The With/In Collaborative works with and in communities–and within ourselves–to re-imagine and re-design the systems that no longer serve us.
WHAT WE BELIEVE:
SOCIAL CHANGE IS SYSTEMS CHANGE
SOCIAL CHANGE IS SYSTEMS CHANGE
The With/In Collaborative works with and in communities–and within ourselves–to re-imagine and re-design social systems that no longer serve us.
LIBERATION IS POSSIBLE
LIBERATION IS POSSIBLE
There is a bright, possible future in which the institutional and relational systems in our lives promote our collective freedom from all forms of oppression.
LEADERSHIP IS A TEAM SPORT
LEADERSHIP IS A TEAM SPORT
We need one another to repair ourselves and our world. Only when we acknowledge and collaborate across difference can we manifest a more inclusive, creative and just future.
SELF AWARENESS IS FOUNDATIONAL
SELF AWARENESS IS FOUNDATIONAL
Our ability to lead with empathy, vulnerability and curiosity creates the conditions for insight, connection and, ultimately, change.
THIS WORK IS JOYFUL
THIS WORK IS JOYFUL
Without laughter and connection, this work is not sustainable. And it certainly won’t be as much fun as we are hoping to have.
HOW WE LEAD SYSTEMS CHANGE:
We believe that to change entrenched systems, we must put equity at the center of ourown leadership practice and our collective pursuit of a just future.
To do this, leaders need to co-create space where they can explore the impact of oppression and power on their work – and practice tools and mindsets that help them collaborate differently.
These include:
- Systems thinking
- Human centered design
- Network strategy
- Coaching and coach training
- Collective leadership transformation
The With/In Collaborative works with visionary leaders, conveners, funders, and networks who are looking to collaborate with fellow travelers and transform their communities.
OUR WORK INCLUDES:
BUILDING DIVERSE LEADERSHIP NETWORKS
that reflect the systems they intend to impact and change.
LEADING DESIGN TEAMS
that work to re-think and re-design seemingly intractable challenges facing a community.
RE-ALIGNING INTERNAL TEAMS
to better embody the strategies they are intending to implement in the communities they serve.
DEEPENING SELF-AWARENESS
of those who lead the change processes in their organizations and in their communities.
OUR BOOK:
LEADING SYSTEMS CHANGE
A Workbook for Community Practitionersand Founders
OUR BOOK:
LEADING SYSTEMS CHANGE
A Workbook for Community Practitionersand Founders
The With/In Collaborative is more than a consulting collaborative–it’s a commitment to do deep work alongside leaders promoting systems that reinforce our collective liberation.
MEET THE COLLABORATIVE:
BELMA GONZÁLEZ
Belma has been passionate about furthering equity and liberation since learning of the Civil Rights, Black Power and Chicano Movimiento while watching the news as a kid.
As a founding member of the With/In Collaborative she continues her life-long dedication to partnering full-heartedly with community leaders and teams on equity, liberation and love.
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In 2005, Belma became one of the first people of color from the social justice sector to become a certified coach. Belma believes coaching (one-to one and team coaching) and training leaders in coaching skills can support personal growth and self-awareness, leadership enhancement, change management, emotional-physical-spiritual balance, and fulfillment. She believes these are all essential for healing, equity and liberation.
Besides the With/In Collaborative, Belma is a faculty member with Leadership that Works, a core associate with RoadMap Consulting, and a vetted member of more than 15 coaching “pools” for numerous leadership programs, including the Nexus Fellowship, Rockwood Leadership Institute, and programs associated with CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and UCSF’s HealthForce. Belma worked in nonprofits for 26 years prior to becoming a coach, including a community-based women’s clinic and a leadership program for women’s health leaders. She holds a Professional Certified Coach credential through the International Coach Federation and a BA from San Francisco State University.
JOHNNY MANZON-SANTOS
Johnny has engaged peace and social justice movements since 1985 as an activist, organizer and client advocate.
A strategic thinker with deep experience in the nonprofit sector, he served 15 years as executive director of health/HIV agencies in New York and San Francisco. In his current work as a leadership coach, trainer, and founding member of the With/In Collaborative, Johnny partners with individuals and groups to unleash their power and redirect the privilege from which they benefit, thereby transforming our systems toward greater interconnectedness, justice and healing.
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Sourcing in part from his intersectional experiences as a cisgender queer man of color, he is committed to democratizing the ‘technology’ of coaching, expanding access to both who gets to be coached and who gets to be a coach. Johnny is certified by the Coaches Training Institute, credentialed through the International Coach Federation, and a faculty member with Leadership that Works. He is an alumnus of Brown University and the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
MARK NICOLSON
Mark is dedicated to helping people live lives of purpose, connection, and social and environmental justice.
For the last 20 years, his focus has been developing and sharing collective practices for social and personal transformation. Now a founding member of the With/In Collaborative, he has worked with many visionary social change organizations, including Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), the design and consulting firm IDEO, Desmond Tutu and his family foundation, as well as many equity-focused start-ups.
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Mark has an MBA from Stanford University and an MA in classical literature from University of Oxford. Early in his career, he worked in investment banking. After the spiritual awakening that inspired his life and work philosophy, he became a partner in Alexander, the UK pioneer in executive coaching, then took a sabbatical at Esalen Institute to study and to manage the garden.
ADENE SACKS
Adene is a philanthropic advisor and social strategist who works alongside visionary leaders and communities to re-imagine and re-design communal systems. Her favorite days at work involve thinking expansively with multi sector teams, foundations and organizations through the lens of network strategy, human-centered design and systems thinking to build our collective capacity to create a more just world. There is usually chocolate involved.
She happily wears many hats. She is the co-founder of the With/in Collaborative; and program director to the New Leadership Network.
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Over the last few years, Adene has been embedded with the Organizational Effectiveness team at the Packard Foundation; stewarded the Hawaii Community Foundation’s Network of Network Leaders; and served as senior advisor to both DataKind and the Fellows Program at Stanford’s d.school. In a previous life, Adene served as the first senior program officer at Jim Joseph Foundation and the founding US director of the Israel Venture Network. In 2011, she received the JJ Greenberg Award for Philanthropic Leadership from the Jewish Funders Network.
Adene’s writing focuses on what impacts our ability to repair our world. In 2019, she and Open Impact’s Heather McLeod Grant recently co-authored Leading Systems Change, the story of two communities in California’s Central Valley worked across sectors, race, and entrenched communal norms to design a better future for all who live there. The book provides funders and practitioners with a detailed case-study, lessons learned, and tools for creating more equity-centered systems change.
FELLOW TRAVELERS*
*We prefer the term “fellow travelers” to “partners”. To us, this distinction is intended to convey that we share a set of values and vision for the future that goes beyond the transactional involvement in one another’s work.
THOMAS BOTH
Thomas is a designer and design educator whose passion is helping people understand the practice of human-centered design—and their ability as designers—to innovate how they learn, think, and solve problems.
He is director of the Designing for Social Systems program at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school) at Stanford University. In this program, he teaches professionals how to apply design thinking to complex social challenges and facilitates workshops for social impact leaders to develop a more human and strategic practice.
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Working with both students and professionals, Thomas has designed and led immersive hands-on experiences, including the Design Thinking Bootcamp executive workshop and various iterations of a fundamentals course called Design Thinking Studio. From these programs, he developed methodologies and created free public resources such as the Bootcamp Bootleg. Thomas earned a master’s degree in design from Stanford after a previous career as a mechanical engineer.
MARIA HERNANDEZ
Maria is passionate about helping fellow travelers meet their goals with a positive, encouraging and genuine attitude.
A Stanislaus County native, she received both her Bachelor’s in Communication Studies and Master’s in Public Administration from CSU Stanislaus. Maria enjoys learning about and connecting her community to resources. She spends her free time admiring the outdoors and making memories with family and friends.
The With/In Collaborative works nationally with visionary conveners, funders, networks and community leaders. And, we have some serious love for our home state of California.
OUR CLIENT NETWORKS:
We have been honored to partner with the amazing leaders in these networks as part of our work.
THE NEW LEADERSHIP NETWORK
The New Leadership Network brings together diverse leaders in California’s Central Valley – across issues, sectors, generations, races, and ethnicities – to learn, build relationships and collaborate on a better future. This network was started in Fresno 6 years ago by Heather McLeod Grant with funding from the James Irvine Foundation. The Collaborative partnered with them on the replication site in Stanislaus. Read our book to learn how this network is shifting the trajectory of California’s Central Valley.
THE FIRST 5 NAPA Network
The First 5 Napa Network is a diverse, cross-sector network of emerging and established leadership in Napa County, focused on redesigning the system of care that impacts all of Napa’s families. Started in 2019, this new network has just completed its first cohort of leaders and is recruiting its second.
THE FIRST 5 ASSOCIATION
The First Five Association, launched in partnership with Open Impact, works to ensure California’s young children are safe, healthy and ready to succeed. The F5 Leadership Network acts to align early childhood partners across the state and be an incubator for collaboration and learning.
CONNECT WITH US
Simply fill out the contact form to the right or send us an email directly at info@withincollaborative.com.