Statement of Gratitude
We, as white folks, acknowledge that we could not do the work we do without the support and scholarship of the countless people of color who have witnessed, documented, and critiqued whiteness and the system of white supremacy for centuries before us. And we personally could not be doing this work if it were not for our friends and colleagues of color challenging us to look inward and understand our own complicity in the dominant white culture. Thank you for your labor and trust in us to continue to grow and share our truth.
Our Mission
Our mission is to engage, educate, and empower white senior leaders who want to transform the dominant white culture in their organizations. We accomplish this mission through executive strategy days, intensive leadership retreats, and our Fearlessly Anti-Racist Masterminds.
We believe that organizational change is a critical first step in disrupting systemic racism in our society. We guide organizations through transformational change, in order to create a culture of racial inclusivity and equity that is both sustainable and empowering.
We understand that the work of reconciling our investment in the dominant white culture is fraught with psychological, ideological, and emotional obstacles. We strive to create white affinity spaces that both challenge white executives to do the hard work of owning their responsibility for disrupting the dominant white culture in their organizations, and support them in that work.
“I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do.”
— James Baldwin
Saying “I’m antiracist” isn’t enough.
At From Within we’re committed to centering humanity. We know that most people, white people included, are good people, trying to do better. We also know that good intentions aren’t enough. That’s why our white affinity programs take white executives through the process of developing their white racial identity, working through their emotional roadblocks, and arriving at informed, consistent action.
Why We’re Here
Hi, I’m Chelsie!
I grew up in Brookings, a rural, mostly white community in southern Oregon. As a child, I interacted with very few people of color and blissfully enjoyed the benefits of white privilege.
My undergraduate experience opened my eyes to the existence of systemic racism, but it was not until graduate school that I began to fully comprehend my own complicity in the dominant white culture.
Throughout my professional career, I have benefitted immensely from conversations with students and fellow staff members, mostly of color, who have called me out on my passive racism and called me in to the work of disrupting the system of white supremacy.
I have spent over a decade facilitating retreats and hosting workshops, and I am both prepared and excited to engage white leaders in a conversation that is often taboo. As I continue to persevere on my own journey of white identity development, I am committed to helping white executives discover their own white racial identity. I look forward to working with you!
Hi, I’m Galen!
Growing up in a white neighborhood in the mostly white city of Boise, Idaho, I don’t recall interacting with a single person of color before the age of six. I was white and I was happy, believing my skin color to be largely irrelevant to my success.
It was only after a dozen years of post-secondary education and many, many conversations with friends and colleagues of color that I came to understand my own colorblind racism.
After acknowledging the importance of race in determining our life chances, I delved deep into the scholarship of race and racism, eventually teaching courses on race and ethnicity.
Through the process of earning my Masters in Organizational Leadership, I developed a keen sense for how different leadership styles — and priorities — can influence an entire organization. Since then, through teaching about race and racism both in and outside of the classroom, I have honed my skills as a facilitator, blending my passion for racial justice to my knowledge of organizational leadership.
I’m excited to hear from you as we work together to learn more about our shared complicity in the system of white supremacy, and what we can do about it!