Stay Open
I’ve known Giovanna Negretti for at least two decades. She is one of those Puerto Rican women possessed with passion, focus, commitment, perseverance and a charisma for leadership that makes her unstoppable.
I have witnessed her growth through many leadership roles. And I was thrilled to interview her as she stewards the Online Progressive Engagement Network, a community of organizations wielding digital campaigns for progressive change all over the world. I think of her work as an essential counter-weight to the global rise of authoritarianism.
OPEN is an important container where rich country democracies and the democracies of the post-colonnial world can exchange ideas and strategies for brining people together in service of progressive change. About a decade ago, I had the privilege of facilitating the gathering that gave birth to OPEN. And now, my friend Giovanna serves as its Executive Director.
Giovanna has also held a commitment to the cause of Puerto Rican Independence for asl long as I have known her. A topic we also cover in this wide ranging conversation.
You’ll be inspired by Giovanna. And you will find something meaningful here, as two old friends in the work of social movement each keep finding our way to the wisdom of kindness, care and compassion that should always be at the center of any effort to make our world better.
Enjoy!
Links
https://www.the-open.net/
Bio
For the past 20+ years, Giovanna has been a passionate advocate for civic and political rights around the world. Early in her career, Giovanna worked as Legislative Counsel to the first (and only) female African American Senator in the state of Massachusetts. With the skills acquired, Giovanna went on to found - along with other activists - and then lead ¿Oíste? a U.S.-based NGO dedicated to promoting civic engagement, political participation and advocacy for the rights of people of Latin American descent.
As Executive Director of ¿Oíste?, she led and participated in several lawsuits against the City of Boston and also the Legislature of Massachusetts in defense of the civil rights of minority groups. All of the lawsuits ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, which in turn allowed the organization to become a major political force in the state. In addition, Giovanna led numerous grassroots campaigns to Get Out the Vote in Latino communities, resulting in increased voter participation by up to 200% in several districts. Giovanna also developed and led programs to train minority political leaders, many of whom today are at the forefront of city, state and national politics in the United States. She later served as a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and as an advisor to U.S. political campaigns.
Since then, Giovanna has held several senior positions in various NGOs, including Regional Director for the Middle East of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Nobel Peace Prize winning organization (1948) that promotes peace in the world. As Middle East Regional Director, she helped the organization handle the opportunities presented in the Region by the Arab Spring, and addressed the challenges of the civil war in Syria - including the mass migration of Syrians to neighboring countries in the Middle East and Europe.
Later, Giovanna co-founded Lyceum, a global consulting firm, working with government, philanthropic and impact investment partners to identify, co-design, propose and scale innovative cross-sector solutions to complex sustainable development challenges. Her portfolio focused on advising and training in political leadership development and civic engagement strategies for disadvantaged communities with special attention to women, minorities and indigenous groups.
Giovanna is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, a recipient of the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award, and a recipient of the Prime Movers Fellowship and the Eisenhower Fellowship. She is a passionate advocate for Puerto Rican independence and helped lead the movement to stop U.S. military maneuvers on her home island of Vieques, Puerto Rico.