Hi I'm Frankie...

I am a long-time community change agent and strategist. I have worked inside and outside organizations. I founded and led a community change nonprofit. And, I have served as a strategic consultant to community organizations, private and nonprofit, all around the country.

My current passion is supporting other community change agents who are helping lead moments of community transformation, either within or outside an institutional structure, and need a friendly, safe and wise space to navigate all the nuances and dynamics inherent in the change process.

I believe most community change leaders focus too much on elaborate frameworks and planning tools and miss the huge impact of the underlying operating culture at play in their context. I learned this lesson the hard way, many times over.

My experiences taught me that successful change efforts require the right combination of skill and spirit in creating a more aspirational and connected operating culture. The core task at hand is building authentic relationships of trust and understanding with those whom you are asking into this new culture. It is also in modeling the new habits and norms you seek to instill. Being intentional about every action step, new moment and conversation are essential, combined with reflecting on your learning afterward. I have learned many lessons and have practical tips on how to do this. I want to pass them on, and keep learning and growing too.

If this resonates with you and the journey you are on, I am interested in learning more and possibly serving as a behind-the-scenes strategic friend and partner. And since I am a long-time practitioner, I am also open to select moments where we link arms in real-time to connect with your teams, invite their participation and model the new culture.

Here are several examples to illustrate how I like to work:

I coached a local community organizer working on educational reform in Birmingham, Alabama for over a year, providing a space to reflect and adjust specific practices and strategies as he gathered people and built a team of parent/teacher stewards. Watch this video to see him in action.

I coached a resident services coordinator - over many years - as she sparked a transformation in how her housing organization manages their communities; she now leads the innovative property management operation for this company. See this paper to learn more.

I coached a team of three community builders working in two older public housing complexes to build a new community network of residents and neighbors in the surrounding community. See this brief summary to understand the specific strategies we innovated together.

I coached a site property manager for a year on a range of topics from working with a resident steward team, reforming her weekly staff meetings and communicating more authentically with challenging residents. See this paper - at the end - to learn more.

If you are really curious about who I am, what I believe and what I try to practice, order and read my simple book entitled Start with the Heart, Ten Practices for Relationship Building from this website.