Agile in Color Q1 2021 Update

Q1 2021 has been a busy quarter for the Agile in Color initiative with Agile Alliance. After spending the last six months of 2020 coming together following Agile Alliance’s Growing Racial Equity in the Agile Community for Black Lives, our group of dedicated Agilists and Co-Conspirators launched Agile in Color in 2021.

Our group presented a highly anticipated and valuable look into the Agile 2021 submission process on January 27, 2021 with Dana Pylayeva, the Founder & Principal Coach at Agile Play Consulting. Dana graciously shared her insights into the guidelines and mechanics of navigating the Agile Alliance’s submission system. She is actively involved in the Agile community in various roles as a volunteer, reviewer, track chair, program chair, and conference chair.

Posts on LinkedIn

From this presentation, one of our founding members and resident co-conspirator, Matt Carlson, developed and launched a series of informative posts on LinkedIn to encourage and support those interested in engaging in the submission process. As the year progresses, Matt will kick-off a speaker development program to help groom future speakers and provide opportunities for community members to practice their talks and get solid feedback to improve.

Continue to visit our initiative’s page and social media platforms for the latest information.

Black History Month

Not a group to rest on our laurels and let grass grow under our feet, we rolled in Black History Month 2021 with our co-founder Chris “CP” Richardson holding court with the illustrious Lyssa Adkins at the A20dmv.org Agile Conference, Celebrating 20 Years of Agility in the DMV.

CP shared his insights and perspectives on his journey to Agility and the many trials and errors that lead him from fire fighter to the dynamic and influential Agile Coach that he is today. Following up on his appearance at the A20dmv.org Agile Conference, CP brought one of the most dynamic rooms on the Clubhouse app to Zoom, hosting the founding members of Agile Sundays in a panel discussion in honor of Black History month.

Our groups spent 90 minutes sharing wisdom and insights from their diverse backgrounds and their respective journeys to Agility.

Women’s History Month

As we sprung into the month of March and spring, our social media team, led by Akeel Bernard, in celebration of Women’s History Month, put a spotlight on a few amazing women of color making waves in the Agile community. These women include Sade Seaborne, Product Manager (Capital One), Amber Branch, Agile Coach (Host Gator), and Amber Mbengam, Agile Coach and CEO (Scrum Master Champions, LLC).

Others Busy in the Community

Several of our core team members were also busy, such as Nono Donsa, who was one of this year’s @BizAgilityIns Global Conference facilitators from March 22-25. Also, Nicole Spence-Goon spoke at the Agile Virtual Summit- Bite Size on March 31, 2021.

Agile in Color closed out the quarter with a preview of our Agile 2021 panel discussion on March 27, 2021, highlighting the many changes in the Agile community since the events of 2020.

One thing is certain, the community’s ability to be transparent, inspect, and adapt has remained consistent, and our team got together to discuss our experiences and share insights on where we see our community and the Agile community at large in the near and distant future.

Our Brazil-based member, Biamichelle Miranda, published her first article with Ninja Media.

A First Quarter Success

Overall, our first quarter has been fruitful, and our group is making an impact and bringing visibility to Agilists of Color. Our membership has grown from a scrappy group of 8-10 folks meeting every two weeks on a Friday afternoon to a consistent group of dedicated volunteers who meet weekly to plot our path forward.

Upcoming events and programs from Agile in Color for Q2 2021 include the following:

  • The Agile in Color Book Club hosted by Kisha Wright-Banks
  • Agile in Color Speaker Development program hosted by Matt Carlson
  • Agile in Color Coaching Circles program hosted by Joseph Jones
  • Lightning Talks Media series with Korrin Mitchell

This is an Agile Alliance community blog post. Opinions represented are personal and belong solely to the author. They may not represent the opinion or policy of Agile Alliance.

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