Who We Are

CoThinkk is a giving circle that brings together community leaders who care about the economic and social well-being of communities of color in Asheville and Western North Carolina.

CoThinkk envisions the following long-term impact:

Shifted Regional Landscape:

  • Change the economic, health, education, and poverty narrative for communities of color in Asheville and the surrounding region;
  • Create a paradigm shift that inspires a new picture of resilience for communities of color in Asheville and Western NC.

 

Strong Leadership Development/ Generational Impact:

  • Build and strengthen a leadership pipeline of African-American and Latinx individuals that are focused on social change for Asheville and Western NC;
  • Create and support new leadership opportunities within traditional and nontraditional institutions in Asheville while building new alliances to focus on issues unique to communities of color;
  • Build the capacity of leaders of colors to serve in important roles within the region and build an intentional community engagement strategy that is focused on inclusivity, equity, and diversity.

Collaboration:

  • Build strong collaborations that work across racial and generational lines;
  • Cross sector collaboration and shared/aligned agendas;
  • Create opportunities for co-learning, volunteering, and using social, political, and economic capital as means to align agendas and activities towards social good.

Systems Level Change:

  • Create strategies to help change the patterns of local/regional institutional practices that impede equitable outcomes.
  • Shift resources and power dynamics.
  • Change the narrative around the lack of leaders of color and change the patterns of local/regional institutional practices that impede equitable outcomes.

Our Values

Collective Work/Responsibility/Purpose: We value collective action and shared power that bridges silos and taps into underutilized human, social, political and institutional capital.
Create Safe Community Gathering: We value trust building that creates non-judgmental spaces that are inclusive and equitable and lead to active and long-term engagement for greater impact.
Resource Development for Groups & Individuals: We value connecting people of color to resources that accelerates equitable outcomes.
Language Justice: We value creating spaces that are accessible to all. We make sure we all of our meetings and conferences are bi-lingual with simultaneous Spanish interpretation. 
Systems & Policy Change: We value and promote civic education and seek to create strategies to help change the patterns of local/regional institutional practices that impede equitable outcomes.
Education (Children & Youth): We value cultivating the energy, passion, and talents of the next generation to create an essential pipeline of leaders
Local: We value and support local economic mobility for communities for color.

Tracey Greene-Washington, Founder
Dewayne Barton
Bettie Council
Darcel Eddins
Lesley Gaspar
Kelly Goins
Joe Greene
Yvette Jives

Libby Kyles
Sarah Nunez
Sheneika Smith
Stephanie Swepson-Twitty
Edmund Washington
Ami Worthen
Ramona Young
Carolina McCready