Saturday, November 4 – AFS Annual Meeting

In this invited keynote, you will learn how LeaderSpring Center (LSC), a 25-year social impact intermediary, works to transform systems by centering racial equity and inclusion as 21st century leadership competencies. Dr. Sonia BasSheva Manjon, Co-Executive Director, will explain how this is done through cohort-based learning communities and impact consulting, two major components of her work at LeaderSpring.

Since 1997, through learning communities, LSC has equipped over 300 social sector leaders with knowledge, skills, and support networks needed to lead high-performing organizations and drive lasting change. Impact Consulting prioritizes transforming systems by using an integral learning approach that honors the presence and power of the whole person – head, heart, body, familial/communal origins, and lived experiences in the service of racial equity and social justice.

Dr. Mañjon’s career spans more than 30 years in higher education, nonprofit management, government administration, and public and private sector consulting. Since becoming Executive Director of LeaderSpring Center (LSC) in 2018, she has steered the organization to deepen its commitment to elevating and strengthening the vision, voice, power, and leadership of women of color. In 2023, LeaderSpring adopted a liberatory organizational framework and distributive leadership model where she became Co-Executive Director. Dr. Mañjon teaches in the Nonprofit Management Program at California State University East Bay and Graduate Nonprofit Administration Program at the University of San Francisco.

This live event will not be recorded.

4:45 pm–5:30 pm
Pavilion Ballroom

AFS Business Meeting

Sponsored by:
American Folklore Society

Executive Director’s State of the Society Address

2024 Annual Meeting theme announcement

Old business

New business

5:30 pm–6:00 pm
Pavilion Foyer

Light Refreshments

6:00 pm–6:45 pm
Pavilion Ballroom

Time of Remembrance

7:00 pm–8:15 pm
Pavilion Ballroom

AFS Presidential Lecture: Marilyn White

Chair: Jessica A. Turner (American Folklore Society)

Roots, Rootlessness, and Uprooting: Personal, Ethnographic, and Folkloric Reflections on a Theme

Marilyn M. White (Kean University, retired)

This address examines the manifestation of the theme of this year’s annual meeting by using parts of my own folklore origin story; my varied ethnographic fieldwork experiences—with my own family, the Buraku of Japan, and the people of Little Cayman; various folklore communities; and some of the history of the American Folklore Society. Regarding roots, what are the effects of being rooted within a family, a community, or an ethnic group? For rootlessness, how might not having roots lead to separation or displacement—both physical and metaphorical; how and why might a group create a space to put down roots; what are some of the reasons why those in power might not create or foster a space where varied roots can take hold; and why might those in power take actions to make space? For uprooting, why might a group’s space be taken away, and what are the effects on those involved; what are the reasons for or the effects of a group choosing to uproot?

8:15 pm–10:00 pm
Pavilion Ballroom

Closing Reception

Join Rhapsody Project Co-founder Joe Seamons and the Rhapsody Songsters to share their powerfully rooted model of music education and youth leadership as we close out the Annual Meeting with a celebration of mentorship, the next generation, and the many roots that tie us together. (That’s a literal invitation to join: bring your instrument, your voice, or your enthusiasm to this multi-layered closing reception!)

About the Rhapsody Project: The Rhapsody Project is a multi-generational community that explores and celebrates music and heritage through an anti-racist lens. Based in Seattle and active in several other cities across the U.S., they provide music instruction and cultural events to foster youth leadership and enrich their communities.
https://www.therhapsodyproject.org/songsters
https://www.therhapsodyproject.org/

This live event will not be recorded.

9:00 pm–11:00 pm
Galleria II

Open Mic Night

9:00 pm–12:00 am
Forum Suite

Instrumental Jam Session

9:00 pm–12:00 am
Studio Suite

Vocal Jam (Song Circle)

9:00 pm–2:00 am
Flower Factory, 1227 SE Stark St, Portland, Oregon

Follow the Music: Exploring the Multi-Linear Legacies of House Culture- Spotlight on Portland, Oregon’s Deep Like… Sessions

10:00 pm–12:00 am
Skyline I/II

Dance Party in Honor of Mickey Weems