2024 EXCEL Honorable Mention – Dr. Indira Henard

Tell us about your leadership style and how this contributes to your organization’s success.

My leadership style is centered on humanity, and rooted in creating a culture of care. What I know for sure is that no-one does this work alone, and everyone comes to this work with their own set of experiences. As a trained Social Worker, I am very mindful of the ways in which the external environment can impact the specialized work that we do. So I very much center humanity, and try to create a culture of care where the DC Rape Crisis Center prioritizes wellness of it’s staff, and creates space to talk about the ways in which what is happening in the external environment is impacting staff, and the work.

For example when COVID hit the world in 2020 , and everything went remote, the DC Rape Crisis Center had very intentional conversations about the role of COVID on one’s self, and made sure staff had space to talk about what was happening, to create connection in a meaningful way remotely, and what was also important to me as a leader is to make sure staff and their families had what they needed during that time.

Another example of this is when the racial reckoning happened we created a brave space where staff from all backgrounds could have brave, and vulnerable conversations around what was coming up for them, and the impact that the racial reckoning was having on them as individuals, their families, and the work that we do.

The work of the DC Rape Crisis Center sits at the intersection of freedom, justice and liberation, and in order to disrupt and ultimately end sexual violence we must be able to create a culture of care that acknowledges and creates space for humanity and the ways in which the person intersects with the environment.

What advice would you offer for other nonprofit leaders?

The advice that I would give to non profit leaders is there is nothing more powerful that you can do as a leader is knowing when your assignment is complete. One of my favorite children’s story is Cinderella, and I like Cinderella because when Cinderella went to the ball she had to leave at midnight, and she had to leave before midnight because if she did not her old life, and old ways would return again. So she left at ten to twelve so that she could leave on her own terms, and end on a high note. So my message to leaders is leave at ten to twelve, and make sure that you as a leader are not only leaving on a high note, but building

a pipeline for the next generation of leaders, and setting up your organization to operate in strength, and not weakness when you depart.

What does this award mean for you and your organization?

This award is truly and affirmation of the team at the DC Rape Crisis Center. I have a team who is small, but mighty and deeply cares about the population we serve, and advancing the mission of DCRCC. The work that we do is sacred, and non scripted. My team has privately made me better publicly, and I will forever be grateful! This award is also a reflection, and a reminder that the work we do is not hard work, but HEART work. As the oldest rape crisis center in the country, the DC Rape Crisis Center has been stood the test of time, and provided global services to survivors of sexual assault. What we know for sure is that you cannot have effective sexual assault services if there is not a direct response to racism and oppression.