Friends General Conference (FGC) has announced the promotion of Rashid Darden to the position of Associate Secretary for Communications and Outreach.  In this new capacity, Rashid will have expanded, spiritually grounded responsibilities in communications, publications, distribution, and outreach initiatives of the organization.  He will also join the Administrative Team.

Since first joining FGC staff in 2021, Rashid has served as the Communications Manager.  Specifically, he was responsible for leadership and expertise on website development, social media management, and relationships between FGC and Quaker website administrators. During that time, Rashid was credited with a variety of accomplishments, including shepherding the relaunch of the FGC website, helping guide Central Committee through the difficult decisions relating to Quaker Cloud, steadily increasing FGC’s social media engagement, developing the Quaker Communications Community of Practice, and helping to expand communications staffing—all of which have resulted in increased visibility of the Religious Society of Friends.  Rashid has also been a facilitator, presenter, and champion of restorative practices in Quaker spaces.

Prior to joining FGC staff, Rashid accumulated many years of experience in nonprofit leadership.  He has served as a Director of Development for two nonprofit organizations based in Washington, DC, and is a past Executive Director and National President of Gamma Xi Phi, a fraternity for artists. Rashid is a member of Friends Meeting of Washington in the District of Columbia and a resident of Northampton County, North Carolina.

According to Barry Crossno, General Secretary of FGC, “I’m very excited that we’ve taken this step and very grateful to Rashid for saying yes to this promotion.  This position will enable Rashid to be a more public facing figure among Friends and help facilitate a strategy to move FGC towards an advancement model that better entwines development and communications staffing and goals.”

About FGC

Friends General Conference is a coalition of meetings of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers.  Established in 1900 in North America, FGC is led by volunteers, supported by staff, and powered by the generosity of donors.  Friends General Conference is best known for service to liberal Quakers in the “unprogrammed tradition,” meaning those Quaker communities that largely worship in silence and do not have a traditional, hierarchical clergy structure.  FGC nurtures the spiritual vitality of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) by providing programs and services for Friends, meetings, and seekers. Those programs include a summer Gathering, a bookstore, in-person and virtual workshops and retreats, and extensive print and online publications.