One defining thread in all of my work has been participatory action research (PAR)—that is, engaging impacted groups in co-leadership and co-design of action-oriented work—specifically with youth or around youth development and the arts.
Whether it be in the classroom in the form of inquiry-based learning, or in large-scale systems change efforts in the form of building networks of care for one of the largest counties in the country, my approach centers the wisdom and leadership of those with lived experience to the highest extent possible at all stages of our work together.
I am a trained facilitator in the Advancing Youth Development framework, to be able to support adults and “yelders” (older youth leaders) in working with youth; and I hold a certificate in Healing Centered Engagement from Flourish Agenda, having worked closely with Dr. Shawn Ginwright and his brilliant team.
Services
I am excited to consult on projects with a client parter who is committed to creating real systems change through deeply community-engaged practices. This includes work in the fields of youth development, healing-centered arts, juvenile justice, and community wellness. You can get a sense of my expertise and approach by clicking the arrows below to read about a few major initiatives that I served as a senior consultant or senior director for.
One City Summer Initiative (OSCI) / Communities on the Rise (COR) for the Washington, DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation
OCSI and COR were two citywide initiatives that used a collective impact strategy to strengthen youth development outcomes in areas of Washington, DC that had experienced significant and historical over-policing and poverty. Through executive office of the Mayor, all DC government agencies that touched youth were brought together to identify and work towards shared health, workforce, academic, safety, and family-strenthening outcomes. Under my leadership, youth leaders and resident leaders from the neighborhoods-of-focus were brought into the decision-making process, and a grants process was developed to ensure that local “mom and pop” organizations doing youth work within those communities were prioritized for funding to sustain their efforts.
Read a report of findings from the OCSI work in summer 2013.
Arts-based Healing Centered Engagement framework for the LA County Department of Arts and Culture
When the LA County Department of Arts and Culture released a request for proposals (RFP) in 2019 to identify community-based arts organizations to do “healing centered” arts education within juvenile probation facilities, county recreation centers, and public housing communities, I recognized that there was a need for some foundational work to be done in partnership with our impacted communities. In my role as a senior consultant for youth development, I devised a plan with my team to engage teaching artists, youth, youth development practitioners, and researchers in creating a shared understanding and framework for what arts-based healing-centered engagement is, within the socio-cultural context of Los Angeles / Tovaangar. The difficult conversations that emerged around the tensions of a county government that has engaged in harmful practices towards indigenous, Black, and colonized communities now being the arbiter of what is/isn’t “healing-centered” work were deeply important. The brilliant folks at Flourish Agenda, which codified a definition of Healing Centered Engagement rooted in decades of work with Black youth in Oakland, CA, supported this multi-year process.
This Wisdom Guide was created to tell the story and deep learnings of / from the artists and culture-bearers engaged in that work.
Youth Development Networks with the W. Haywood Burns Institute, for the LA County Department of Youth Development
The W. Haywood Burns Institute facilitated a multi-year process with formerly-incarcerated youth, community-based organizations, judges, probation officers, and other county departments to develop a plan to move LA County from being the largest jailer of young people in the world to being one centered in “care first.” That process led to the creation of the Youth Justice Reimagined vision. Amongst other powerful recommendations, the YJR vision named the need for a department of youth development and the creation of strong “youth development networks” to ensure that all young people received the services, opportunities, and supports needed to thrive. As the senior consultant on the Youth Development Network project, I have worked closely with community leaders from five regions across the county to develop a model for youth development networks that are culturally sustaining, advance shared power and community co-leadership, center relationship-building, and support the healing of harmful power dynamics. I have also worked closely with Department of Youth Development staff—using my knowledge from also having within other government agencies—to support them in making the organizational cultural shifts required to implement the model to fidelity.
Rebecca Renard-Wilson 