Speaker: Jacquelynn Y. Orr, DrPH, FACHE, Senior Program Officer, Health, The Kresge Foundation
Introduce yourself by sharing your name, organization, and title.
Jacquelynn Y. Orr, DrPH, FACHE: Hello, I'm Doctor Jacqueline Orr, Senior Program officer with the National Health Team at the Kresge Foundation.
Why did you engage Tracey and Indigo Innovation Group, and what were the critical areas that I helped you focus on?
Jacquelynn Y. Orr, DrPH, FACHE: There was a decision between a colleague and I in my previous role as program officer and research evaluation and learning with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that we wanted to engage a coach after experiencing and navigating a very difficult situation internally and externally with a grantee partner, and based off of that, we had an opportunity to interview a number of individuals and Tracey and her group were included in that, and based off of the interview and our discussions with her, we thought it would be best to engage Tracey and Indigo and Innovation Group to do that work for us. And so, having the opportunity, and I think critical areas that we were able to address during that time were based off of individual and group learning. So, for me, I think it was an opportunity to address internal and external conflict management, as well as my approach and responses to the situations that I was experiencing, and given that we had the engagement for an extended amount of time, I was able to work through a lot of those critical areas with Tracey's help.
What expertise did I bring, and what was unique about working with me?
Jacquelynn Y. Orr, DrPH, FACHE: Tracey brought a number of different experiences, as well as skill sets and expertise to the table in our engagement together, and I think what was really important and foundational was the fact that Tracey had experience in philanthropy as a black woman practitioner, and bringing that experience to the table and many of our discussions really helped me because there were certain things that I didn't have to explain, Tracey just got it because of her experience and also from hearing from others that may have also faced some similar experiences within philanthropy. So, I think it was really helpful for me, and it was also unique that I had this black woman helping navigate through difficult situations that may not have come across otherwise had I chose to interview or engage with another group, and I'm really grateful for that because it wasn't just coaching, it was also thought leadership, and so, Tracey really challenged me to think differently about my approaches and responses to things, and for that, I was really, really grateful.
Highlight specific achievements, challenges overcome, and our collaboration's value to you and your organization.
Jacquelynn Y. Orr, DrPH, FACHE: I believe that there were achievements and challenges that we were able to overcome on an individual and group level. I think first having the ability to move this work ahead that we had with our grantee partners was probably the highest achieve, the the most important achievement that we had in the work, and the ability to move the work ahead without fear of retaliation internally or externally was a great feeling because we had ensured by coaching, by through the coaching, we were able to actually address land mines or any issues that may come up in a timely fashion and address those in a way that probably would not have happened without Tracey and her team's support in that space, and I think it also, for me individually, it allowed me to be in the spaces that that I was in and bringing my full self and not minimizing myself because of some of the tensions that actually existed previous to us bringing Tracey in as a coach, and so, this also helped me individually transform my thinking, especially around impostor syndrome and a lot of the stigmas that may exist in our own heads as a result of not thinking that we're good enough when in reality we really are, and we have to take some of those things away to be able to be our full selves in these spaces and get the work done in a fair and equitable way. It also, and this may sound a little hilarious, but I think it also, like working with Tracey and the team, it helped me keep my sanity and my job so I could focus on doing the work and not necessarily be in an emotional state as a result of some of the things that were coming up during the work. So I'm grateful for them to help us achieve moving ahead in the work and then also overcoming some of those challenges that were personal and also, we found as a group hurdles that we had to climb.
Provide inspirational words you would like to share to invite others to work with me and Indigo Innovation Group.
Jacquelynn Y. Orr, DrPH, FACHE: Grow into your best selves. The world needs you and Tracey and the team can actually help you grow into your best selves. Tracey and the Indigo Group are definitely a blessing. If you've been stuck in a rut, they will definitely get you out of that rut, but you have to be willing to do the work and sometimes shovel out yourself, but you can't remain stagnant because the world does actually need you and your skills and talents. So grow, be your best self, and enjoy Tracey and the team.
