Ingersoll Collective Action

We are Black, POC & Disabled Trans Staff & Former Staff at Ingersoll Gender Center.

UPDATE: On April 16th 2021, remaining Ingersoll staff were informed that two out of three directors (Executive Director Karter Booher and Operations Director Louis Mitchell) will be stepping down from their positions due to “personal reasons.”

While this is progress, our collective’s demands are for all three directors to be fired, for the board to be re-envisioned, and for a true accountability process to take place.

We will continue to push for positive changes at the organization in this transitional period.

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Demands
Timeline
Action
Statements
Our Supporters
Press
Contact

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Our Demands

Sign and read our full petition and list of demands at Action Network.

Thus far, EVERY SINGLE former staff member at Ingersoll Gender Center has written a statement attesting to the culture of inequity at Ingersoll, while those still employed are constantly working to dismantle this culture that leadership is actively working to maintain. The current staff at Ingersoll has attempted to solve this issue with demands, with calls for accountability, and threats to walk off the job. We've also tried to call in leadership as well as the board to have conversations that were either unfruitful or full of non answers and excuses. To be frank, we do not believe in throwing community away. Attempts have been made for restorative and generative justice and discussions, however no restorative justice process can take place with out an acknowledgement of harm. No change can take place without first acknowledging and understanding the change that needs to take place. We have been navigating this process for 2 years without movement. This is the last step in an attempt to create an environment that empowers BIPOC staff rather than traumatizes them before pushing them out.

We acknowledge that rather than address these issues head on Ingersoll leadership has sought to blame the victims of their mistreatment, as well as use manipulation tactics to reframe the narrative to portray themselves as victims of non-directorial black staff, and the POC and white staff that have stood with them in solidarity. And they have doubled down in doing so despite current and past staff bearing witness to mistreatment of Black and POC staff as well as those who stood by them.

This goes beyond harm. This is intentional, calculated abuse, and anti-blackness.

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Timeline of Events

Date	Communication/Action
6/1/21-	Karter Booher and Louis Mitchell's last day at Ingersoll Gender Center. The investigation results have not been shared yet, and is still ongoing.
5/27/21-	Ingersoll Collective Action learned that Dominique Stephens was appointed interim ED without input from staff. This is after weeks of no response from the Board to direct questions. See our response and call to action here.
4/16/21-	On April 16th 2021, remaining Ingersoll staff were informed that two out of three directors (Executive Director Karter Booher and Operations Director Louis Mitchell) will be stepping down from their positions due to “personal reasons.” The investigation is still underway. See the email from the Board here.
4/5/21-	The beginning of the two weeks of leave for all staff. The investigation led by Onik'a Gilliam-Cathcart (lawyer retained by Ingersoll Gender Center) was slated to progress during this time. Former staff and current staff are speaking to the investigator.
3/26/21-	The Board met with non-director staff to announce all staff members receiving two-weeks PTO starting Friday, 4/3. The investigator hired by Ingersoll will be reaching out to staff during this time. Only questions about logistics were answered, no questions or clarity around the nature of the investigation or our disappointments were responded to. Monisha Harrell, a newly recruited board member, facilitated the discussion.
3/23/21-	Ingersoll Collective Action responds to the Board's letter explaining where they are at in the process. We reiterate our demands and ask for transparency in our response. We ask for a response by Friday, March 26th. See our response here.
3/22/21-	Board responds to our request for a transparent process. Lacks clarity or purpose. See the board's response here.
3/17/21-	Ingersoll Collective Action responds to the public statement by Ingersoll's Board. See our response to the board here.
-	The Board releases a public statement in response to the petition. See their response here.
3/15/21-	Ingersoll Collective Action releases the Action Network petition.
6/18/20-	The first memo created by former and current staff sent to the Board and the directors to address concerns of anti-Blackness in the wake of a wrongful disciplinary action and threats to fire a Black trans staff member.
March 2020-	Concerns are shared with Karter about abusive communication from the Program Director after a staff member calls another staff member crying about a meeting that was had. Karter dismisses concerns, particularly the ones around conflict of interest between this staff member and their supervisor the program Director (despite knowing that an abusive friendship existed between these two previous to the Program Directors employment).
Dec 2019-	Three BIPOC staff members meet unofficially with Marsha with concerns about Executive Director Karter Booher and their anti blackness, information hoarding, not answering questions or being evasive with questions BIPOC staff ask about their respective programs, randomly changing budgets for a Black Staff member in the middle of planning Ingersoll events with zero explanation, setting unclear expectations and then punishing staff for not meeting unspoken expectations (particularly BIPOC staff), lying, ableism, and failing leadership as a result. We shared that we feared that the issues we were experiencing would only get worse.
Nov 2019-	Karter and the Board of Directors Hire Louis as a consultant to help address many of the issues staff had been raising over the past years.

How you can take action:

1. Sign our Action Network Petition.
2. Email the Board in support of our demands. Sample script here.
3. Share our demands, website, and petition on social media and your networks. Download our graphic here.
4. If you are connected to a platform or media outlet, consider elevating our demands.

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Statements

Former staff harmed by Ingersoll have written statements detailing their experience. Many of these statements were initially shared in June, when staff urged change in the wake of a Black trans staff member's wrongful disciplinary action and threats to be fired. Since then, change has stalled. Many of these statements are new, as we resolve to interrupt this cycle of harm for good. As a collective, we do not take the experience of reiterating trauma lightly, and hope that these statements push meaningful change.

Mattie Mooney, former Healthcare Access Manager