Description: 

Many nonprofit leaders carry something into the room that doesn’t show up in their resume: the experience of being the first — first in their family to hold a professional role, first in their community to access certain spaces, or first in their organization to lead from a particular identity. This webinar names that experience directly and explores what it means to lead from it — not despite it. Participants will examine how identity and lived experience shape leadership style, organizational culture, and the way we carry authority. This is not a workshop about overcoming your background. It’s about understanding what you already bring. 

Topics of Discussion: 

How first-generation and lived experience identities show up in professional leadership contexts. The difference between managing identity in the workplace and leading from it. How your background shapes your relationship to authority, hierarchy, and accountability. Organizational dynamics that can activate imposter experience — and tools for navigating them. Connecting personal leadership identity to organizational culture and team dynamics 

Who Should Attend: 

Nonprofit professionals who identify as first-generation, who have led from lived experience, or who are navigating the tension between personal identity and professional authority. 

Facilitator Bio: 

Dr. Rigoberto Marquez is a first generation professional and comes to CNM with powerful educational and professional experiences at the intersections of inclusion, equity, access, integrative learning, and transformational change. He brings over 20 years of experience leading projects, programs and system change at the intersection of professional development and community engagement.  A Los Angeles native, a lifelong public-school student and a beneficiary of community and public programs. Rigioberto is deeply committed to cultivating partnerships, fostering inclusive learning cultures, and advancing civic involvement and engagement across the Los Angeles region. He received his PhD from UCLA’s School of Education and Information Studies, and has held faculty positions at Stanford, Columbia University and at UCLA Center for Community Engagement.