Are you a Power Funder?

Cyndi Suarez is the author of The Power Manual: How to Master Complex Power Dynamics, in which she outlines the theory and practice of liberatory power. The working title of her latest book is The Consciousness Manual: How to Awaken Inner Power. She is a former president and editor-in-chief at NPQ (Nonprofit Quarterly), the leading media platform for the social sector. She led NPQ through its first major rebranding—creating its editorial framework to advance knowledge ecosystems and formats (including video, audio, short films, and social-first content); increasing reader and contributor engagement; and partnering with Wiley to publish Building A Pro-Black World: Moving Beyond DE&I Work and Creating Spaces for Black People to Thrive, which was named as Porchlight Book Company’s Best Business Books of 2023 in the category of Big Ideas and New Perspectives. Suarez has over 30 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, most notably as a strategy and innovation consultant with a focus on networks and platforms. 

Saphia Suarez double majored in Theater & Performance Studies and Film & Media Studies at Yale University. She has helped organizations like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and filmmakers like The Ummah Chroma Collective (a group of leading Black filmmakers) create poignant, narrative shifting creative media that galvanizes audiences. She is, first and foremost, a storyteller, with an arsenal of tools at her disposal—video editing, directing for screen and stage, documentary filmmaking, playwriting and screenwriting, social media strategy, and nearly 20 years of acting experience. As a multidisciplinary storyteller, Saphia crafts stories first, and choose the right media form through which to express them second. She has also taught filmmaking, acting, and novel writing to all ages.