See our Working Agreements and Protocols and Tools for more about how we work.
Aspirations & Approach
We want to create something that:
- Provides support without being overly structured
- Allows people to move in and out, while also staying grounded so that the whole doesn’t totally shift every time someone new starts participating
Our approach is to start small and to grow by being consistent, transparent, and porous. If you’re motivated to participate and are willing to do the work, we want to make it easy for you to join. If you want to try to start something similar but separate, we want to make it easy for you to copy what you like, and we hope you’ll share what you learn.
We’ve come up with the following structure to meet these aspirations:
Core Participants
- Committed to practicing, experimenting, and learning together
- At least two people from an org must participate, including the ED, although we’ll make exceptions. Both people should be close to the work and be able to move their organization.
- People can move in and out
- Participants are held to Working Agreements
Average time commitment: 2-4 hours/week. It varies month-to-month depending on your specific role (e.g. participating in experiments, Design Team member, etc.) and whether or not there is a face-to-face meeting (2-3 a year). A good portion of this time commitment is not “extra,” as it should be aligned with the work you’re already doing within your organization, whether it’s experimentation or moving strategy.
Current Core Participants
To learn more about our participants, you can check out the bios of Northstar Network Participants.
- Amanda Ballantyne, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
- Mackenzie Baris, Jobs with Justice
- Micaela Cadena, National Network for Abortion Funds
- Shereen Essof, JASS
- Amber Garcia, Womens’ Voices for the Earth
- Felicia Griffin, PowerSwitch Action
- Lauren Jacobs, PowerSwitch Action
- Judith LeBlanc, Native Organizers Alliance
- Tamara Toles O’Laughlin, Environmental Grantmakers Association
- Isabelle Leighton, Donors of Color Network
- Cynthia Lin, National Network for Abortion Funds
- Diana Lugo Martinez, Forward Together
- Neha Mahajan, Transformative Leadership for Change
- Jennifer Morales, Family Values at Work
- Jacqui Patterson, Chisholm Legacy Project
- Will Pitz, Teamsters 711
- Tarso Ramos, Political Research Associates
- Jill Reese, Teamsters 711
- Eveline Shen
- Erica Smiley, Jobs With Justice
- Adaku Utah, National Network for Abortion Funds
- Lisa Veneklasen, JASS
Coordinating Team
Current Coordinating Team:
- Tamara Toles O’Laughlin, Environmental Grantmakers Association
- Neha Mahajan, Transformative Leadership for Change
- Tarso Ramos, Political Research Associates
- Lisa Veneklasen, JASS
STP Team
- Support the Northstar Network Coordinating Team
- Play a role in facilitating and synthesizing
- Consists of STP staff and outside consultants
Current STP Team:
- Jodie Tonita, Social Transformation Project
- Freddie Francis, Social Transformation Project
- Mariana Silva, Social Transformation Project