Liberation is our North Star.

Our Approach

 

Our consulting approach is deeply collaborative and is guided by the following principles of adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy:

        • There is a conversation in the room that only these people at this moment can have.  Find it.

        • Move at the speed of trust.  Focus on critical connections more than critical mass - build resilience by building relationships.

        • Never a failure, always a lesson.

        • Small is good, small is all. (The large is a reflection of the small.)

Our methods, insights and recommendations are grounded in the following frameworks/analyses:

      • Systemic racism, more specifically, white supremacy/nationalism, is embedded in every organization and institution in the United States as a tool to horde money, power and resources in the hands of those who are labeled as white. (Resources: REI Groundwater Approach)

      • We are all, regardless of our racial and ethnic identities, socialized to take on certain roles to maintain systems of white supremacy. (Resource: Cycle of Socialization)

      • Creating a fully equitable organization requires:

        1. Building organizational practices, policy and culture that are steeped in a liberatory consciousness. (Resource: Developing a Liberatory Consciousness)

        2. Shifting organizational and societal cultures from one of “othering” to a culture of belonging. “Belonging describes values and practices where no person is left out of our circle of concern. Belonging means more than having just access, it means having a meaningful voice and the opportunity to participate in the design of political, social, and cultural structures. Belonging includes the right to both contribute and make demands upon society and political institutions.” (Resource: Othering and Belonging Institute)

      • We believe that true equity requires that those who are most impacted by the oppressions that we hope to end are placed in positions of authentic decision-making power within an organization so that their lived experience and expertise can impact ongoing DEI and organizational development work.