When the Squad Gets Back Together: Reflections from our 2019 Family Reunion
Riyaz Gayasaddin is the Director of Design and Adult Development at Camelback Ventures. He joined the team in February 2019 and works with all of the Camelback team to deepen our practice, engagement, and impact on Camelback Fellowship Alumni. Photos featured here are by Muhammad Lila for Camelback, and other Camelback team and Fellows.
When I started on the team earlier this year, one of my workstreams I was most excited about was getting to know the alumni. I have not been disappointed. Every time I am able to have a phone call, see their work or just be in their presence, I am reminded of the power and importance of our family. It is a space where entrepreneurs of color and women can be their most authentic selves and be in fellowship with others who understand their experience. I think that’s why I was so excited for our 2019 Family Reunion, and why it meant so much to rekindle this energy.
Last month, we had the honor of hosting 20 of our closest friends. Camelback Fellowship Alumni traveled from near and far to gather with us in New Orleans for reunion. This location is important to us for two reasons: 1) it is our home base, and 2) it is the city where their Fellowships started with their first Camelback Summit. As Camelback has grown over the past five years with five cohorts of the Camelback Fellowship, it’s been harder to keep in touch. Family Reunion is a gathering to connect with old and new friends, collaborate, learn more about each other as well as the current happenings at Camelback, and, of course, have some fun.
We began the weekend on a Friday with a celebratory dinner and toasts full of gratitude to those who have been there for us since day one. We heard stories fueled by appreciation and love for friends, mentors, and families. (One Fellow had our team stream his day one toast over Facebook Live.) The following day, we started out with a lil’ team builder (a mix of competition and fun) to see who could build the best bridges (no surprise, everyone was a winner!). Next was one of my personal favorites: an unconference where the conversations were created and driven by the alumni. The topics ranged from fundraising, board development, to staff culture. The fam then split into a sort of “choose your own adventure” where Fellows had opportunities to have coffee chats with Aaron and me, go on a walking experience of the history of the slave trade in New Orleans, or hear “how I built this” from a few of our Local Economies Fellows who are based in New Orleans. And, like any good family reunion, we ended it with a cookout, complete with kids playing and adults eating burgers, at Audubon Park on the river watching the sunset.
The weekend started as I thought it would: alumni coming into the room and gravitating towards those from their own cohort. However, by the end of the weekend, the cross-cohort connections and even some new collaborations emerged. It was great to sit back at the cookout and hear the #RuthlessForGood shout outs they had for each other. I felt a communal sense of belonging, as well as one of determination that we are here--in New Orleans, in America, in entrepreneurship, in education--to stay.
As I reviewed our surveys (we are program-focused; of course there were surveys!), I found a few comments from Camelback Fellows* that spoke to me:
“Great idea for getting us back together! We needed it! Thank you for this!”
“You already know that you are all amazing. Thank you for being an example of how teams should work together, respect each other, and work toward the greater good. Don’t ever underestimate who may be watching you from closely and afar. Thanks for being my first REAL money in and ensuring you stay connected.”
“Keep hustling. Self-care is just as valuable asset to growing a business as capital.”
I am humbled to be able to be part of the #CamelbackFam and am excited for us to continue to be part of their stories and journeys. I can’t wait for the next reunion and to have more alumni join. Until then, we will continue to work hard and stay humble.
*For privacy, I won’t share their names. Thank you to all Camelback Fellows who made the time and space to attend our 2019 Family Reunion, and sending love to those who weren’t able to make it this year.