My Accountability Circle

My accountability circle which plays an important role in my overall accountability system. Everyone in my circle has agreed to play three roles:

• Act as secondary accountability contacts. Sar Surmick is my primary accountability contact and in most cases I think it’s best for anyone who has concerns about me to contact Sar with them. But if for any reason you aren’t comfortable approaching Sar, you can reach out to anyone in my circle.
• Advise and guide me. As a cis het white man with a leadership position, I have substantial power and correspondingly large blind spots. My circle provides me with advice and guidance when I’m unsure how to handle questions of consent, power, or privilege.
• Call me in when needed. I’ve chosen the people in my circle because I believe they will prioritize doing the right thing over doing what I want. If my conduct becomes problematic, they’ve all agreed to call me in—gently and privately if possible, harshly and publicly if they feel that’s necessary.

The people in my circle contribute a much wider range of perspectives and insights than any one person is able to.

It’s important to note that I’ve deliberately included some people who are close to me as well some people who aren’t. The people closest to me are able to contribute valuable insights about me to the circle, but have all agreed to recuse themselves from it whenever any member of the circle deems it appropriate.

The accountability circle is less formal, more advisory, and more diverse than my consent consultant. Together, the two parts will hopefully form a robust and comprehensive whole.

My circle consists of the following people:

Sar Surmick of Consent Academy
Call Me Sage
Sophia Sky of the Pan Eros Foundation
BacoNawa
Martin Dinn
Juni
Shay