Dear Friends,

As I reflect on the past year, I am grateful for the increased support we have received from the communities we serve, both near and far. We started the year with the launch of our strategic plan and immediately got to work to make those bold ideas into reality. We moved to downtown Richmond, applied (and won) grants to build our capacity to measure impact, hired a Deputy Director, and grew our majority-women Board. We pursued financial sustainability with an increased donor base and diversifying our funding sources. We took bigger risks with our largest partnerships to date, including a major expansion into WCCUSD elementary schools and serving Kaiser Permanente’s equity program, Elevate. We intend to be around for a long time, and the past year truly helped build the foundation.

The roll out of our elementary school speech and debate clubs represent our commitment to helping our youngest speakers have positive memories about public speaking. In 2022, we served over 100 young speakers, who learned basic debate, three-point speeches, and acting. We ended 2022 with a huge crowd in our new office, filled with families and community members, all there to witness and celebrate young voices. I remember looking around that crowded room and thinking to myself, “This event truly represents the West Contra Costa community.” Throughout the year, young speakers were mentored by paid high school students who not only had their own success in tournaments, but learned how to coach and give back to their community. We aim to be in every elementary school in West Contra Costa, and would love to expand in the SF Bay Area.

This past year was also our most successful year of partnerships! We served 18 different organizations, helping people give powerful presentations, speak on the spot, give keynotes, and feel confident communicating in the workplace. We supported the program staff of youth-serving organizations with inclusive facilitation skills, provided guidance on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and led retreats. We launched a Spanish-speaking debate club and a speech club for newcomers and sustained our competitive high school speech and debate teams. It was an honor to work alongside equity-driven organizations: Partnerships broaden our reach and advance equity work that we would never be able to accomplish alone.

We are grateful to have this work recognized, including winning the Title Nine Nonprofit Pitchfest and receiving a “Best of El Cerrito Award'' from the Chamber of Commerce for “Best Educational Resource”. These awards represent how we have made deeper inroads into our surrounding community, which will prepare us for future Bay Area growth. As I write this, our team is preparing to go on the road, sharing our newly launched book, Amplify Student Voices, with educators and audiences that care about oral expression. It is so nice to connect with people in person again and we are excited to continue sharing what is possible when people feel capable, cared for, and free. Thank you for joining us on this adventure!