The Coco Canary Monthly Newsletter
February 2021
Welcome to the Coco Canary Newsletter!
If you’re new here, read this section! Otherwise, skip on down.
Hello from Molly O’Connor, the CEO, and founder of Coco Canary Consulting, LLC (CCC), an evaluation & communications firm.
We are based in St. Paul, MN, and we acknowledge that we are on stolen indigenous lands. Home to the Santee Dakota and Anishinaabe people. These people were the first stewards of the lands we occupy, and they are still here. We honor their connection to this land and their ongoing resilience in the face of violent colonialism.
You may ask, how do social justice and racial equity relate to evaluation or communication? Well, from our experience, we have seen evaluations designed and communications reported in ways that harm, undervalue, and take advantage of the communities being served. This is our current status quo, and it is not okay. It has to change. This is why we do our work differently because we want to be apart of the solution, not the problem.
Please visit Community Centric Fundraising for more information. It is a new movement that has inspired thousands (including Coco Canary) to do better. For extra credit, visit Consulting With a Racial Equity Lens too.
Business Updates
- Fresh, New Photos For My Website. Thanks to Jamais Vu Photography!
I am excited to share the first of many new photos of me taken by the talented Deja’ Jendro from Jamais Vu Photography. With a new website on the horizon, and a few marketing opportunities (presentations at conferences mainly), I decided it was time to hire a professional to take photos of me in action! I would highly recommend Deja’ to anybody (and no, she doesn’t do weddings!). Talented, humble, and a lovely all-around human being (also very respectful about COVID precautions). Here is a sampling of the photos she took of me at The Coven – Downtown Minneapolis location building (now moving to their new South Minneapolis location!).
2. Creative Evaluation – Learning How To Build Art & Equity Into Evaluation Practice
I feel so fortunate to be taking a Creative Evaluation class by the talented and locally-renowned Nora Murphy. CEO and co-founder of Inspire to Change. I, as well as nine other people from all over North America, will be spending the next eight weeks learning:
- About Creative Evaluation’s roots and purpose, its guiding principles, its theoretical framework
- The thirteen essential elements for leading CE&E
- With other purpose-driven change-makers who want to disrupt “business as usual” in philanthropy and evaluation
A big part of my practice has been unlearning the ways and harmful traditional evaluation systems that I was taught in graduate school. Because much of what I learned was and is based within white-dominant culture and, even with the best intentions, can often perpetuate white supremacy.
This is why I feel excited about taking Nora’s CE&E mini-course. Her methods were made for evaluators and artists who want to challenge the status quo—those who wish to center their practice on equity and justice. Also, come on, who doesn’t want to have more art in their professional life?!
Other Business Updates
Outer Experiences: Black Life in Rural and Suburban Minnesota
The African American Interpretive Center of Minnesota (AAICM) has a new exhibit hosted by the Minnesota Museum of American Art! I attended their virtual event yesterday (which was AMAZING) and would highly recommend attending their next event AND visiting their exhibit (visible from outside)
Also, if you haven’t heard of the musician and artist Nur-D, then check them out! Especially the song Black Kid, White Town.
The Remember Project In The News!
Our Remember Project Team was interviewed and highlighted in the the WEAU News in Wisconsin. Check it out here!
Bemidji State University George Floyd Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund
A colleague from BSU shared with me an opportunity to give to the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship. This money will be awarded to an incoming BSU freshman or transfer student with a demonstrated commitment to community service and who is a person of color. The official day of giving has passed, but you can still donate at this link!
New Website Launching in Mid-March, & Partnering with General Assembly
Fun news! I connected with General Assembly for some pro bono user experience (UX) work through my connection with SEED SPOT. They teach coding and UX boot camps and often partner with small businesses to give their students real-world experience designing or developing websites. I’m going to have students create a wireframe for my front page. By next month I’ll have the beginnings of a new website. So excited!
Personal Updates
Before
After
DIY Basement Room Remodel
If you follow me on Instagram (@mollycoconnor), then you already know that I (as well as my partner and roommate) have been knee-deep in a basement remodel. One room, which is a hangout and office space, needed a revamp. We took out a drop ceiling, wet drywall and discovered that our foundation wall has a cartoon mural from the 1940s painted on it! If you’re curious to hear all the details, go to my Instagram page and watch the video updates under the “Basement Remodel” highlights.
Let’s Stay Connected!
To keep up to date with my business news, connect or follow me on Linkedin. Don’t forget to follow my blog, as well! And, of course, if you know of anyone who may benefit from my services, send them my way. Referrals are what make the world go round!
Be well,
Molly O’Connor (she/her/hers)
CEO – Evaluation & Communications Specialist
direct: (612) 868-0364
email: cococanaryconsulting@gmail.com
website: https://cococanaryconsulting.com/
Justice for Andy Retic, Josh Cooper, Jaylin Rice, and so many more.
