Grief Walks
October 2023
After the tragic and untimely death of our friend and colleague Pava Lapere, Loam and Upsurge Baltimore joined forces to create an opportunity for women in Baltimore’s tech and startup ecosystem to gather around our grief, get outside and lean into our community.
We led weekly hikes every Friday morning to move our bodies, breathe fresh air, and strengthen our sense of connection amidst unparalleled loss. During those hikes we heard a resounding desire for more women-centered spaces in the tech ecosystem that honored our full humanity.
Adaptive Leadership for Transformative Change: Competencies & Practices for GSI Practitioners
Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is an emerging field which recognizes that the problems we are trying to solve require new, collaborative approaches and systemic change.
October 2022-May 2023
Adaptive Leadership for Transformative Change was a virtual, 8-month peer-learning program designed and delivered in collaboration with the Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange.
Aligned with USWA One Water Change Leadership Capacities, this program placed a strong emphasis on building stakeholder engagement capacity, developing a co-benefits approach to collaboration, and implementing GSI more equitably and affordably.
In this program participants:
Built reflective practice, relationship building and inclusive collaboration competencies
Developed an understanding of how to practice leadership in ways that build trust, shared ownership and distributed power no matter where you sit on the organizational hierarchy
Identified places to intervene within larger systems, connecting big-picture thinking with stepwise change
Expanded their own authentic approach to adaptive leadership
Gal Pal Hikes
Summer 2022-Fall 2023
In partnership with Discover Charm City and Gal Pal Events, we led 5 free hikes that brought women together from Baltimore and beyond to slow down, soak in the magic of the season and build relationship with one another and nature. Each hike was within 1 hour of Baltimore City allowing us to explore local parks and nurture a greater sense of belonging, connection and place.
