundly grateful to have met Wanda nearly a decade ago when we became colleagues at Vanderbilt University. In our time working together -- and in the years since, as friends -- we have had many challenging conversations about oppression, patriarchy, white supremacy, the list goes on...and how they impact every part of our professional and personal lives. Through every conversation, I've found myself belly-laughing one minute and invited to re-think problematic assumptions the next. Wanda is compassionate and kind. She does not shy away from taboo subjects (critical as my work was in sexuality education!) and messy truths. She's real and cultivates a space where everyone can be real, too. Learning from and with Wanda has been transformative for me.”
bridget c.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here’s a Recap!
What’s Inside the Anti-Oppressive Advocacy® Certification
Guided by Wanda and her team of Institute Facilitators, learners will receive:
- +Monthly self-guided introductions to each subtopic
- +A workbook/digital folder of content for further application
- +Weekly engagement opportunities to connect to a trademarked curriculum, reading and thoughtwork
- +Anti-Oppressive Coaching from Wanda Swan
- +Access to a library of self-guided trainings on various off-shoots of White Supremacy.
- +Three months of your learning experience dedicated to structural change within your sphere of influence with the help of a technical assistant provider.
Additional resources include:
- +The Certification Program Library
- +Come Get Your White People Podcast Discussions
- +Monthly trainings and special guests
- +A Community portal for connection and engagement
