Evolve
Anonymous | paid $1,400
Locations were changed without notice or warning, meals were not provided as promised and I lost weight over the course of the workshop, the few food options that were provided did not take into account allergies or other dietary restrictions, there were 16 participants instead of the advertised max of 8-10, Kyla mistreated the models, failed to communicate with vendors, and prioritized her own shot list instead of the experience of her attendees, there was never any communication about when we were leaving or where we were going, Kyla's friends received preferential treatment in the form of private rooms at the airbnb and about twice as much solo shooting time as the rest of us, I was personally (and literally) cornered in the basement of the airbnb and accused of "shit-talking" behind her back after I expressed concerns to one of her assistants, those of us not in the in-crowd received anywhere from 15-30 seconds per shoot to direct the models when her friends were receiving 3-4 minutes, and I was yelled at and insulted in front of the entire group after requesting an additional 10 seconds of shooting time.
What happened
From a group letter we sent to another educator after our experience, signed by 8 attendees:
• We felt neither safe nor respected by being yelled at in front of the group.
• Many of us had to comfort others who were crying and wanting to go home because she refused to listen
• We were HORRIFIED at seeing participants act racist towards other participants and the leader not doing anything about it. Attendees were undeniably mistreated by other participants under Kyla’s gaze and nothing was done to stop it. Several on this letter were treated with racial hostility and that was the final straw.
◦ Several of us volunteered to make Target and food runs with her assistant because her
assistants had racist encounters in the city, and even after hearing about it, Kyla would
not go with them.
• Kyla berated her two assistants in front of us for driving the speed limit and told them they were making the group late to sessions and making us miss dinners. When they explained that they were people of color and did not feel comfortable speeding, for fear of being pulled over and treated unequally due to their skin tone, she dismissed their concerns.
Kyla Jeanette replied
People have always been at the heart of my business. I want to be direct about the parts of this review that describe me as tolerating racist behavior, creating an unwelcoming environment based on race, gender identity, or sexual orientation, or treating assistants and vendors poorly. Those are incredibly serious allegations that are not consistent with my values. I don't tolerate or condone discrimination and I never have.
This review is about a workshop I hosted in 2020 where I made real operational mistakes. Communication, organization, transportation, and meals -- these were significant issues, and I know they greatly affected the people who showed up expecting a great experience. In the weeks that followed, I had numerous individual and group conversations with attendees about those challenges. To everyone whose experience fell short because of how I ran the workshop, I'm genuinely sorry. Truly. I wish I could go back and give those attendees the enjoyable experience they deserved. Those shortcomings were real, and they were mine. And they were failures of planning and organization, not of character.
While six years have passed since this workshop, and I no longer host workshops, I recognize it may still be on the minds of some who attended. If anyone would like to reach out to me directly, I would genuinely welcome that conversation.
-kyla