By Moniqua Acosta
It is amazing what support and a sense of empowerment can do for the soul, writes Moniqua Acosta about her first year as a member and leader of the LeadingAge Leaders of Color Network.
The LeadingAge Leaders of Color Network has brought new life and momentum to the aging services field in which I work. This has been an uplifting and encouraging experience that has provided me with a rich community of colleagues that I did not have before, nor did I realize were out there. It’s been just over a year since I first expressed interest in the work of the Leaders of Color Network, and this last year has allowed me to increase my knowledge base in areas that I did not necessarily believe were meant for me.
One such area that was new—and, I’ll admit, a bit intimidating for me—was the area of advocacy. The advocacy webinars for leaders of color and allies that took place last winter provided me and others with an introduction to the work of advocacy and how to get involved at the state and national levels.
These educational opportunities gave me the vocabulary, tools, resources, and confidence to interact with our state and local representatives. This new confidence was fully evident during the LeadingAge Leadership Summit in April.
During Lobby Day on April 19, I felt well prepared and ready to sit at a table I had not been at before and to speak confidently, along with other LeadingAge Pennsylvania members, as we engaged in dialogue with our state leaders in Washington, DC. This was my first Leadership Summit, and without the support and education provided to me by the Leaders of Color Network, I don’t think I would have attended or even known about it, as has been the case in the past.
It is not difficult to feel alone in the field of aging services when you are almost always the only person of color in the room, responsible for being the voice representing an entire community. The Leaders of Color Network has created opportunities for me and other leaders of color to share more of our authentic selves with our organizations and lift up voices that may not have been heard before.
While I have never been deterred outright from advancing in my career, advancement did seem unattainable for a multitude of reasons, the biggest being the fact that I bought into “imposter syndrome”—the inability to believe that my success is deserved or was achieved as a result of my own efforts or skills. Not having leaders of color as mentors or a network for support also presented a barrier. The Leaders of Color Network has helped me and others work through some of these self-imposed barriers, as well as additional barriers that are systemic.
With the support of my organization and the Leaders of Color Advisory Board, which I now chair, I have been able to work with others to create state leaders of color networks. I am proud that my home state of Pennsylvania is one of the few LeadingAge state partner organizations that took steps to create a network. In May, we kicked off our Pennsylvania Leaders of Color Network and hosted networking and sharing events at the LeadingAge Pennsylvania Annual Meeting.
I’m grateful to our LeadingAge Pennsylvania staff, including President & CEO Garry Pezzano and Marianne Lake, vice president of education & conferences, for prioritizing our work in Pennsylvania. I’m excited for what’s to come and how it will be a testament to our hard work at the national level. The allies in our network and those in my organization have supported my journey and my work for the Leaders of Color Network. It means a lot to me that they serve as sponsors and champions for and with me.
Over the last year, I have been heartened to learn that the initiatives and sense of community fostered by leaders of color networks at the national and state levels have provided support, educational opportunities, and visibility to many leaders of color who have felt alone and not heard. It is amazing what support and a sense of empowerment can do for the soul. I have felt it this past year and am grateful for it.
I look forward to what’s ahead in our network and its continued growth. Our work has only just begun.
Moniqua Acosta, MSW, CDP, is the director of volunteer services at Landis Homes in Lititz, PA. She also chairs the LeadingAge Leaders of Color Network Advisory Board.