Keecha Harris and Associates, Inc.

“When organizations are dependent on clients or funders to be financially successful, they may allow the dollars to influence their communication with those benefactors. KHA however, is a courageous organization. It is a brave organization.  You’re not just going to hear what you want to hear from them. You’re going to hear what you need to hear to improve and operationalize your commitment to racial equity. Keecha Harris, DrPH, RD and I first met amidst issues as a result of Partnership for Southern Equity’s engagement in a national coalition where White oppressive tendencies were being perpetuated, resulting in public discord and the loss of funding for key organizations. KHA was enlisted to initiate a fact-finding process to understand what had occurred and offer a reparative strategy to make everyone whole. From that engagement, Keecha and I fostered a strong friendship. She’s since invited me to partner with her on panels and other engagements to encourage funders to think differently about their philanthropy. It has to start with philanthropy owning their role in accelerating injustice and finding ways to repair that through funding a different way forward. We have to work to ensure that foundations’ internal policies and external practices are a reflection of their values, which embrace equity. We have to address the intolerance foundations have for failure as it relates to BIPOC-led organizations and room for innovation, among other things. Keecha is a wonderful thought partner on those issues. She is also a Southerner and a Black woman. Those sensibilities are in many ways, two of her superpowers. She is able to move through rooms of power and opportunity (as well as bigotry) to create sincere investment and power sharing. Those sensibilities have influenced KHA and made it what it is: a respected organization committed to excellence in every aspect of its work. - Nathaniel Smith, Founder and Chief Equity Officer · Partnership for Southern Equity. Thank you for your partnership! #RacialEquity #Philanthropy #Foundations #Justice #PowerSharing #SocialImpactConsulting

Keesha L. Coleman, MPA, LSS, CPC and Jeremy Arnold are in Chicago this week for the Democratic National Convention! Alongside partners from Oxfam America Action Fund (OAAF), we are addressing the Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Carolina delegations to strengthen policies that advance Reproductive Justice (RJ) during this election year and beyond. Specifically, we're calling upon advocates and allies to support the work of the Black leaders at the helm of this movement to secure reproductive health, rights, and justice for all. This includes expanding the lens beyond abortion rights to underscore the urgent need to address maternal health disparities, particularly those affecting Black women. We're excited to participate in this historic event as the backbone organization of the Race, Healing, and Joy initiative: a collaborative of organizers, academics, practitioners, researchers, advocates, and funders uplifting the voices of Black RJ activists and addressing the systemic barriers that have led us to this critical moment in our democracy. Stay tuned for more updates from the #DNC. And in the meantime, learn more about the Race, Healing, and Joy initiative at: https://lnkd.in/grnW9fJJ #ReproductiveJustice #BlackLeadership #Democracy #DemocraticNationalConvention

Our team helped deploy over $300 million in funding during the summer of 2020. We were brought in to inform decision-making as foundations, corporations, and government entities reacted to the racial reckoning in our country. Four years later, a lot of that money has dried up. Where did the money go?   It’s no longer moving because that giving was reactive. These leaders didn’t necessarily sign on for the internal work required for transformative systems change. When it comes down to racial equity, some foundations, corporations, and government institutions’ actions say: ‘Here. Take this money and move along… We don’t want to be bothered with the internal work it takes to become a different organization.’ But change requires long-term commitment. It requires people consciously sitting down and putting relationship before task. No organization is perfect.  However, now is the time for large organizations to ‘put their money where their mouth is.’ Because demographic shift is not in the future. 2030 is now. Addressing and resolving the systemic, cultural, and societal trauma of racism within our organizations is part of being 21st century anchored. It’s simply good industrial hygiene. This will be part of the dynamics of how every decision is made, and what leadership looks like in this next generation.  We are proud to have done this work for the last 25 years, and invite you to be part of our next 25! #25YearsofKHA #RacialEquity #BIPOCLeadership #ChangeManagement #IndustrialHygiene

Attending Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR)'s Nonprofit Management Institute? Our President and CEO Keecha Harris, DrPH, RD Harris will be moderating a panel about Issue Politics in 2024. In this engaging discussion, leaders of organizations that promote policy change in vital areas – like gun safety, climate action, and Reproductive Justice – will share wisdom and techniques to mobilize support and drive meaningful change during this election cycle and beyond. As moderator and contributor, Keecha will be joined by Sam Daley-Harris, activist and author empowering citizen action around the issue of climate change, and SHANNON WATTS, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Will we see you there? To find out more and to register, visit: SSIR.ORG/NMI2024 #SSIRInstitute #SocialImpact #PolicyChange #Climate #ReproductiveJustice

On the move again 🏃🏿♀️ (Yep that’s me, moonlighting on the Delta Air Lines crew!) As I traveled through Toronto, the Bay Area, and northern New Mexico over the last few days, I kept thinking about how airport staff are exquisitely competent at keeping everyone safe and whole. How do we make sure people stay whole while leading on race at work? Practicing relationship before task requires vulnerability, and being vulnerable at work is a liability if the conditions don’t allow for it. I’ve stopped encouraging people to show up as their whole selves because it’s problematic for Black and Brown people in white settings. Your authenticity and vulnerability can blow up on you, if taken against a white standard. So, how do you practice authentic relationship at work without subjecting people to harm? Instead of showing up as "your most authentic self" at work, choose to show up in ways that anchor you and those you work with. Three questions we consistently ask each other at KHA:  ✔️What do you want out of the world? ✔️How are you engaging in self-care? ✔️What support do you need from the people here? Asking these questions helps us gain deeper access to our own humanity. Our commonalities emerge. The ways we need to hold each other in this work. The ways we can propel each other towards success. What questions would you add? How do you work towards keeping those on your team safe and whole? #Culture #PsychologicalSafety #Anchored #Humanity #RaceAtWork

It takes resources, time, and skill for effective racial equity transformation. But organizations often try using the least expensive consultants to get change off the ground. And/or they try doing this work internally with BIPOC staff facilitating. A full mess is created.  Often those greatest harmed are the Black and Brown people in the organization.  We know this, because some of the first work we do in our change management projects is cleaning up those messes. For example, after a critical incident, a funder asked us to help them redistribute power so that local leaders could have more decision-making ability. After getting a handle of the scope and scale of the coalition, we told them it would take six months to just understand what was going on. The system had been in operation for nearly a decade, after all. The following six months would be about designing the intervention, so it was centered in the experience, perspective, and expertise of people on the ground. It would take another full year of resetting power dynamics. It took two years to complete this project. We were fair with our pricing, but this work isn't cheap. But as one foundation executive said, “we couldn’t continue to be on the wrong side of this story.” I have every confidence that this group will have even greater impact and policy gains in the years to come.  These are the kinds of wins we’re celebrating together at our 25th anniversary celebration in September. 🎉 Everything is better when racial equity is the North Star. Don’t you think? #25YearsofKHA #RacialEquity #BIPOCLeadership #Humanity #ChangeManagement

Our redesigned online home is now live! Visit https://lnkd.in/gRVgz6A to explore the new features, such as: 🔹 Client case studies and success stories of operationalizing racial equity at work 🔹 Easy navigation to listen to all 3 seasons of The R.A.C.E. Podcast 🔹 In-depth research on topics like centering Black leadership in Reproductive Justice and uncovering racialized funding gaps in environment philanthropy 🔹 Details on ways we can work together to strategically prioritize Black and Brown leadership to deepen mission fulfillment Visit https://lnkd.in/gRVgz6A ... let's dream in service of what's possible. P.S. Thank you Black Digital for your support! #RacialEquity #ChangeManagement #MissionDriven #WebsiteLaunch

Our redesigned online home is now live! Visit https://lnkd.in/gRVgz6A to explore the new features, such as: 🔹 Client case studies and success stories of operationalizing racial equity at work 🔹 Easy navigation to listen to all 3 seasons of The R.A.C.E. Podcast 🔹 In-depth research on topics like centering Black leadership in Reproductive Justice and uncovering racialized funding gaps in environment philanthropy 🔹 Details on ways we can work together to strategically prioritize Black and Brown leadership to deepen mission fulfillment Visit https://lnkd.in/gRVgz6A ... let's dream in service of what's possible. P.S. Thank you Black Digital for your support! #RacialEquity #ChangeManagement #MissionDriven #WebsiteLaunch

Change starts with everyone realizing that racial equity work is not ‘for other people.’ We are only interested in partnering when there is sincere investment and power shifting that comes from strategically prioritizing Black and Brown leadership. Not because it’s the “nice” or “kind” thing to do – but because: ➡️ It accelerates impact. ➡️ It increases profitability. ➡️ It deepens mission fulfillment. We’re celebrating 25 years of co-creating these conditions at mission-driven organizations where people are ready and willing to connect with untouched aspects of their humanity.  Because demographic shift is not in the future. 2030 is now. #25YearsofKHA #RacialEquity #BIPOCLeadership #Humanity #DemographicShift

"Communications is central to the mission. It is not an afterthought." Our VP of Communications, Fellows, and Partnerships, Kristen Mack, speaks with Keecha Harris and Associates, Inc. about the importance of storytelling in programmatic work. Listen to the full interview ⬇