We continued to have great success with our Dinner for 12 series in 2019. LSC’s Dinner for 12 is a series of Jeffersonian-style dinners hosted throughout the year by LSC alumni for LSC alumni. At these special dinners, eight to 12 alumni gather in the comfort of the host’s home to break bread and engage in conversation. In 2019, resiliency and leadership, a topic selected by 2018’s guests, was used to guide each dinner conversation.
Earlier in December, guests from our 2019 dinners met to determine 2020’s Dinner for 12 topic. Through facilitated conversation, alumni considered how they might build upon the deep conversations about resiliency in a meaningful way. Many expressed frustration and a feeling of despair over the country’s current climate of divisiveness. It wasn’t long before the group began to share similar ideas with clear overlap:
- Difficult conversations about systems of power, privilege, diversity and inclusion need to take place in our community. LSC alumni have a responsibility to start and/or deepen this conversation.
- Our community needs leaders who are intentional about building bridges between those in positions of power & privilege and those whose voices are not heard.
In the end, the group decided on the following theme to guide LSC’s 2020 Dinner for 12 series: Recognizing and Harnessing Power for Positive Change.
We believe this is an excellent and much-needed topic for 2020. The topic of power will certainly mean different things to different alumni; we’re sure that the range of experience and perspectives our alumni will bring to the table and share with each other will no doubt elicit rich conversation. We look forward to sharing some of the insights and ideas that come out of these dinners throughout the year so our entire network can weigh in. Our hope with these dinners is that connection and conversation will lead to insights, ideas, and collective action in our community. Be a part of the conversation! If you’d like to be added to our 2020 guest list, please contact Jennifer Downing.
