Racial Healing & Renewal Program: BIPOC Cohort
About the program
This four session cohort offers affinity space to explore various perspectives on race, engage in meaningful discussions, and learn from one another. Together, we aim to foster empathy, challenge biases, and build bridges towards a more inclusive society. Whether you are an advocate for racial justice, a curious learner, or simply interested in making a positive impact, our Racial Healing and Renewal Cohort welcomes individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous or of Color (BIPOC) working in the nonprofit sector. Let's come together, listen, and grow as we embark on a journey towards racial healing and renewal.
Additional Information
Apply by Friday, September 26, 2025
This four session cohort offers affinity space to explore various perspectives on race, engage in meaningful discussions, and learn from one another. Together, we aim to foster empathy, challenge biases, and build bridges towards a more inclusive society. Whether you are an advocate for racial justice, a curious learner, or simply interested in making a positive impact, our Racial Healing and Renewal Cohort welcomes individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous or of Color (BIPOC) working in the nonprofit sector. Let's come together, listen, and grow as we embark on a journey towards racial healing and renewal.
Our 2025 cohort will engage in four virtual sessions. Members are expected to commit to attending all sessions and be open to consistent engagement and learning to establish a healing journey. These sessions are geared towards recovery and healing ourselves and our relationships in our lives. With the opportunity for support between sessions. Our discussions will cover a broad range of topics including:
- How we redefine safety in our lives
- How cancel culture is connected to whiteness, how it expresses in white bodies
- How call outs are weaponized
- Locating and recovering our interconnectedness
- What transformation and evolution looks like in the nonprofit space
- How our identities inform our recovery and relationships
- How grief practice supports forming relationship
- How we can interrupt white supremacy
Application Details
Nonprofit staff, board members, and volunteers are encouraged to apply. We will select a small cohort of people who are interested in beginning their healing journeys in a collective setting and safe space. Applicants are asked to self-identify their pronouns and race/ethnicity. In the application questions, we are looking for honest answers about where you are in your racial healing and anti-racism journey. Apply by September 26, 2025.
- Why is it important for you to do this work?
- What do you hope to learn from this series?
- What type of anti-racism and healing work are you currently doing?
- What is your comfort level talking about race, white supremacy, grief, and healing?
- Are you able to commit to attending each of the four 2-hour sessions over Zoom?
Applicants should commit to attending all four sessions and be open to consistent engagement and learning to establish a healing journey.
Meet the people leading the conversation
Robert Blanquera Nelson
Robert Blanquera Nelson
Robert Blanquera Nelson is a Pilipino immigrant, working for racial justice in Albuquerque, NM. He has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 10 years. He has worked predominantly in homeless and housing services, having helped found Albuquerque’s first community housing-first initiative, Albuquerque Heading Home. He recently served as the Program Manager for Pivotal New Mexico, specializing in developing resources and investments for New Mexico. Currently, he serves as nonprofit consultant and anti-racism educator, having trained with the local Anti-Racism Training Institute of the Southwest (ARTI) and the Peoples Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB). He currently serves on the Housing and Neighborhood Economic Development Fund Committee with the City of Albuquerque and is the Co-Chair for Asian American Association of New Mexico, working to build a vibrant Asian Pacific Islander community throughout the state. Lastly, he is a community organizer for the Historic Neighborhoods Alliance in downtown Albuquerque. In his spare time, Robert is an avid swimmer and enjoys mobile video games, cooking, writing, reading, and playing guitar.
Meet the people leading the conversation
Robert Blanquera Nelson
Robert Blanquera Nelson
Robert Blanquera Nelson is a Pilipino immigrant, working for racial justice in Albuquerque, NM. He has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 10 years. He has worked predominantly in homeless and housing services, having helped found Albuquerque’s first community housing-first initiative, Albuquerque Heading Home. He recently served as the Program Manager for Pivotal New Mexico, specializing in developing resources and investments for New Mexico. Currently, he serves as nonprofit consultant and anti-racism educator, having trained with the local Anti-Racism Training Institute of the Southwest (ARTI) and the Peoples Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB). He currently serves on the Housing and Neighborhood Economic Development Fund Committee with the City of Albuquerque and is the Co-Chair for Asian American Association of New Mexico, working to build a vibrant Asian Pacific Islander community throughout the state. Lastly, he is a community organizer for the Historic Neighborhoods Alliance in downtown Albuquerque. In his spare time, Robert is an avid swimmer and enjoys mobile video games, cooking, writing, reading, and playing guitar.
