Coda signals a departure from a familiar refrain in anticipation of the conclusion.

This feels fitting as we transition to a pivotal year filled with final movements and milestones, departing once again from the familiar. We know the early adopters will get it and embrace the work ahead with enthusiasm. We hope you are one of them. And even if you don’t totally get it, we hope that our body of work and impact are sufficient to garner your trust.

“You must find your mixtape people.”

Quite simply, this is some of the best advice we’ve ever gotten. The truth is that as an ideas lab, some people don’t get what we do or why. Others simply refuse to embrace it. They are perplexed by why we center queer and trans people of color in our work and why we prioritize process and culture in reimagining relationships reliant on trust. And that is ok, if not exhausting. The problem was that, as a Black-led, emerging nonprofit, we were devoting considerable energy and resources to those people—to the detriment of our voice, our ability to interrupt the existing ways we talk about power, and ultimately, our effectiveness. They were not our people then, nor are they now. You are.

To view more, including transcripts in English, Spanish, and Kreyol, visit mavenleadership.org/impact