Antiracism and Economic Empowerment: Remaking Ourselves as More Effective Allies

Date: Monday, December 7, 2020


Where: Virtual! Register online for Zoom link!
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The Vilna Shul, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture, is committed to relevant, compelling programs that excite, challenge and at times, provoke strong responses that lead to action.

Monday, December 7: Antiracism and Economic Empowerment: Toolbox Construction
Led by Nia Evans (with UJIMA team) and Andy Tarsy

Monday, December 14: Organizations Moving to Action: Your own Toolbox Design
Led by Nia Evans (with UJIMA team) and Andy Tarsy

In partnership with Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Jewish Family Service of Metrowest, Jewish Family and Children's Service, Jewish Vocational Service, Facing History & Ourselves, Hillel Council of New England, Falmouth Jewish Congregation, Worcester Jewish Community Center, Temple Israel Boston, Temple Shir Tikva Wayland, Temple Beth Shalom Needham, Action For Post-Soviet Jewry, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters, Jewish Collaborative Services of Rhode Island and Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston.​​​​​​​

Andy Tarsy leads Emblem Strategic LLC, a strategic advisory firm that helps organizations gain advantage by aligning their vision with their values. He is also co-founder of Conscious Customers LLC, a tech-enabled solution to help organizations of all kinds put Black and Latin-owned businesses at the center of their spending. Andy’s work at the Anti-Defamation League earned him a spot in 2007 on the Forward 50 list of the most influential Jewish professionals in the US. He is former President of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute and a founder and past president of the Alliance for Business Leadership. Andy is the recipient of the NAACP’s Kivie Kaplan Humanitarian Award in 2008 and the Max Michelson Humanitarian Award from Jewish Family Services of MetroWest in 2017. The Racial Justice Initiative he led at Boston’s Temple Israel created a purchasing and investment initiative that earned the Union of Reform Judaism’s Irving J. Fain Award in 2018. He is a Trustee of the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology.

Andy trained as a civil rights lawyer at the United States Department of Justice and in private practice, working exclusively on discrimination cases. He is a graduate of Cornell University, George Washington Law School and the Roxbury Latin School.

Nia Evans is the Executive Director of the Boston Ujima Project. Her educational background is in the areas of labor relations, education leadership, and policy. Her advocacy includes a focus on eliminating barriers between analysts and people with lived experiences as well as increasing acknowledgement of the value of diverse types of expertise in policy. She is a co-creator, along with artist Tomashi Jackson, of Frames Debate Project, a multimedia policy debate project that explores the intersection between drug policy, mental health services and incarceration in the state of Massachusetts.

Ms. Evans has a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a Master of Arts in Education Leadership, with a course of study in Leadership, Policy, and Politics from Teachers College at Columbia University. She also studied abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, where she focused on International Labor Relations