3. Gia Truong - Leading through Proximity, Equity and Sharing Power Artwork

Exceptionally Good: Leaders for a Better World

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Exceptionally Good: Leaders for a Better World

3. Gia Truong - Leading through Proximity, Equity and Sharing Power

December 15, 2024 • Ryan Maxwell

What do you do when you get the report on the brutal truth and know you can’t solve it alone?

How do you lead by staying close to the problem you are leading to solve?

When do you know it is the right time NOT to seek that next larger, high position, but to focus on joy?

In this episode, Ryan interviews Gia Truong, a leading figure in education and social equity, who shares her journey from being a high school teacher in San Francisco to becoming the managing partner at Equity & Proximity New Profit, a national venture philanthropy organization. Gia reflects on her career transitions, her experiences with systemic racism, and her commitment to leading with community. She emphasizes the importance of being vulnerable, leveraging positional power to uplift marginalized voices, and finding joy and balance in one's career. Gia's leadership style, characterized by high standards and an unwavering belief in potential, has significantly influenced students' success and the broader educational community.

“Part of what communities have learned is what sustains. Educators sustain educational leaders sustain social justice activists, right? It's being a part of a community. You never feel like you're alone. You never feel like you have to have the answers, but together – and through joy too, right? Not just through hardship, but through joy and play that you can stay in the work and that you can create a better world.”

Links:

Gia joins New Profit

https://newprofit.org/impact-story/gia-truong-joins-new-profit-as-managing-partner-of-equity-and-proximity/

Envision Public Schools - where Gia was CEO

https://envisionschools.org/

Urban Promise Academy - Oakland middle school where Gia and Ryan worked together

https://urbanpromise.ousd.org/

National Equity Project - where Ryan first met Gia

https://www.nationalequityproject.org/

Lead Liberated - Gia's org to support

https://www.leadliberated.org/about-lead-liberated/

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