Re-forming Intercultural Relationships with Stacey Kitahata, Claire Smith, and Rediet Mulugeta

"Whiteness perpetuates itself by denying it's existence. That is one of the biggest hurdles to try and overcome. Continue to name whiteness, even when we're uncomfortable talking about it. Avoid the temptation to spin off into generalizations about society or political agendas and own that part of ourselves." ~ Claire SmithStarting September 2020, Stacy Kitahata (she/her) is Co-Executive Director, Holden Village and Retreat Center, with Kathie and Mark Bach. Stacey is a graduate of UCLA and McCormick Theological Seminary, She comes with over 25 years of leadership experience with faith communities, grassroots organizations and higher education. She served as Dean of Community at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and as director of the Center for Community Engagement at Trinity Lutheran College. She also served as outreach staff with the synods of Region 1. She currently serves as Program Director for the Krista Foundation for Global Citizenship, designing and conducting intercultural experiential leadership development.Claire Smith (she/her) holds her BA in English Literature and Hispanic Studies and her Masters of Social Work from the University of Washington. She received her training in intercultural capacity building from the Krista Foundation for Global Citizenship and Kaleidoscope Institute, and has been honing her facilitation practice with an amazing Community of Practice in the Seattle area. Claire spent two years serving with Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest gaining experience advocating with Latinx survivors of intimate partner violence and academically supporting young people on the Crow Reservation in St. Xavier, MT.Rediet Mulugeta received a BA in Global Development Studies from Seattle Pacific University in 2012, She served in Houston, TX with Mission Year, a yearlong volunteer program. After 2 years developing relationships and working alongside local non-profit organizations, grassroots leaders, and faith communities, Rediet relocated to Chicago, IL to join the national Mission Year staff to coordinate week-long service learning programs in multiple cities. Currently, she oversees and directs the Krista Colleague program with the Krista Foundation for Global Citizenship as Program Associate.To learn more about Holden Village, visit: http://www.holdenvillage.org or to listen to more audio recordings visit: http://audio.holdenvillage.org. The Holden Village Podcast is accessible through Apple iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart Radio, and most podcast apps. For questions and inquiries, contact [email protected].