Equity & Belonging in Community Change

This four-session learning cohort will support individuals and organizations working in community, nonprofit, government, and grassroots spaces to navigate difficult conversations around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). Participants will explore how to foster inclusive policies, relationships, and environments while also learning tools to disrupt exclusionary practices. Through a lens of relational accountability and equity-centered systems change, this cohort will offer participants foundational skills and strategies for embedding equity and inclusion into their everyday work.

This cohort offers a practical, reflective, and supportive learning environment for those looking to deepen their DEIB practice in community change work. Grounded in real-world experiences and co-facilitated by equity practitioners, the sessions will prioritize relationship-building, applied learning, and collective accountability.

Participants will:

Build shared language and understanding around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging

Develop confidence in navigating complex or uncomfortable conversations with compassion and clarity

Learn how to create community agreements that support safer, braver spaces for dialogue and collaboration

Explore foundational principles of accessibility and neurodiversity

Deepen their understanding of 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion and how to address transphobia and homophobia in community spaces
Gain tools to examine how policy, practice, and culture can either support or undermine inclusion

key agenda items

Introduction to core DEIB concepts and community agreements.
Shared language and frameworks for inclusive conversation.
Accessibility and neurodiversity as central, not additional, considerations.
Addressing anti-2SLGBTQIA+ rhetoric and transphobia in our work.
Applying inclusive practices in policy, programming, and organizational culture.
Strategies for repairing harm and navigating accountability.

what you get

Participants will receive session recordings, learning resources, and curated tools to support ongoing application beyond the cohort. Sessions will be interactive, drawing on lived experience, storytelling, and facilitated discussion.

A certificate of participation will be provided for those who attend all four sessions.

who should apply?

This learning cohort is open to anyone seeking to strengthen their inclusion and equity practices, particularly:

Community organizers and engagement specialists

Nonprofit staff and volunteers

Government and public sector workers

Educators and facilitators

Funders and philanthropic professionals

Frontline workers and service providers

Session Breakdown

Sessions will take place from 12:30 ET – 2:30 ET on the following days:

Session 1

Foundations – Building Shared Language & Grounding in Community

October 16, 2025

This 2-hour session will focus on setting the tone for our learning journey. We will begin with a community and land acknowledgement and invite participants to introduce themselves in relation to the land they are on, their communities, and the values they bring into this space. Together, we will co-create shared agreements and build a foundation for relationship-based learning rooted in psychological safety, reciprocity, and care. Participants will explore key concepts such as equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and reconciliation, while reflecting on how bias, privilege, and power shape their experiences and communities. Through interactive activities like the “Circle of Trust” and social location mapping, we will begin to build trust, deepen self-awareness, and ground ourselves in relational learning and collective accountability.

Session 2

Designing for Belonging – Accessibility, Neurodiversity, and Intersectionality

October 23, 2025

This 2-hour session will focus on understanding accessibility and neurodiversity through the lens of equity and design. We’ll examine the barriers faced by disabled and neurodivergent communities and learn how ableism shows up in physical spaces, policies, and attitudes. Participants will explore ways to design environments, events, and learning spaces that are accessible, inclusive, and responsive to diverse needs. We’ll also reflect on how race, class, gender, and other identities intersect with access and begin building practical strategies for creating more equitable community spaces.

Session 3

Gender & Sexual Diversity – 2SLGBTQIA+ Inclusion & Addressing Transphobia

October 30, 2025

This 2-hour session will focus on building inclusive spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, with a focus on addressing transphobia and supporting gender-diverse people. Participants will explore the distinctions between sex, gender, and sexuality and understand how colonization has shaped narratives around queerness. We’ll look at real-world examples of trans-inclusive policies, discuss pronoun awareness, and unpack harmful systems like TERF ideology. The session will offer tools for advocacy, language, and community support—centering Two-Spirit voices and decolonizing frameworks of gender and sexuality.

Session 4

Practice – Embedding DEIB into Policy, Culture & Conflict Resolution

November 6, 2025

This final 2-hour session will focus on moving from learning to action. Participants will engage in scenario-based group activities to apply what they’ve learned to real-life challenges, including inclusive event planning, equitable decision-making, and conflict resolution. We will explore how to move from symbolic gestures to systemic change by embedding DEIB into workplace culture, governance, and team practices. The session will also include space for debrief, collective reflection, and identifying next steps for integrating DEIB into your community and organization.

Rochelle Ignacio (she/her) is an equity strategist, facilitator, and community builder who guides organizations through transformative equity and anti-racism work. As the inaugural lead of Tamarack Institute’s Equity & Indigenization team, she developed the Seeds of Transformation framework—grounded in care, belonging, and reconciliation. Rochelle integrates equity into organizational culture through policy development, training, and coaching, with expertise in equitable data practices and anti-Black racism.

Rooted in African Ancestral Spirituality, Rochelle’s relational and systems-based approach is both fierce and gentle. She is also a social entrepreneur advancing Black economic mobility in Edmonton, Alberta.

Learn more about Rochelle

Shanese Green (nee Steele) (she/they) is a bridge-builder and equity-driven community animator committed to creating spaces of belonging and transformation. As Senior Community Animator, Equity and Reconciliation at Tamarack Institute, Shanese brings 14 years of experience in community development, capacity building, and place-based learning.

An Afro-Indigenous femme of Métis, Trinidadian, and Grenadian descent, Shanese’s work centers decolonial practice, 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion, and reconciliation. Her approach weaves traditional knowledge with intersectional frameworks to advance equity in youth leadership, policy, and gender-based violence prevention. Shanese is also a published writer whose work reflects a deeply relational, queer, feminist, and pro-Black lens.

Learn more about Shanese

Scholarship Opportunities

We want everyone to learn how to improve their community! To ensure this, Tamarack supports folks experiencing systemic barriers such as lived/living experiences of oppression including racial discrimination and financial poverty, and emerging changemakers who do not have access to professional development budgets through our Be a Light Fund.

Please fill out this form if you would like to apply for a scholarship. You can also learn how you can donate to the Paul Born Be A Light Fund and get a charitable receipt. Reach out to Stephanie if you have any questions or concerns.

Equity+ Belonging in Community Change:

Practicing Inclusion, Shifting Culture, and Deepening Belonging in Community Spaces

Fostering Belonging Through Equity-Centered Action

key learning objectives