Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeri Perkins.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
My experiences growing up in predominately white spaces laid the foundation for my work. Early on in my childhood, I witnessed the different levels of privilege and
oppression associated with the intersectionality of my identity as a Black-African American young woman who was born into an upper-middle-class family. Since my Montessori days, I have had access to a world-class education that prepared me to thrive in every academic environment. First and foremost, I praise my higher power, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for gifting me with a brilliant mind that traces back to my ancestors who blazed the trail for me. Secondly, my mother, Michele Denee Perkins, and my father, Jerry Lee Perkins, raised me in a household built on the value of education. As I transitioned from adolescence to adulthood, the Biblical saying, “Train up a child in the way he/she shall go, and they will never part from it,” reigned true. From the steps of Soldiers Memorial on the campus of Lincoln University, Missouri, to the stairs at Arizona State University’s Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, I made it my social responsibility to lift as I climbed.
Thus, navigating power dynamics in systems of higher education and institutions of academia is what birthed Impact Action Network. I was blessed to have the mentorship of Black and mixed-race female scholars who served as a guiding light, listening ear, and voice of wisdom and knowledge throughout my journey. The mission of Impact Action Network is “Educate to Liberate,” the vision is to provide students and professionals with access to resources to navigate systemic and institutionalized racism and oppression, power dynamics, and conflict resolution safely and confidently. Audre Lorde, a feminist LGBTQ+ activist, once said, “You can not use the master’s tools to dismantle the master’s house.” I say, however, “You can use the master’s tools and learn how to navigate systems and institutions strategically.”
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I appreciate this question. No, it has not, lol; however, resiliency is the greatest protective factor that my ancestors gave me, and I represent my culture as a strength, not a deficit. Through the challenges of racism, sexism, ageism, and gatekeeping, I have sought to change the narrative and create my vision for the future so that future generations do not let the same challenges I experienced become barriers to meeting their goals and milestones. I would be remiss not to mention the grooming tactics that elders and mentors within and outside of my community have used to put me in a box and sensor and silence my work out of fear of disrupting the status quo. Perhaps the most challenging part is to see internalized racism, oppression, and hatred block our blessings of unity. In the words on the Haitian flag, “L’Union Fait La Force. United We Stand and Divided We Fall.”
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am dedicated to making “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, & Justice (DEIBJ) a priority, not a checkbox.” I increase my knowledge base and awareness through individual and group coaching, training, workshops, and speaking engagements. My burning desire to value differences and appreciate people for being different sets me apart from others. Lastly, I am known as a straight shooter. I would instead use a sledgehammer than a scalpel because although I know not everyone is ready to hear my truths, I don’t care, and I make it known that I don’t care by refusing to cater to the fragility of the status quo.
What changes do you expect to see in your work and the industry over the next five to ten years?
I also appreciate this question because my industry goes as far as the “powers that be” allow it to go. For example, after the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Freddy Gray, Alton, Sterling, Philando Castile, and Sandra Bland, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Mothers’ of the Movement took center stage to share the trauma and re-traumatizationof the Black community experiences every time we lose a son, daughter, sister, brother, auntie, father and or mother to a “system that is not broken rather, it is working exactly the way that it is designed to work.” Subsequently, after the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, there was a national reconciliation against Police Brutality and a push for creating inclusive learning, academic, workplace, and professional environments that foster a sense of belonging for individuals with diverse intersectionality’s of identity. However, the commitments that university and organizational leaders have been pressured to make lack follow through due to a disinvestment in social issues and causes that promote the equitable treatment and or advancement of Black/African-American, Native/Indigenous, Hispanic/Latino/Latina, and Asian Pacific Islander communities. Therefore, the powers that be decide how much the needle moves forward over time. More so, the fear the “powers that be” have in regards to not adhering to the “status quo” is a threat to the “privilege” the dominant culture experiences as a result of systemic and institutionalized racism and oppression. Thus, for the DEIBJ and access industry to move forward, people of every walk of life need to view their “different levels of privilege” from a more critical lens to assess and evaluate the advantages they receive due to the identity subscribed to them by society and how their identity creates disadvantage for others who do not belong to the same groups. So, really, “otherism” is the deciding factor in the progress of the racial equity movement. Other people born into privilege must be willing to acknowledge that the quality of their lives and subsequent outcomes are based on the oppression of other communities of people who possess differences in status, privilege, and lived and shared experiences.
Pricing:
- Programmatic pricing structure: One-on-one coaching (5) 1 hr sessions for $500 (10) 1 hr sessions for $750 Group coaching (5) 2 hr sessions for $1000 (10) 2 hr sessions for $1750
- Training $75/hr Non-profit rate $100/hr Corporate, organizational, business, and government entity rate Workshops ½ day (4 hrs.) Non-profit rate = $250 + preparation and travel expenses Corporate, organizational, business, and government entity rate = $350 + preparation and travel expenses Full day (8 hrs.) Non-profit rate = $500 + preparation and travel expenses. Corporate, organizational, business, and government entity rate = $750 + preparation and travel expenses
- Speaking engagements $250/hr Non-profit rate Packages: (5) 1 hr talks for $ 1000 $500/hr Corporate, organizational, business, and government entity rate Packages: (5) 1 hr talks for $2000
- Clients will receive a 25% off rate for purchasing any package in conjunction with desired service to aid with organizational leadership, faculty/staff, student, and employee growth, development, and retention. For example, if a client engages in training and workshop services and is interested in one-on-one and group coaching, they will receive 25% of that additional service package.
- Payment fees are negotiable on a sliding fee scale per service, package, and circumstance by request unless otherwise listed as a reduced rate.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://impactactionnetwork.com
- Instagram: @impact_action_network
- Facebook: Impact Action Network Advocacy Consulting Agency
- Linkedin: Impact Action Network Advocacy Consulting Agency
- Youtube: Impact Action Network Advocacy Consulting Agency
Image Credits
Heather Nelson Photography
