Beyond the Page: Leadership, Equity & the Cost of Comfort

In this powerful cross-sector dialogue, publisher Lisa Lucas and public health equity strategist Dr. Gabriela Alcalde examine what it means to lead as women of color in spaces shaped by whiteness. From literature to healthcare, they unpack the personal and professional tolls of challenging dominant culture and how institutions must evolve to support equity beyond optics. A rare conversation at the intersection of visibility, power, and justice.

Tuesday, September 23 at 7:00 PM (doors 6:30 PM), approximately 90 minutes including Q&A.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Born in Lima, Peru, Dr. Alcalde is a creative, anti-supremacist leader with experience in the philanthropic, academic, governmental, nonprofit, and grassroots sectors. She writes and speaks locally, nationally, and internationally about shifting the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors, culture change, racial justice, and leadership of women of color. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Louisville, a master’s in public health from Boston University, and a doctorate in global public health from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. What Your Comfort Costs Us is her first book.

Lisa Lucas was most recently the senior vice president & publisher of Pantheon and Schocken Books at Penguin Random House. Previously, Lucas was the executive director of the National Book Foundation, the publisher of Guernica Magazine, director of education at the Tribeca Film Institute, and on the development team at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.She was recently featured in the New York Times.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Presented by Mechanics' Hall, Beyond Comfort: Conversations to Transform Culture is a three-part speaker series that brings together nationally recognized authors and changemakers who challenge the status quo and invite us into deeper reflection, courageous leadership, and transformative justice.

These events ask: What must we risk to create cultures of equity? How do we move through discomfort to action? And how can we lead, learn, and live in ways that repair rather than repeat harm?

Don’t miss the other events of the series including on Tuesday, August 12 at 7:00 PM and on Tuesday, September 9 at 7:00 PM.

PARKING & TRANSPORTATION

The Greater Portland Metro’s Congress & Casco Street Stop is directly in front of our building, served by routes 1, 7, 8, and 9B.

Parking is available at the Arts District Garage, which has entrances on Casco and Brown Street, with a rate of $5 per hour. Metered street parking is available on Congress, Casco, Cumberland, Free Street, and other nearby streets. Free hourly street parking is available between Parris and Alder Street.

ACCESSIBILITY

To enter our building, patrons will need to navigate a single step. There is a wheelchair-accessible elevator and a ramp available upon request.

If you need accessibility accommodations/questions please contact us at [email protected] or 207-773-8396.

Host or Publisher Mechanics' Hall (Maine)