On Partnerships
By Steve Lustig
Partnerships - what an odd word to be so much a part of my life. I am who I am because of partnerships throughout my life. They have been personal, organizational and strategic. Partnerships take many forms for me, from the personal (a long-term marriage and extended family) to involvement in cooperatives, coalitions, community-based health programs and political advocacy.
I learn, grow, and gain a more holistic perspective through partnerships, broadly defined. For me, they validate and help to clarify purpose and meaning. They enhance engagement and reinforce social connections. I believe that a diversity of perceptions and perspectives strengthen results.
My engagement with partnerships has been enhanced by the opportunities that have come up in the historical period in which I live. Raising our children in the 60s and 70s offered opportunities for handling challenges many of us young parents with financial challenges were experiencing. We helped each other through cooperative child care, cooperative food buying groups and other collaborations.
At the same time advocacy around civil rights, free speech and anti-war protests led to formation of coalitions and coordinated actions. Coalition partnerships were key in the Free Speech Movement (where I met my future wife as we were being arrested) and the coalition that followed from that which became the Vietnam Day Committee, hosting the largest Vietnam War teach-in in 1965.
In the mid-sixties I studied community organizing and worked in South Chicago, which only intensified my interest to work with people who lead different lives. My return to Berkeley came with a plunge into work with political coalitions and advocacy. During the early years of Berkeley Citizens Action, BCA spent a lot of time before elections developing platforms with input from various sectors across our communities, including labor unions, ethnic groups, and education and environmental groups. A very powerful experience. I was elected to the Berkeley School Board on these platforms and continued to work with partners across our neighborhoods.
Much of my career was in Health Care and University Administration where, working as a team, we were able to create more integrated approaches to individual and community health programs and initiatives. These initiatives involved pulling together people from various professions to develop sustainable programs. For me, these were examples of how collaborations foster innovation.
Then there is our Ashby Village, and our work with others in the community to produce the Age-Friendly Berkeley Action Plan (www.agefriendlyberkeley.org) and the Berkeley Continuum (www.berkeleycontinuum.org). Fostering ongoing partnerships will be key as we move our Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives out into the communities we serve.
I grew up in San Diego, a town rich in theater options, such as the Old Globe Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse. I acted in various plays for 13 years and from that experience learned that it takes collaboration among all members of the company to create a story, and that probably continues to influence my perspective today.
Steve became involved with Ashby Village in 2011, helping to facilitate our first Strategic and Business Plans. He became a member of the Board eight years ago and serves on the Governance Committee and Co-Chairs the Partnerships Committee. His focus since joining the board has primarily been on linking Ashby Village with the broader community of people and organizations that work with older adults. This work with old and new partners will become a key part of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative. Before retirement in 2009, he was Associate Vice Chancellor, Health and Human Services at UC Berkeley.