A Note from CJ

Hello Power of Hope community!

My name is CJ Suitt, and I’m excited to introduce myself as the new Creative Director & Cultural Strategist for Power of Hope. While this title is new, my relationship with Power of Hope is not. For the past eight years, I’ve had the joy of serving as a Co-Lead at Power of Hope Bolinas, learning alongside incredible young people, artists, facilitators, and community members. That experience has deeply shaped how I think about creativity, leadership, community, and what becomes possible when we create the right conditions for people to show up fully.

I’m a performance poet, arts educator, community organizer, and restorative justice practitioner from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Having spent significant time in Oakland, California I also consider it a second home of sorts.  Much of my work lives at the intersection of story, creativity, community, and justice. Striving to create spaces where people can listen to one another, imagine what’s possible, and discover something they didn’t know they were capable of creating.

I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about what happens when we give people, especially young people the space to tell their own stories, make meaning together, experiment, play, and lead. That’s what draws me so deeply to Power of Hope. I believe creativity isn’t something we simply schedule into a program. It’s a way of being together. Creative facilitation, for me, is about creating the conditions for something unexpected to emerge: a new idea, a new song, a new relationship, a new way of seeing ourselves or each other. It means being curious enough to follow what is happening in the room rather than always knowing exactly where we’re going.

I’m stepping into this role with enormous respect for the many people who have already shaped Power of Hope; campers, staff, artists, facilitators, organizers, and communities across all the different places this work has lived. I’m excited to listen, learn, and help nurture the creative spirit that makes these camps what they are. My hope is to support spaces where young people aren’t simply participants in someone else’s vision, but are recognized as artists, culture-makers, leaders, and co-creators of what comes next.

After nine years at Bolinas, I know firsthand that the magic of Power of Hope doesn’t come from having everything figured out. It comes from the people who show up willing to be curious, playful, vulnerable, courageous, and a little bit mischievous. I’m excited to carry that spirit into this new role and to learn from the many communities that make up Power of Hope.

I’m looking forward to meeting more of you, hearing your stories, and imagining together. There is so much wisdom in this community already. I can’t wait to see what we make with it.

With gratitude and curiosity,
CJ Suitt
Creative Director & Cultural Strategist
Power of Hope