The Coco Canary Newsletter
May 2024
Summary:
Exciting news! We have a big Community-Based Participatory Research project starting this summer with Sully Moreno and Public Health—Seattle & King County. In this project, we will use our creative evaluation, community engagement, and arts-based methods skills to co-lead community-led research! We will also share our usual social justice grounding, other exciting business updates, and personal updates!
A Social Justice Grounding & Calls to Action
News
- Justice for Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker: All six former ‘Goon Squad’ officers sentenced for violent civil rights offenses in Mississippi
- All Eyes on:
- Palestine: As of April 30th, 2024, nearly 35,000 (possibly closer to 45,000) Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and nearly 78,000 are injured (OCHA). There are also 474 dead and 5000 injured Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem (OCHA). For those not keeping up with Palestine, here is a timeline of events leading up to Israel’s Rafah offensive.
- Sudan: “It has been over one year since the outbreak of conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Sudan has become one of the world’s worst humanitarian tragedies and one of the largest internal displacement crises globally.” Read the UNHCR Situation Report here
- And the list goes on. Attacks on civilians in DR Congo, concern over conviction of trade union leader in Cambodia, gang violence in Haiti.
Calls to Action
- Read The Guide to Partnering with Native Nations in a Good Way: “Are you interested in collaborating with Native nations but don’t know where to start? Or, do you have an existing partnership and want to learn how to be a better relative? We created this guide to share best practices for partnering with Native nations in a good way. Developing meaningful partnerships shows respect for both sovereignty and elected leaders. When you follow a nation’s processes for outreach and engagement, you affirm Tribal sovereignty.“
- Watch Standing Up For Racial Justice New Inspiration Video: Have you ever wondered, “How do I talk to other white people about racism?” Watch SURJ’s video More in Common to learn more and consider joining one of their trainings for how to do just that! I’ve done their trainings, and look forward to volunteering my time to chat with other white folks!
- Apply for the Headwaters Foundation for Justice’s Giving Project: Interested in volunteering your time for something truly special for 6 months? Consider applying for The Giving Project, a cross-class, multi-racial, and multi-generational cohort of community volunteers who come together to move money to BIPOC-led organizations that focus on systems change! It is hosted by the Headwaters Foundation for Justice. I did this cohort in 2021, and loved the experience. Feel free to reach out if you have questions!
Image from Headwaters Foundation for Justice
Business Updates
1. NEW PROJECT with Sully Moreno and Public Health – Seattle & King County
I am so excited to share that I’ll be working with Sully Moreno from Culture Shift Consulting again! After getting 4 rejections on Requests for Proposals we wrote together, we got a HECK YES on our 5th one. I say, “HECK YES,” because we didn’t even need to go through an interview process—and that rarely happens. The project will likely start in June or July, and I’ll share more once the project has started. But here’s a sneak peek: We will be working with Public Health – Seattle & King County for the next year to lead Community-Based Participatory Research, community-led engagement, arts-based facilitation, and audience research! I so look forward to giving you the full update once the project is in full swing!
2. Facilitating Arts-Based Methods Workshops with Ava Yang-Lewis from ACT Research
I am also excited to share that I’m co-facilitating arts-based methods workshops with Ava Yang-Lewis from ACT Research! Ava is an independent researcher and evaluator and works a lot in the philanthropy space. One of her clients funds youth development programming, and the grantees had shared they wanted to learn how to collect data using arts-based methods. So, Ava and I are going to co-facilitate a 2-part workshop:
Part 1: Teach three arts-based methods and help grantees design a pilot evaluation using one of the methods
Part 2: Come back a month later to check in on how the pilots went and make needed adjustments
This project will end in July. So, I’ll give a project update later this summer!
Other Business Updates
- In March, Molly presented about Creative Evaluation & led an Arts-based methods activity at the University of Minnesota for a Program Evaluation class in the Humphrey School! You can read the whole story here.
- Molly will present on Creative Evaluation & Arts-Based Methods at the Visitor Services Association’s Annual Conference in St. Paul on July 18th. It’s going to be a good time! If you are interested in attending, consider registering for the conference.
- Molly will be OOO starting May 13th and will return in early June (see the personal update below for the reason why).!
- I have space for one (maybe two) more projects in 2024. Reach out if you want to bring me into a current project or if you have an RFP you want to include me on!
Personal Update
Minnesota Spring Vibes & Molly is getting married! 😀
On May 19th, I will marry my lovely fiancé, Michael. Over 100 friends, family, and beloveds are joining us from all over the world (one friend is coming from Finland!!). I think it’s going to shape up to be a really great party. Something I am so looking forward to is our Child Parade. Instead of having one flower child, we’re inviting all the children to be a part of our procession, and it’s gonna be cute AF! After the big day, Michael, me, and some friends will go up north to rest and rejuvenate on the shores of Lake Gichigami’s (Lake Superior) shore! I’ll share photos in the next newsletter. 😉
Above are images of our magical transition from winter to spring, and below are image descriptions from top left to right.
Image 1: A photo of over 25 people joyfully circling around a maypole with colorful ribbons in hand! In May, I went to a Beltaine and May Day event at Anam Cara in South Minneapolis. It was the first time I had ever been a part of a maypole ceremony, and it was so fun!
Image 2: A photo of Molly and her friend posing with a bowl full of morel mushrooms they foraged earlier that day
Image 3: Molly’s friend sledding down a snowy hill with a big smile on their face!
Image 4: Molly performing with two friends at a Queer Variety Show in South Minneapolis.
Let’s Stay Connected!
To keep up to date with my business news, connect or follow me on Linkedin. Don’t forget to follow our newsletter below! And, of course, if you know of anyone who may benefit from our Creative Evaluation services, send them our way. Referrals are what make the world go round.
In solidarity,
Molly O’Connor (she/her/hers)
Founder, Principal Consultant, and Creative Evaluator
direct: (612) 868-0364
email: moconnor@cococanary.com
website: cococanary.com
