This month we are so honored to be celebrating 5 years of working together as Emergence Collective!
It has been such an amazing journey building a business we cherish alongside incredible partners and friends who value learning, growth, and authentic participation in service of equity. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this first 5 years - we are so excited to continue working together for the rest of the decade! Our team took a few minutes to share some quick reflections below as we mark this milestone. P.S. Scroll to the bottom of this post for some EC trivia!
Ebonie One thing I'm proud of from the past 5 years: Upheld our values and dedication to approaching evaluation and strategy projects from a non-traditional and participatory lens One hope for the next 5 years: To continue to challenge ourselves to push against traditional evaluation norms
Lauren One thing I'm proud of from the past 5 years: Growing slowly and thoughtfully as a team and as a business One hope for the next 5 years: Stay humble, curious, and open Leah One thing I'm proud of from the past 5 years: I’m proud to be part of a company where we all prioritize taking care of each other in running the business. We also each genuinely believe in the power of more perspectives and never consider ourselves to be the expert — I love this spirit of collaboration. One hope for the next 5 years: Continue to work with amazing people who are so passionate about their unique communities.
Laura One thing I'm proud of from the past 5 years: I really appreciate our willingness to always question why and how we do things in our journey of continuous learning and improvement. I also really enjoy the way we work and learn alongside our partners in true collaboration. One hope for the next 5 years: We continue to uphold our values while at the same time pivoting and stretching ourselves as the field evolves. Mary One thing I'm proud of from the past 5 years: The way we have stayed grounded in and committed to the values we initially set out to guide us One hope for the next 5 years: That we implement and share more creative and engaging ways to help organizations learn. We inspire folx to think differently about evaluation and equity in our field. Ramona One thing I'm proud of from the past 5 years: Maintaining our focus on wellness and living into our values as we have grown One hope for the next 5 years: Become a leader in not only evaluation approaches but also knowledge dissemination and action in the field
Trivia | How well do you know Emergence Collective?
1. Where did the founding team meet up for the very first time to dream up Emergence Collective (hint: it's in Ann Arbor)! Scroll for answer 2. Which of the following projects has Emergence Collective NOT done? Scroll for answer a.) Collaborated with immigrant justice organizers advocating alongside meat packing workers b.) Used survey games & art methods to evaluate kids’ experiences with a culturally specific after school program c.) Strategic planning with TeachRock, the passion project of Stevie Van Zandt of the E Street Band d.) Evaluated workplace culture with a group of zookeepers, administrative, and maintenance staff 3. Over the past 5 years, Emergence Collective has worked in 6 states. Can you name them all? Scroll for answer 4. Check out some of our rejected potential names:
Praxis Collective
Abundance Collective
Arboreal Connections
Emergent Crossroads
Full Circle Strategies
5. These are just a few of our team members' past jobs!
Professional golfer
TV program planner for NBC
Women’s health program manager
Political campaign fundraiser
Wedding planner
Geological bench scientist
ANSWERS BELOW 1. Where did the founding team meet up for the very first time to dream up Emergence Collective (hint: it's in Ann Arbor)! HopCat 2. Which of the following projects has Emergence Collective NOT done? a.) Collaborated with immigrant justice organizers advocating alongside meat packing workers b.) Used survey games & art methods to evaluate kids’ experiences with a culturally specific after school program c.) Strategic planning with TeachRock, the passion project of Stevie Van Zandt of the E Street Band d.) Evaluated workplace culture with a group of zookeepers, administrative, and maintenance staff 3. Over the past 5 years, Emergence Collective has worked in 6 states. Can you name them all? Michigan, California, New York, Georgia, Missouri, Nebraska