2023 Highlights and Celebrations

Centering Creativity, Rest, and Joy

When we first started the Novalia Collective, we wanted to do things differently than the corporate, non-profit, and education spaces we’ve been in during our careers. We wanted to give ourselves time and opportunity to rest, indulge in creative activities, and hear more stories from people around the country and world. This year, we gave ourselves a sabbatical where we did just that. At the start of the year, the both of us traveled throughout Viet Nam together drinking a lot of coffee and tea and ate delicious bowls of hot noodles. Vina stayed longer to visit her family in the Mekong and learned more about Vietnamese tea. Odelia took the rest of her sabbatical time experiencing the most beautiful views in New Zealand.

Sabbatical in Viet Nam

Storytelling Towards Change

One of the best parts of our job is witnessing narratives unfold, shift, and change in ways that support both individuals and organizations to see a new path forward. This year, we held an amazing intergenerational cohort of women of color in the Bay Area through a writing and performance program culminating in a live performance. We also traveled to Mesa Verde National Park where we worked with their Indigenous interns and rangers on a storytelling project that will be held at the park.

Mesa Verde National Park

Strategizing and Designing For a Different Future

Throughout the year, we had the privilege of collaborating closely with a diverse array of organizations, guiding them through the intricacies of their strategic planning processes and organizational culture redesign efforts. We pride ourselves in moving beyond the conventional strategic planning process and instead leaning into storytelling, design, and deep collaboration with the entire team, and not just leadership teams. It was also so gratifying working with returning partners, seeing the progress they’ve made, and continuing to support their journey.

Group huddle before this is my body showcase

What Lies Ahead

As we look ahead to the new year, we’re eager to continue our journey of co-creation, collaboration, and exploration with new and existing partners. We will also be sharing a comprehensive guide to our Joy-Based Approach, which we hope will help organizations think about how to center joy in their work and organizational culture. Stay tuned!

We would really love to do more staff retreats, community conversations, design workshops, and storytelling work so if this sounds like something your organization might need, let us know! We’d love to work with you.

A Small Offering

While we’ve celebrated some incredible milestones, we’ve also mourned and grieved the loss of lives from the October 7th attack and the ongoing genocide in Palestine. It weighs heavily on our minds, prompting us to consistently introspect on how we can authentically incorporate our values into our daily work. It’s crucial to recognize that leading with values is not a fleeting trend or a mere statement; rather, it serves as a guiding compass in times of uncertainty.

If you’d like to explore the intersection between your personal values and how they show up in your workplace or community, please join us for a short one-hour creative storytelling workshop on January 31, 2024. Sign me up!

Thank you for being an integral part of our journey. Here’s to another year of working to create ourselves to freedom.

Best Wishes,

Vina & Odelia