A Continuum of Freeing Design & Vigorous Futures, or the Continuum Deck, details an approach for designing for equitable & just outcomes in the present (the Freeing Design Deck) and an approach for designing for thriving worlds in the future (the Vigorous Futures Deck). …

In just a couple of weeks, I’ve gotten feedback like the following: “We had a team meeting on DEI to plan for 2021 year efforts. I got the deck the day before, and was able to refer to it for some generative inspiration. …

A lot of people have been asking me “how do you use or “play” Racial DeckEquity?” In a word, it’s flexible and evolving. This card deck is designed to be used by organizations who engage in social impact work and who wish to improve in their DEIRJ practices. There are…

Back in 2017 I wrote a Medium post called “Operationalizing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Your Nonprofit”. Having worked on a number of corporate and non-profit D & I initiatives previously, fresh from a series of racial equity and community organizing trainings from spaces like Race Forward and Chicago Freedom…

“In the first Sparks Session post US Election Day, the DFA Network reflected on how the future of social impact and the ability to create change is dependent upon continued, habituated civic engagement. Led by Alvin Schexnider (IL Department of Human Services), Jenny Kempson (US Department of Veteran Affairs), and Lulu Mickelson (Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles), the three shared their philosophies around being agents of change, and design’s role of impacting the civic sector on interpersonal, local and national levels.”

In Oct 2020, I was privileged to have had a really reflective conversation with the Possibility Project. Thanks for having me! From the Possibility Project: “We dive into the trauma that we are forced to reckon with and the healing that is required of us today in the social change work we lead. We discuss the power we have to redesign, make moves, and inform shifts in our practices, policies, and structures that allow for (or don’t) effective behavior change. Key questions include: — What does it mean to be in a constant state of design? — How do I design for deep healing? — How can I creatively help systems and institutions be more innovative, equitable, and customer/staff-centered?:

It is not uncommon to start a new initiative with the idea of “…if we build it, they’ll come.” What if, instead, we started the process with the end-users in mind, and built solutions tailor-made to their needs? Join Alvin Schexnider, Erie Neighborhood House’s Senior Director of Operations, and Host Valerie F. Leonard, to learn how human-centered design can bridge the needs of those closest to the problem (clients/users) with those who have the power, privilege, and resources to design policy and initiatives in organizations and in communities.

I wrote this article almost three years ago for Greater Good Studio based on my work and learnings across multiple public and private organizations in equity, diversity, and inclusion, which I’ve also leveraged closely alongside operations and social innovation design. Based on recent events, perhaps these approaches are still relevant for the social sector. Nothing here is a silver bullet or a TED talk-style big idea, just actionable approaches to integrate into your organizational values, strategies, and practices if you’re truly willing to invest and do the long term work. Because that’s what its really going to take. That said, there’s no time like the present to start.