Shafina Fazal-Gardner

she/her/hers

What do you do?

Chief Operating Officer

But what do you really do?

I oversee and am accountable for all aspects of the Center's business from the behind-the-scenes magic to the transformative work our team is does with clients and our community. I work closely with our founders to align and strategically advance our mission through sustainable business streams, and with our full team to cultivate the inclusive and caring culture that we all contribute to. 

And what’s your story? As in, what makes you tick?

My family is one of social workers, transformers, compassionate caretakers and seekers of goodness and justice. Racial equity work - justice work - it's in my bones. For a long time I was always primed for the fight - the fight against injustice, the fight to advocate, to demand or force a system that was not intended to support me or others like me to operate differently. Now I see that fight a bit differently. Maybe it's age - maybe it's witnessing and learning from others to "fight" in a new way. So right now? Right now, I'm motivated to create and contribute to spaces where people are heard, where joy IS the resistence (nod to Hanif on this one!), where Black and brown people can thrive, where happiness and balance can be cultivated - where you can freely be your full authentic self in all spaces. So who would you be? Me? I'm a mom to phenomenal black boys - a woman of color - a bad ass boss lady - a collaborator, a learner, a change maker, a cultivator of a more just world, and a lover of all things light and silly. I'm interested in working with others to cultivate that kind of space...that kind of world.

What’s rewarding about working at the Center?

Working at the Center is quite the experience. Personally, I have been given the opportunity to grow and learn from brilliant individuals. I have experienced an inherent trust and autonomy to create, inspire, and learn like no other place I've ever worked. I am deeply invested in, cared about and feel a sense of authentic collaboration and shared purpose with everyone who works here. I really feel that WE have cultivated a place where YOU are in control of your own story, your own experience.