ORGANIZATIONS ASCEND
Strategy and Approach
Organizations are like atoms, they are one of the most basic building blocks of our culture. Changing an organizational structure is a radical act of imagination and collective courage. When making an investment in this type of communal change it is important to have alignment with the various guides who will help steward this process of rebirth.
As a former executive director and founding director of multiple community serving organizations I have a unique understanding of the challenges that nonprofits, universities, NGOs, governments and tribal organizations navigate.
I provide services in community based research, strategic planning, organizational culture shift, group facilitation, as well as program strategy and evaluation. I can also be brought in as a guest lecturer or speaker. My approach integrates indigenous and arts based perspective and is informed by
Images from arts and indigenous based research conducted for ThirdSpace Action Lab.
Some of the experience and cultural lenses I bring are:
ART AND BODY BASED WISDOMS
as a lifetime socially engaged and community practice artist I have over 20 years of experience in how to engage communities in thoughtful, meaningful, and mutually rewarding ways
DIRECT EXPERIENCE
my time as a director / co-director/ weaver (Voces Unidas, Equal Voice Network, Las Imaginistas and Xi’im Ek Balam)
DECOLONIAL STRATEGIES
my work with tribal communities throughout the Americas (including the US southwest, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru and Guatemala)
ANALYTICAL TRAINING
my experience as a trained and professional researcher in Participatory Action, arts based and indigenous research (Harvard University, MIT, Columbia University, Center for Urban Pedagogy)