Engage to Change is a Black, woman and queer owned collective that centers voices of color, draws strength from indigenous wisdom and uplifts the lived experiences of BIPOC folks. Our goal is collective liberation and we collaborate to imagine and build a world that doesn't exist yet.
Rakeem Washington
(he/him/his)
CO-OWNER AND FACILITATOR
I regularly seem to find myself at intersections. Intersections of systems. Intersections of identities. Intersections of ideas. I'm most comfortable in the pause that is required at any intersection in life. Trying to figure out which way to head next: left? right? straight-ahead? u-turn?
Kasia Rutledge
(she/her/hers)
CO-OWNER AND FACILITATOR
I used to be really worried about doing anti-racism work with groups. I was terrified I would make a mistake, that I would not know when I didn’t understand something, that I wouldn’t have the right words to say and that at worst that I would do harm to the people I was working with.
Hank Lemley
(they/he)
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
My brain has a magnetic compulsion towards structure big and small. In my role as Director of Operations at Engage to Change, I utilize my love of efficiency and organization through behind-the-scenes work expanding the capacity of the ETC team.
Roberta Phillip-Robbins
(she/her/hers)
CONSULTANT AND FACILITATOR
I am drawn to anti-racism training, coaching, and facilitation because I believe that the pathway to a just society is through individual work and increased self-awareness. Try as I might to dismantle and re-orient systems through an equity-driven approach to public policy work, my life experience has confirmed that Peter Drucker was right when he said “culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
Chris Williams
(he/him/his)
CONSULTANT AND FACILITATOR
Hugo Gonzalez Venegas
(he/him/él)
CONSULTANT AND FACILITATOR
I am a lover of stories. The work that ETC does aligns with my core beliefs about myself and the world I choose to be a part of. Antiracism work is a part of my story and I believe this work has become increasingly relevant and important in this fast-moving society we currently live in.
Ever since I was a child, I always asked Why? Why is this like this? This inquisitiveness has manifested into a desire to never stop learning and growing as a human. In my current role as an attorney for a non-profit in New York, I assist children arriving alone at the US Border seeking asylum, but more importantly, listening to the stories of these kids and asking why they are arriving at the border alone.
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Tell us about your experience and learn about the opportunities we have available.