JUSTICE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

 

Welcome. We are so happy you've landed on this page. There are many reasons you might be here and a host of services you may be searching for. We are going to outline our offerings and share our approach to this wildly broad landscape that people call “Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” or “DEI” or “Equity”

Our Approach To Partnering With Clients Towards Organizational Change

PFCC works for organizational transformation through practices that support change on personal, interpersonal, institutional and cultural levels. Whether we are engaging in strategic planning, facilitating workshops or supporting a DEI committee, we:

  • Begin with an assessment and honest reflection on where the organization has come from, where it is now, and where it wants to go. We pay attention to the current orientation to equity at all levels of staff and in each department or program and where relevant, actively seek input from partners.

  • Center those most impacted. We know that the people most impacted by inequities have critical insights necessary to shape long-term strategies that will best address their experiences.

  • Work closely with leadership so that leadership are truly leading JEDI efforts, experientially learning the skills and analysis critical for avoiding common pitfalls and successfully engaging the staff community.

  • Create an environment of equitable practice. We encourage practices that shift away from stagnant, defeating patterns (such as shame, blame, superficial accountability, performative allyship, “checkbox approach” to DEI, punitive culture) so that people can show up authentically and courageously, take risks, learn from mistakes and take joy in growth edges as they appear.

  • Root in values and build on assets. By surfacing and lifting up shared aspirations and existing knowledge we build organizational momentum for the work ahead. We strive to integrate values into both an organization’s equity goals  and the process for achieving those goals. In a workshop setting, we start where people and organizations are at individually and collectively to strengthen what is already strong and lift up internal knowledge and expertise.

  • Use a systems analysis. It is critical to be able to understand systems of inequity and how they impact the people, the mission and work of an organization. When we work with individual “isms” (racism, sexism, cissexism, ableism, classism, etc.), we help people understand them in the systemic context of historic and current patterns of power, privilege and oppression. We find that when people can really see and feel clearly the mechanisms of systemic oppression and the common patterns of impact, it enables groups to effectively act on those systems to transform them.

  • Chart a path through conflict and differences. Encountering conflict along the path of equity transformation is natural and normal. It does not mean you are doing it wrong, it means that change is occurring and shared frameworks and tools are needed to skillfully navigate it.

  • Support long-term practice. Prioritizing strategies that can address immediate needs and  build commitment and capacity to sustain equity work on an ongoing basis. Integration into the policies, procedures and practices of each dimension of the organization.

What to Expect

  1. We begin with an initial conversation to understand need and context, and draft a Scope of Work.

  2. Once in contract, we often initiate the work by establishing (or working with an existing) equity team to collaborate with, and be accountable to, throughout our engagement.

  3. We often conduct an assessment of the staff and key partners’ values, current experience and future vision of the organization and use that to build out a tailored process. Depending on need, this could include: workshops, coaching, conflict mediation or restorative justice process, and/or strategic planning and implementation.

  4. Regardless of the specific tailored process, a crucial part of our engagements involves building a shared understanding and skills within the Executive Leadership and Board to build their capacity for leading on equity and organizational change.

  5. We often provide guidance and recommendations for long-term, sustained and supportive values-aligned work.

  6. We can also stick around longer to support with implementation of recommendations, workshop delivery, etc.





How We Might Work Together:

  • Design and facilitation of interactive on-line or in-person workshops and trainings. Topics include: Foundations of Anti-Oppression Praxis,

    Interdependence of SocialJustice/Racial Justice and the Environment,

    Unlearning White Supremacy, Finding and Unpacking Whiteness,

    Dismantling the Gender Binary in your Organization,

    Conflict Management in Equity Transformation

  • Equity and Justice Coaching is a way to build your capacity to embody your deepest values around racial justice and social justice through working one on one with a coach.

  • Organizational JEDI Assessment

    Partnerships JEDI Assessment

    Equity and staff roles Audit

  • Conflict coaching, mediation and relational repair, with an eye toward power dynamics and hierarchy.

    Fresh starts, transitions, recovering from moments of impact, upheaval, or damage.

  • Creation and/or facilitation of groups within organizations who share a particular experience or issue.

  • Guidance and supportive structures for peer-led learning, which is one of the most sustainable models for long-term transformative change.

  • Drawing on practices from Participatory Action Research we design tailored engagement programs

  • Support for unpacking privilege, dismantling oppression, countering forms of fragility, from Theatre of the Oppressed and somatic awareness approaches

Does our particular flavor complement your special sauce?

As you choose who to accompany you in this vital work, consider these to help determine if we are a good match. We are excited about working with organizations that are:

  1. Finding ways to get more resources, decision-making power, leadership opportunities, etc. into the hands of people who are most directly affected by an issue. If you are an organization that wants to earnestly shift power and resources you have come to the right place.

  2. Working with or towards a deep understanding of the interdependent relationships between all beings and all systems. 

  3. Building strong, meaningful relationships among organizational collaborators, including consultants. We find that JEDI efforts are deepest and provide the most lasting change when the process itself is humanizing and relational.

  4. Dedicated to long term transformative change, rather than a “one-off” training or consult. We are passionate about shifting conditions so that work for equity and justice can take root. Understanding an organization as an ecosystem, we aim to shift patterns and conditions over time rather than tinkering with individualized tweaks.

Our Process

As your partners in organizational change, we often begin by assessing your hopes and needs for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. We provide support to identify existing strengths, challenges and roadblocks, and offer recommended pathways for your organization to move forward towards JEDI goals. Once recommendations are created, we support leaders to create strategic shifts and expand capacities to institutionalize JEDI values, practices, policies, and culture within your organization. 

We recommend reading this insightful article by our colleague Laurin Mayeno to help you and your colleagues assess what is needed to undertake this type of work: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Work: Eight Questions for Building Readiness and Steering Clear of Pitfalls.

For an exploratory intake conversation, please be in touch with a message to us here. We looking forward to connecting with you.