We are proud to introduce Pathwaves 2024-26 Placement site: Families of Color Seattle (FOCS, pronounced “folks”). FOCS connects families, caregivers, and children of color through peer-led parent support groups, spaces to share culture, skills, and resources, and racial justice education and advocacy. We sat down with Barbara (they/she), Pathwaves Fellow at FOCS, and her supervisor Abbie (she/her), Advocacy Director, to discuss our partnership and shared vision to build the collective power of BIPOC leaders in Washington state.
Abbie shared that FOCS has not always had the capacity or resources to prioritize advocacy, and the partnership with Pathwaves came at the perfect time. Collaborating with Pathwaves as a placement site offers FOCS an opportunity to invest in a new staff member who will receive support, training, and professional development focused on policy and advocacy skill building. This means that FOCS’ advocacy work can become even more intentional, engaging parents on early childhood topics and offering more meaningful educational opportunities at their existing events. Additionally, this partnership allows FOCS to make new connections with organizations already doing racial justice work and empower their families to be a part of the collective power that Pathwaves is building.
For Barbara, Pathwaves seemed to be the answer to a question they didn’t know they were asking. After graduating with a Master of Social Work, Barbara began searching for a job. She recalls stumbling upon Pathwaves’ website and seeing the words: building the collective power of BIPOC leaders. Those words took hold of Barbara, and they began to realize that this was what they truly desired in their workplace: to work and learn alongside other leaders of color who are committed to building power together and for their communities. Since Barbara joined the team at FOCS as a Pathwaves Fellow, she has seen a strong commitment to build collective power in action. Barbara shares, “White communities already have collective power. Systems give it to them. BIPOC communities have to build it for ourselves.” Both FOCS and Pathwaves approach this shared mission with a strengths-based approach, recognizing what our communities have to offer one another, and have to learn from each other.
Looking ahead, Barbara and Abbie have several hopes for their work together. Barbara shares that while there is plenty to critique about our political system, they believe, “it is better for me and others like me to show up in those spaces to make incremental shifts in ways that are positive.” This starts with identifying ways to dig deeper and be more intentional with the existing programming FOCS offers to families. “A lot of the work we do in advocacy is listening,” Barbara shares. “I want community voices to inform us as we make preparations for upcoming program offerings.” Abbie adds that having Barbara on the team means that FOCS can offer more targeted early childhood learning opportunities for families in their communities. In particular, Barbara will host sessions during the annual Melanin Spectrum event that educate parents about issues related to early childhood policy. Additionally, Barbara plans to develop a civic engagement project that develops advocacy skills within FOCS’ existing parent network.
Regardless of where Barbara’s career takes her in the future, she hopes to always remember that “doing work well and in a sustainable way means not doing it alone. Being surrounded by people you trust allows you to show up even on the hardest days”. For Barbara, their Fellowship cohort has been their safe space as they navigate an increasingly tumultuous political landscape. She looks forward to seeing how her impact will continue to grow and evolve alongside the cohort’s collective power.
