On June 30, 2021 Marichu Antonio, long term Executive Director of ActionDignity, retired. She has guided ActionDignity in its growth and quality programming as a founding Board member and then for the last 12 years as Executive Director. The Board is very thankful for her tenure and wishes her well in her retirement.
In sharing her retirement announcement with the Board, Marichu said, “It has truly been a most rewarding journey for me. ActionDignity has helped shape and enrich my role as a social justice advocate, pushing the agenda of racial equity from a personal level to community, and more broadly at the systems and policy level. All the wonderful community leaders, members and organizations who come from richly diverse perspectives and cultures continue to be my inspiration and source of strength. The deep commitment and ingenuity of our incredibly talented staff and Community Brokers have been my pillars that helped build a firm foundation for our impressive and constant growth even amidst the most challenging times. Our partners, funders and donors who trusted in our ability to rise as we travailed through the most critical junctures of our life as an organization, continue to support us and learn from us as we seek newer pathways to further growth.”
“Marichu Antonio has been a passionate advocate and driving force in the work of ActionDignity. She has embodied the core of our values — that what really matters is the collective capacity of all of us woven together and the spirit of community development that we seek to implant among our community leaders and organizational members. We look forward to building on this legacy with our staff, community brokers, volunteers, member organizations and partners as we transition to a new Executive Director,” says Dr. Ilyan Ferrer, Board Chair.
ActionDignity currently has in place an Interim Leadership Team that is committed to provide support and leadership to ActionDignity as the Board works through the process of finding a new, permanent Executive Director.
Jamilah Edwards, as Interim Executive Director, brings her strong personal background and understanding of intersectionality, anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion as well as her experience as leader in several Calgary-based non-profits.
Leslie Tamagi, as Interim Transition Director, brings deep experience as a leader in diverse non-profit organizations, including as an Interim ED for several agencies experiencing transitions.
The Interim Executive Directors are excited to work together in supporting ActionDignity over the next few months, providing time and space for the Board to focus on finding the new permanent Executive Director.
The ActionDignity Board celebrates Marichu Antonio’s contributions to ActionDignity, ethno- cultural communities throughout Alberta and the broader Calgary community, and we are confident that our transition process will ensure stability in our operations, as well as the opportunity to move the organization forward strongly in honour of the foundation Marichu has helped us build together.