Inca A. Mohamed is an internationally recognized facilitator and consultant. From 2003-March 2011, Inca was Management Assistance Group’s (MAG; now Change Elemental) third Executive Director and spearheadeded the organization’s initiative to go beyond one-on-one consulting and deliver a diverse range of products and services.
Inca has worked with hundreds organizations to help them create effective management and powerful strategies for change. For many of her clients, this means building social justice values into everything they do. “Most social justice organizations struggle with the tension of trying to reflect within the organization the values that they are trying to create outside,” she notes. “It is both challenging and exciting to help them learn to embrace that tension and allow it to spur them on the journey of creating truly inclusive environments where everyone is able to bring all they have to the table.”
Inca is particularly interested in the possibilities in – and obstacles to – creating powerful collaborations among organizations. “A lot of social justice groups have seen collaborations that didn’t produce results,” she says. “They realize that to be really effective, they have to work together, but working together is quite challenging. We have so glorified the term collaboration that we obscure what it really takes.”
Inca sees her consulting work as rooted in her experience as a Caribbean immigrant from a multiethnic family. “I had to develop ‘border-crossing’ skills to survive, and I know the power of cross-cultural learning. My experience taught me to listen deeply, honor what is distinct about each environment, and, when appropriate, translate experiences from one place to another.”
Inca’s clients have included: Atlantic Philanthropies, the Forum for Youth Investment, SisterSong, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Washington Greater Community Foundation, the Funders Network on Population Growth and Reproductive Health and Rights, the Asian American Justice Center, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the Washington Area Women’s Foundation.
Before joining Change Elemental, Inca was Program Officer for Human Development and Reproductive Health at the Ford Foundation, where she oversaw a $60 million dollar portfolio aimed at strengthening youth development domestically and abroad. Her career has included work in advocacy, training and public education, program design, and program management; she has held leadership positions at a diverse range of organizations, including the YWCA, the Door Center for Youth Alternatives, and Planned Parenthood.