Theory of Change
RoadMap’s Theory of Change includes pillars for Relationships, Resistance, and Resilience.
Relationships
We strengthen one another in an authentic, vulnerable, and self-aware way in order to transform and create bold leadership while making grounded decisions.
Resistance
We have the ability to protect ourselves, push back, and generate possibilities, even in the face of crisis and attack.
Resilience
We make a contribution that is powerful and transformative of ourselves and our clients while holding each other accountable toward the justice, equity, democracy, and the liberation of a reimagined world.
We invited three of our seasoned consultants to each share a story that illustrates our vision for the three theory of change pillars.
RELATIONSHIPS | Angélica Otero, consultant and coach
There is a fellow RoadMap consultant I have known for over 20 years. When we first met, we were both organizers. Over the years we have worked in social justice leadership together and I respect them immensely.
At one point, when I was looking to step down from my executive director role I wanted to bring in this colleague, who knew the mission and work so well. But this choice was not received well given that the entire staff was women of color, and this person was not a woman of color.
The situation made me ask, “Who am I in my identity and race and who I am accountable to? As someone who is a movement leader, what are the relationships we pay attention to as we move the work forward?”
This was an opportunity to have hard conversations, apologize, heal in community, leverage experience, pay attention to individuals and their stories, move forward and do powerful work, find beauty around love and collectivity, and be willing to be in the struggle together while continuing to do the work.
It was messy. And I wondered, “How do we elevate the messiness of relationships?” I was able to apologize and say, “I hear the injury I helped to cause,” rooted in a healing space. And this deepened relationships.
Healing has to be from a place of relationship—of learning about people and their history and values. And this is inherent in the work of RoadMap. There’s no way to shift and evolve unless we are in those relationships in a way that allows us to be in that messiness.
RESISTANCE | Rebecca O. Johnson, consultant and RoadMap board chair
After Hurricane Katrina I was recruited to work with environmental justice groups to tour the area and talk with organizations to see what they needed. My plan was to head to Mossville, Louisiana, a rural, unincorporated community surrounded by chemical plants.
The people of Mossville took the U.S. government to international criminal court and their case was admitted for hearings, for violating a community’s right to a clean environment and environmental racism.
At the time I was also teaching a college health advocacy course. Working in partnership with community members, I brought students down to conduct door-to-door survey research on the negative health impacts of the chemical plants.
One day, I got a call from my students that they were being followed by a man in a muscle car. We ended up being confronted by a group of 8 sheriff and deputies, one of whom identified the man in the muscle car as a manager from the chemical sites.
A student took pictures of the plants from the community side of the fence. Officials threatened action under the Patriot Act.
I wouldn’t give them the camera. We called a lawyer and the college dean. Eventually we agreed to let the sheriffs look at the photos, and they agreed there was nothing damning. We finished our survey work and reported the illness impact. Months later, we heard that officials instituted an ordinance prohibiting door-to-door canvassing.
Mossville is a shadow of its former self; it’s an example of the crisis and defeat part of resistance. But we still need to resist. We fought and struggled. We had a silent protest where people held up signs sharing the illnesses they suffered from. We can’t let people forget. Memory is as important as victory.
For me, liberatory practice means we have to be in the context of the struggle, whether it is convenient or not, whether we are destined for victory or not.
RESILIENCE | Richael Faithful, consultant
I was brought in to help a nonprofit with conflict transformation. There were tensions building between some of the founders and newer team members, which isn’t uncommon.
To start, we needed to take several steps back to reframe the conflict in relation to generational assumptions; that this was not about older founders who couldn’t let go of history vs. younger, new staff not appreciating history and wanting to destroy things.
We restarted the conversations not around blame, but by asking questions such as:
- What does change mean to you?
- What are the conditions that initiate change?
- How does the pace of change affect you?
- Does change challenge any insecurities you have about what you can control?
- Does change trigger older stuff inside of you based on your experience, your family, your community?”
- These conversations helped us understand what was showing up in the room and what can happen when people are willing to listen, build empathy, and understand generational assumptions.
When we could break down core assumptions and understand how people approach change, we could de-escalate. It turned out that people’s strategies were not that far apart. The team was able to begin to work together. And they could disagree but the disagreements didn’t break relationships or stop the work from moving forward.
It can humble people to explore their own egos, go deeper in self reflection, do self work around trauma, and find a way towards connection again. And these challenging things can help build resilience.
These days it is easier to leave. But for those willing to stay—and for whom that is possible—I have seen beautiful things happen.