News from the CPE

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Exciting news from the Center for Political Education!

After 18 years, the Center for Political Education recently took a moment to assess its role as a political education organization in service of movement building in the Bay Area, and to imagine what its next steps forward should be. During this period of assessment, a group of advisors made up of former CPE staffers, collective members, and from the Board of Directors of the Kendra Alexander Foundation (KAF), CPE’s fiscal sponsor, came together to help facilitate the Center moving toward the next phase of its development.

The CPE advisory group brought Isaac Ontiveros on as a short-term consultant to conduct an assessment based on feedback from the Center’s former staffers, members, funders and allies. Isaac worked with the advisory group to set up interviews and conversations with former CPE collective members and staff persons, along with CPE allies and partners from over the last 18 years. He then distilled their reflections and analysis into an understanding of the main strengths, weaknesses, and impacts of the Center’s work, and helped the advisory group to develop recommendations for the CPE’s work moving forward.

Responding to general enthusiasm for the Center to reignite its work, the CPE advisory group recommended that the Kendra Alexander Foundation fund an intensive two-year rebuild process for the Center. The rebuild would be driven by two full-time staff people who would focus on developing and implementing robust political education programming in tandem with reestablishing collaborative relationships with current, former, and potential allies. The staff will develop fundraising infrastructure that will help the Center become more financially self-sufficient, while also refreshing and extending CPEs communications and outreach tools and strategies, and widen and deepen the scope and impact of its work.

This past August, KAF approved and began to implement the CPE assessment advisory group’s recommendations. We are excited to announce that we have asked Isaac Ontiveros, who coordinated the Center’s assessment process, and Rachel Herzing, who was on the assessment advisory group and is a former CPE collective member, to lead the next phase of CPE’s work as its staff. We are pleased that they have agreed and look forward to Rachel and Isaac sharing a fuller introduction next month.

We encourage you to read the full report. You can access it here

Thanks to each of you for your ongoing commitment and investment in the Center and we look forward to working together to build strong and effective movements for transformation.

In solidarity,
Jason Ferreira and Michelle Foy, CPE assessment advisory members and former CPE collective members