Organizational Liberation Cohort

OBJECTIVES/INTENDED OUTCOME

The CAELII Organizational Liberation Cohort will increase your leadership effectiveness by:

• HISTORY AND COMPLIANCE: Deepening your understanding of the historic and current complexities of Human Resources and organizational management, and the tension between legal compliance and liberatory practices

• WORKPLACE IDEOLOGIES AND VALUES: Uncover harmful workplace ideologies and examine visible and invisible organizational core values, and learn how these show up in organizational policies and documentation

• POLICIES AND PRACTICE REBUILD: Examine one’s organization handbook and policies, and build new drafted practices that are human-centered and anti-isms.

• CHANGEMAKING AND CONFLICT: Create practices for collective decision making to make policy change, and how to hold discomfort during changemaking.

General Questions

For general inquiries about the application process please contact Lissette Martinez at lissettemartinez@nationalguild.org.

Facilitator

Calida Jones, Co-Founder and Managing Collaborator, Creative Evolutions; Founder and Principal CNJ Associates

Calida N. Jones is an accomplished musician, social justice advocate, entrepreneur, and educator with over 25 years of experience in performance planning, workshop and curriculum development, volunteerism, project management, and teaching in both private and public institutions. Working with arts and cultural organizations nationally, she has led efforts in advance equity, diversity, inclusion, and access. She has built and supported several social change music programs, both in Connecticut and nationwide. Passionate about intentional, purposeful teaching and community engagement, her personal mission is to ensure that children with limited resources have access to musical opportunities and activities. She is also deeply committed to correlating the art of teaching to life skills and community building through the lenses of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. Calida continues to be a regularly sought-after International Speaker, Coach, Violinist, Conductor, and Music Educator. Calida activates her philosophy of community building, inspiration, actionable solutions, and hope through motivational speeches, workshops, and coaching individuals worldwide. Most notably, she recently had the opportunity to speak to over 500k individuals in Amravati, India. There, she shared the “Impact of Kindness”. A TEDx speaker in San Jose, CA, Calida has had the privilege of speaking at prestigious institutions, including Yale University, Yale School of Music, Duke University, the Connecticut State Capitol, and The Hartt School. She has received numerous honors during her career, including a scholar fellowship at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Elizabeth L. Mahaffey Fellowship, Grammy Music Educator Award nomination, the Connecticut Arts Hero Award for the Waterbury region, and the Father Thomas H. Dwyer Humanitarian Award for her work in Waterbury, Connecticut. Recently, Calida was named an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Yale University. In addition to being the Founder of CNJ Associates, she has also recently co-founded Creative Evolutions, a human-centered, adaptive ecosystem that provides actionable Solutions for Creative Individuals and Organizations.  Calida has previously sat on many boards, include the Connecticut Arts Alliance (Board Chair), the El Sistema USA board (Secretary), the Sound Crossings Music Board, and as a councilwoman for the Connecticut State Arts Council.  Calida holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in violin performance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a master of Music degree in violin performance and Suzuki pedagogy from The Hartt School. 

Eligibility Criteria & Selection Process

Successful applicants are:

• Applicants working in community arts education who support the HR, People, and Culture policies and practices of their place of employment. Applicants may be building HR policies for an 501c3, grassroots collective, worker-owned cooperative, etc.  Applicants also may be professionals from allied sectors (e.g., youth development, K-12 schools, mental health) that are working in community arts education.

• Committed to their professional growth by participating in all of the Institute activities, and building human-centered approaches to liberatory work cultures

• Have the support of their organization to participate (if applying as a representative of an organization).

To optimize the learning experience, participation is limited to 2 staff members each from 6 organizations selected through a competitive application process. ​If your organization requires alternative forms of participation, please describe that in the application and adjustments can be made.

Application Questions:

Please review and consider the following application questions. Applicants will be able to share responses in one of the following formats (written, audio file, video, phone call with Guild staff*):

1. What values or organizational priorities make this the right time to join this cohort?

2. What other types of cohorts, workshops, or trainings based in human-centered practices have you attended? What was one significant lesson, policy, or strategy you were able to implement into your organization?

3. What structural (i.e. updating handbooks, organizational priorities and processes, integrating community voice, etc.) or cultural challenges has your organization faced in shifting toward more human-centered practices? How did you address them?

4. What challenges and/or opportunities do you anticipate in continuing to center human-centered practices in your work? How might this cohort help you navigate them?

5. How would successfully addressing these challenges and/or opportunities transform your organization’s impact in the next 3–5 years?

Pricing

Thanks to generous support from philanthropic partners, the full cost of the Institute has been considerably subsidized, which allows a tiered pricing structure.

This equitable pricing model ensures broad access while maintaining program excellence. Organizations are encouraged to select the tier that best aligns with their financial situation and commitment to professional development. Payment plans are available upon request. ​If your organization requires alternative forms of participation, please describe that in the application and adjustments can be made. To inquire further, please contact, lissettemartinez[at]nationalguild.org.

Registration fees cover the following for two staff members:

• Training materials
• Tuition
• Lodging, venue, and select meals throughout the in-person intensive
• Executive coaching sessions post in-person intensive

Applications close on October 22, 2025.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Our cancellation policy is as follows: 

• 75% refund between November 12, 2025 - December 12, 2025

• 50% refund between December 13, 2025 - January 13, 2026

• After January 14, 2026 no refunds, but fund will go towards unfulfilled financial aid requests

FAQ

1. What does the price cover? 

The price covers tuition, including coaching, lodging, limited meals, and transportation to the workshop venue for two people from one organization. 

2. Is there finanial aid available? 

We understand some organizations have limited or no funding for professional development trainings. We have limited scholarships available to our cohort. Scholarship requests can be made within the application and we will do our best to meet your needs including offering payment plans.

3. What if only one staff member can join? 

While this cohort is designed for two staff members from each organization to co-create and support each other through your organization's impolementation of new policies, and strongly recommend a co-learning model, we understand that may not be feasible for every organization. We will  commit to remaining creative and responsive to our community and take requests for alternative methods on a case-by-case basis. If you'd like to learn more or have more questions, please contact lissettemartinez[at]nationalguild.org.

4. What is the time commitment for this cohort? 

This cohort will begin prework in December before the in-person intensive. Our pre-work sessions will be on Thursday, December 11, 2025, 2:00-3:30 PM ET and Thursday, January 8, 2026, 2:00-3:30 PM ET. Our in-person intensive will be in New Orleanse from Tuesday, January 27, 2026-Friday, January 30, 2026. These days will include half days and day long sessions meant to reexamine your handbook and cultural practices in order to leave with an implementation plan supported by two 1:1 coaching sessions and a group session with your facilitator as well as peer-learning sessions between February and March.

5. What do our days in New Orleans look like? 

You can learn more about the curriculum from our info session! Our first day will include check-in at the hotel, and a welcome dinner where we will take the time to meet each other in-person and bond together. Then we'll start each day by 8:30 am with some light breakfast and end at 3:00 PM to allow for rest and reflection. Dinners on day 2 and 3 are on your own. We'll share events and activites that you can partake in as a group and do our best to make sure you can take advantage of your time in New Orleans!  

6. What if I'm interested in the cohort, but I'm not an arts organization? 

While the National Guild for Community Arts Education is committed to supporting arts leaders and arts organizations, we recognize that this cohort can be useful to nonprofits that are closely aligned with our mission. You do not have to be an arts organization in order to participate, but you should be aligned with our mission and values.

7. Why was New Orleans chose for this cohort? 

We intentionally sought a Southern city for this cohort to honor the region's profound history of civil rights and labor movements. We selected New Orleans as our host city for its powerful legacy of activism and to center our learning within that living history.