A SEASON OF GRATITUDE

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

I like to practice gratitude every day. It helps to remind me that while there are always life challenges and disruptions, my life is full of blessings, and for this, I am truly humbled.

During this year’s giving season, our team at Command Shift would like to express our gratitude to the many people who are committed to advancing our mission-- the brave young women of color who are doing the hard work to transform their lives by stepping into tech jobs; our Steering Committee members guiding us into another successful year and the future beyond, as well as our corporate and nonprofit partners, who are tirelessly and passionately committed to advancing and accelerating our work.

We’re also very grateful to NPower ’s senior executive group, led by CEO ☀️Bertina Ceccarelli , and their respective teams, as well as the dedicated Command Shift staff who work long hours across many different projects and activities. Both NPower and Command Shift have recently recruited new employees and we are grateful for the opportunity to do this, and to add their innovative and fresh thinking to our cause.

We are very appreciative of the brilliant insights and perspectives from our research partner, Lightcast , as they inform our strategies and goals and our dedicated PR agency, FINN Partners for their support in amplifying the mission and vision of Command Shift. And a special shout-out to the communications, creative, digital, and government affairs teams who bring our work to life each day. Also, I was very fortunate to travel extensively to conferences, convenings and other meetings where I met so many inspiring individuals, and I am grateful to them for the enlightening conversations and new friendships.

LOOKING BACK ON 2022

All I can say is Wow! Command Shift was launched just 19 months ago, and as I reflect on our many activities and accomplishments this past year, I am truly humbled. We welcomed many new partners this year, including LinkedIn and Juniper, and launched break-through research - The Equation for Equality: Women of Color in Tech. This foundational study helped us to formulate our long-term goal of increasing women of color in tech by 10% over 10 years. We also celebrated our one-year anniversary, and held ongoing dynamic sessions with our Steering Committee members to identify new strategies that will help us reach more deserving women of color and increase our impact. We also had the opportunity to present and discuss our research accompanied by our partner employee perspective at multiple conferences to influential stakeholders- and along the way, recruit new allies and advocates who want to join our movement. It's been such an inspiring year, and we are using this momentum to propel our work and our reach in 2023. 

LOOKING AHEAD 

As we approach 2023, we’re focussed on key milestones and new programming that will raise the visibility and increase the urgency for our mission. We will unveil new initiatives in collaboration with committed partners that focus on ‘activating’ the Equation for Equality in a way that expands our ability to reach more women of color from non-traditional backgrounds, and in doing so, help to expand their opportunities for economic mobility. So please stay tuned by reading this newsletter and following us across our social channels for another vibrant year and successful year.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you and have a happy and healthy holiday season,

Candice L. Dixon and NPower’s Command Shift Coalition