We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sagdrina Brown Jalal. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sagdrina below.

Sagdrina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

When I think of my legacy, I think of my mother (Ma’dear), grandmothers (Ma Meena and Lula Belle), and dear friends who have ascended to the ancestral realm. I think of my father, Sage Brown, a decorated Vietnam veteran who was hand-picked by civil rights leaders to desegregate Chatham County Public Schools. He went on to become one of the most respected and influential civil rights attorneys in the South. I also think of current freedom fighters, both those that I have the privilege of working alongside and those whom I admire from a distance. These people are forces who have served me, shaped my thinking, and co-authored my steps.

I also think of my three children, my grandchild, and my many nieces and nephews. I think of the world I am building for them, with them, through them.

SageD Consulting is the manifestation of the future I am demanding for myself and my children. It is a a Black-women-led, community-centered space for leaders to lead with authenticity and intention. Because our strength is reflected in our combined talents and treasures, we refer to ourselves as a collective – officially, The SageD Collective.

One of my signature programs, Legacy Leadership, was designed to honor each of our unique paths while recognizing key resources, information, and tools necessary to maximize impact. It is a delicate balance of amplifying what we know to be true based on data and what we believe to be possible through innovation. The 18-month foundational experience grounds us co-creators, builds our network of allies, and supports us as we identify our personal commitment to the care of self.

But my legacy goes beyond my work. My legacy is in the intentional design of my home, in the routine gathering of folks around the traditional Gullah Geechee dishes of my childhood, in the thriving, holistic garden I tend with my grandson. My ancestors taught me to birth a liberated future, and my legacy is reaching for the world we all deserve and bringing it towards us in the present moment.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

I once dipped into personal savings, without hesitation, to cover expenses for a project at work. I believed so much in the work of the organization that when promised funding didn’t materialize, I did what many Black women in the social sector do: I figured it out.

In December of 2019, I was the founding Executive Director of the Georgia Farmers Market Association (GFMA). I hosted the national Community Food Systems Conference in my hometown of Savannah that featured powerful leaders such as Michael Twitty, Sallie Ann Robinson, and Rachel Willis. The reviews from the hundreds of diverse attendees consistently showed tremendous value for the space my team and I created. The sessions were carefully curated to build on the collective skills and talents of each participant. Facilitators and speakers were selected based on their knowledge, experience, and brilliance.

Despite the tremendous success of the conference, I struggled to pay the bills. I used my personal savings to pay the hotel fees of our speakers while I waited for donations that had been promised months prior. Saddened and in shock by the lack of support by the very institutions that are supposed to support organizations like GFMA, I ended up leaving the organization to join a different organization full time.

Leaving GFMA broke my heart. Leaving knowing that the work was far from finished was devastating. Leaving with almost $25,000 due to me personally (with no clear repayment plan in sight) was incomprehensible.

How did this happen to me? Because institutional philanthropy doesn’t trust Black women.

Periodt.

Not even to do work in our own communities.

Not even to do work that we’ve been doing successfully without support from traditional funding sources.

Not even when we have personally funded the work all along.

The lessons I learned from the lack of institutional support for Black women prompted me to launch SageD Consulting. We are ourselves a model of collective work and responsibility, and our work is dedicated to supporting Black women and Black people.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown has significantly shaped the way I approach the work of community building. I highly recommend this book to everyone, and especially those engaged in social impact work. Other resources that have impacted my work tremendously are the work of bell hooks and The Nap Ministry.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sagedconsulting.com
• Instagram: @sagdrina
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/sagdrinajalal

Image Credits
All images are taken by Katlyne Hill, except the black and white photo, which was taken by Erica Clahar.