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Helloສະບາຍດີ

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had to navigate, translate, and bridge between many worlds I belonged to. I became an accidental storyteller when advocating for my parents, which led to communities and movements I eventually called home. 

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As a lifelong storyteller, I've come to find how much meaning-making starts with the weight of our words and the histories and cultures that live in the languages we speak and the wholesome stories that enrich our collective social fabric. I capture the soul of a story and use the art of language and visuals with careful intention to design communications that speaks community and sparks action. That's why after working at the intersection of art, storytelling, and organizing for more than a decade in my hometown of Minneapolis, I decided to pause and make more space for my family, my creative projects, and to now share my gifts and experience with others who are on collective journeys towards equity, justice, and shared liberation.

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​​My lived experiences and all the spaces I hold shape how I approach strategic communications and narrative change alongside community. If you’re looking for a rad cultural strategist who sees the depth of things a little differently and a little more creatively, let’s make magic happen.

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A brief bio

  • NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCE MOBILIZATION

    • Nonprofit Start-Up (program development, operations, paperwork, founder/executive coaching, etc)

    • Capacity Building & Fund Development

    • Donor/Funder Organizing & Education

    • Grant Writing, Proposals, Appeals

 

  • SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS 

    • Panels, Keynotes, Presentations, and Podcasts (on all the above topics including accessibility justice, Laos, Southeast Asia, diaspora, geopolitics, rights and freedoms of refugees & immigrants, etc)

    • Creative & Healing-Centered Facilitation

  • STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS & CREATIVE PLANNING

    • Communication Strategy, Design, Campaign 

    • Brand Recognition & Rebranding

    • Messaging & Shared Language Development

    • Educational Toolkits & Resource-Making

    • Thought Leadership Development 

    • Content Design & Copywriting

 

  • STORYTELLING, CULTURAL ORGANIZING, & NARRATIVE CHANGE

    • Narrative Change Research, Design, and Implementation

    • Story-Based Strategy Planning

    • Community Engagement Design 

    • Issued-Based Advocacy Campaign

    • Public Art Curation & Exhibition Planning

The act of imagination is bound up with memory. You know, they straightened out the Mississippi River in places, to make room for

houses and livable acreage. Occasionally the river floods these places.“Floods” is the word they use, but in fact it is not flooding; it is remembering. Remembering where it used to be. All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was. Writers are like that:remembering where we were, what valley we ran through, what the banks were like, the light that was there and the route back to our original place. It is emotional memory– what the nerves and the skin remember as well as how it appeared. And a rush of imagination is our “flooding.” — Toni Morrison, The Source of Self-Regard

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My origin story started in Laos as a refugee before I arrived on Dakota soil at the age of 3, raised in North Minneapolis where it became my home for 36 years. I'm part of the Southeast Asian diaspora, an advocate of all things art, a community development strategist, and an unconventional storyteller. I have worked in nonprofit spaces in public affairs, community development, strategic communications, and advocacy locally, nationally, internationally. I currently live in Portland, Oregon with my partner and two kids and consider Vientiane, Laos my part-time home. 

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Chanida Phaengdara Potter (she/they) is a community development strategist, engagement designer, and strategic communications leader. She's currently the head of communications for Women Donors Network. Previously, she was the vice president of strategic communications & narrative change at Women’s Foundation of Minnesota leading a rebrand, identifying narrative priorities, and strengthening the organization’s position in gender justice movements locally and nationally through story and donor engagements. She was the founding executive director of The SEAD Project (Southeast Asian Diaspora), creating and leading culturally-specific spaces and tools for diasporas through cultural arts, language, and organizing for 10 years. Before joining philanthropy for 2 years, she has worked more than 15 years in nonprofits in community engagement, program development, resource mobilization, and strategic communications. Organizations include Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota, The Advocates for Human Rights, Asian Economic Development Association, Wilder Research, Center for Victims of Torture, Pollen Midwest, Coalition of Asian American Leaders, Nielsen Media Research, Asian Media Access, Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans. She has a Bachelor's in Global Studies and Communications from the University of Minnesota and a Master's in Public Administration from Hamline University. She led the first narrative change initiatives and rebrand launch for Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, published the first Southeast Asian-authored anthology called Planting SEADS: Minnesota Diaspora Stories, and co led many coalitions and initiatives for the Asian American Pacific Islander communities. Her work has been featured on Twin Cities Daily Planet, Asian American Press, The Uptake, Minnesota Public Radio, MinnPost, Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, Radio Free Asia, Voice of America; among others.​​​

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