What a difference a year makes! It was just about this time in 2023 that Maven Co-Founder and Co-President Anne Price resigned her position as President of the Insight Center in the wake of racist and sexist treatment, and the rest of our staff followed in solidarity. 

We’re not gonna lie, the following months were a challenge. We had to hold the dual truths of operating under an economic system that requires a steady paycheck, while fighting for a world in which our worth is detached from our labor. We had a vision for creating a place that lived its values of centering racial, gender and economic justice fueled by joy; but making that a reality did not flow as freely as our passion and ideas. Thanks to the support of some key folks who truly believe in diverse opinions and not just diverse faces, we were able to regroup as the Maven Collaborative. 

At Maven, we believe based on experience and we know based on evidence that an economy that meets the needs of Black women is an economy that works for all of us. 

We are so grateful to the partners, funders and general cheerleaders who have supported our launch and growth. We are infinitely thankful to our staff, who followed us into the dark with faith that our collaborative spirit to create a world of saturated abundance for all, centered on the needs of Black women, would guide us to the light. A year later, it’s looking a lot brighter. 

Here’s a quick overview of things we’re proud of from 2023:

• Anne and our Co-President and Co-Founder, Jhumpa Bhattacharya, wrote an op-ed for Teen Vogue pointing out how the anti-blackness propping up our inequitable economy is a threat to democracy — and that young people have the tools and vision to finally dismantle it.

• Anne also co-authored a chapter in the book Building A Pro-Black World: Moving Beyond DE&I Work and Creating Spaces for Black People to Thrive. Anne also co-authored a piece for Essence, This Labor Day Let’s Finally Honor Black Women’s Labor By Paying Them Fairly. Together with Michelle Holder, Anne lays out some of the analysis of our work on occupational segregation and pay inequity.

• In This Juneteenth, We Must Undo the Toxic Narratives Placed on Black People in TIME, our Centering Blackness Fellow Alicia Walters drew the connections between toxic narratives around deservedness and the push to alter what is taught about slavery in the United States - and how these narratives directly fuel economic policies that disproportionately harm Black people. Our leaders Anne and Jhumpa are quoted as well.

• We hired a new Senior Director of Strategic Impact, Dr. Jessica Barron, who will help us set our agenda and track our impact with our partners and more broadly. We’re so excited to have her join us!

• Senior Healthy Equity Fellow Andrea Flynn and Researcher Director Yvonne Yen Liu argue in STAT that California should become the first state to offer a special minimum wage to health care workers - highlighting how occupational segregation for Black and brown women drives economic inequality.

• Jhumpa and Communications Strategist Saadia Van Winkle broke down in Ms. how the US tax code disadvantages single women, married Black couples, and gay couples the most - and why it’s time to reform the US tax code to match the reality we live in today.

• Anne was honored with the San Francisco Foundation’s 2023 Community Leadership Award. 

2023 has been a year of healing, challenge and inspiration for Team Maven. In 2024, we’re excited about deepening our work of pursuing economic justice by centering race, gender and — above all — joy! 

Wishing you peace and ease this holiday season,

Anne & Jhumpa