Equity-Embedded Change Management (EECM)™ Cohort

The Equity-Embedded Change Management (EECM)™ Cohort is a 5-session program led by Sheryl Petty, Ed.D., CEO & Founder of Movement Tapestries and supported by GEO.

Sheryl Petty will lead in-person and virtual group capacity building and practice sessions, as well as provide 1-1 coaching, utilizing core concepts presented in her publication A Change Management & Deep Equity Primer: The What, Why, How & Nuance.

The EECM™ Cohort will support seasoned equity practitioners to further enhance their already significant skills by helping to deepen approaches as well as advance systems change stamina and system healing, in the multiple roles practitioners may hold in the field. The Cohort will include real-time practice, individualized coaching, and peer support to effectively analyze system flow and entangled areas, as well as personal practice, in order to release blockages and advance EESC™.

Meet the 2024 Cohort

Applications

Applications are now closed for the 2024 EECM™ Cohort.

Informational Webinar

Click here to access the recording of our informational webinar held on January 31, 2024, in which you can view and hear Sheryl Petty, in conversation with Akilah Massey, GEO’s VP of Programs, providing an overview of the EECM™ Cohort structure, goals and who this program is designed to support.

Who is eligible to participate?

Eligible participants in the Equity-Embedded Change Management™ Cohort are those who:

• Are seasoned equity practitioners;
• Operate within and outside of grantmaking institutions – this opportunity is open to the GEO community (both members and nonmembers), independent consultants and individuals;
• Are responsible for leading or are key influencers of systems change within their organizations, communities, with clients, and/or in other spaces they practice in;
• Have baseline organizational development and/or change management understanding and experience;
• Have awareness of both personal and systems stuck areas;
• Have readiness for or already incorporate energetic and other dimensions of inner work as part of their systems change practice;
  
• Desire to be part of a larger network of equity and systems change capacity builders.

What are the time commitments and participant expectations?

The EECM™ Cohort requires active and consistent engagement by all participants in the following ways:

Full participation in five separate sessions:

• An opening session on Thursday, April 18, 2024 at GEO in-person in Washington, DC from approximately 9am to 5pm (including breakfast, lunch, breaks), plus dinner.
  
• Second, third and fourth sessions that will be 2-hour virtual sessions on: May 15, June 13 and July 10, 2024 from 2:00 – 4:00pm ET.
  
• A closing session will be a 3-hour virtual session on Wednesday, July 31, 2024 from 1:00 – 4:00pm ET.

Engaging in 2 individualized coaching sessions with Sheryl Petty between the opening (April 18, 2024) and closing (July 31, 2024):

• You and Sheryl will determine the virtual times and dates for these two, 60-minute sessions.
  

Full participation in activities between sessions, including:

Learning Partner work:

• Upon acceptance to the program, participants will be designated a fellow program participant as a Learning Partner.
• Participants will be expected to meet virtually several times during the Cohort period.
• Participants will also receive guidelines to support how to structure these meetings, including frequency.

Cohort session prework and postwork:

• Assigned readings from Sheryl Petty’s Change Management & Deep Equity Primer: The What, Why, How & Nuance, and
• Preparation of a final capstone, the focus of which you will identify during the Cohort and refine with the support of your coaching sessions and Learning Partner.

What is the EECM™ Cohort fee?

• For applicants from organizations that are GEO members: $1,500
  
• For applicants from organizations that are non-members: $2,500
• For applicants applying as individuals or independent consultants: $800

Acceptance into the program requires realizing the program fee payment between March and April 2024. Please note that the program fee covers the cost of program materials, 1-1 coaching sessions, and meals and drinks during the one in-person on April 18, 2024. You are responsible for covering your own travel and lodging.

To remove prohibitive barriers to participation and curate a more inclusive cohort, GEO will offer a scholarship of up to $450 to two participants. Requesting financial assistance will not affect acceptance into the fellowship. Scholarship recipients are still expected to cover travel and lodging fees associated with the one in-person session on April 18, 2024 in Washington, DC.

We appreciate organizations who donate beyond the fee to support our scholarship fund to make the program more accessible.

Why is GEO supporting Sheryl Petty’s EECM™ Cohort?

In GEO’s work to transform philanthropic culture and practice, it has become clear the sector and critical change agents beyond philanthropy need additional resources, capacity building, and community to advance equity-centered change. Sheryl Petty brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and skills to this body of work.

Organizations embarking on new ways to advance change are often met with tension, conflict and areas of stuckness. Navigating these moments – alongside experienced colleagues and useful resources – makes the difference between unaddressed challenge and actualized transformation.

This partnership has been different than GEO’s previous work as Sheryl works to address systems and support real-time experimentation within change management rooted in deep equity. We are excited to see leaders in the social change sector work to deepen their understanding and power to advance culture, practice and create more profound change.

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