Just Impact – Partnership for Southern Equity

Impact Division

The Partnership for Southern Equity's Impact division is comprised of the Data, Research, Innovation and Policy (DRIP) Team, PSE's social enterprise consultancy work through Just Solutions, and oversees volunteer support and leadership academies across the organization.

Data, Research, Innovation and Policy

The Data, Research, Innovation and Policy(DRIP) team supports the entire PSE organization and works cross-functionally with all the issue area portfolios to leverage data, research, policy, and evaluation efforts that contribute towards racial equity and systems transformation.

In alignment with PSE’s mission and values, we recognize that racial equity is a “way,” not a “what.” The team is committed to applying equitable methodology to every project. This means that the whole data process clearly defines the outcomes, with a clear commitment to equity throughout. We lead with research and policy efforts focused on Black, Brown and historically disadvantaged communities of color. We work to center racial equity, put data in the hands of people, and rely on Community-Based Participatory Research to define our project priorities. We approach data collection as participatory and maintain full transparency with the public.

Learn More

In the wake of the 2020 summer social justice uprisings in response to the murder of George Floyd, there was an unprecedented cry for action to dismantle systems of white supremacy and to protect and assure different outcomes for Black people and communities of color. While there has been a record amount of financial support from governmental, philanthropic and private industries to explicitly right the wrongs of historical systemic racism, there continues to exist a vacuum at the leadership level in terms of effectively making this powerful shift to equity happen.

PSE brings its more than 10 years of experience in advancing racial equity in the American South to work to Just Solutions offerings that work. We build organizational and leadership capacity to understand and address racial equity and other systems of privilege and oppression that produce inequitable outcomes across historically disinvested communities of color. PSE brings not only applies an equitable structural and systems lens that transforms individuals, institutions and communities, but we also integrate an analysis that connects racism to history and data. We believe that true equity is a way, not a what.

The PSE Way

Leading with Race
When we lead with race, we are more likely to find the answers to a community’s most challenging pain points.

Catalyzing Relationships
We are relationship accelerators. We identity relationships that should be made and encourage partnerships and collaborations that will move equity forward to bring about measurable change.

Building an Equity Ecosystem
No one individual or institution can achieve equity alone. With our community engagement strategies, we help to create an ecosystem of connectivity that fortifies and sustains system transformation over time. 

Grounding in Communities of Color and Low-Wealth
Centering the voices and needs of those who have been marginalized helps to accelerate the equity process.  These voices serve as the conscience of all the work we do. 

Grounded in Data and Research
People are entitled to make up their own stories, but they cannot make up their own facts.  Data driven equity based on research allows us to be effective in identifying the policy and system changes needed for change. 

Values-Based Organizing
We believe that when communities organize their work around a set of core shared values, it enhances their ability to get to equitable system transformation.

Uniquely Positioned - Our Results

As an Atlanta-based organization delivering regional impact, Just Solutions is uniquely positioned to address the American South’s equity issues. We envision a South where racial equity is the approach, rather than a concession, in our social, political, and economic development. Our work in more than 100 communities in metropolitan Atlanta, rural and coastal Georgia, and across the Southeast region has helped transform the lives of more 30,000 people through advocacy, training, and direct service.

What We Do - Equity is the Way

Training

Just Solutions sees our partners' decision to prioritize and embed a racial equity framework as the first step on a long journey to just systems, policies, regional and community change. PSE's interactive, full-day, capacity building opportunities are designed to meet leaders right where they are, level-set understanding of equity terms and principles among teams, and accelerate collaborative action around shared values. Whether you are a state-wide organization seeking racial equity training for your staff or a community-led coalition that is ready to organize their first social justice agenda, PSE can co-create a custom training or workshop that will set the foundation for change.

Racial Equity 101 Training: Introduction - Understanding Equity Concepts
Racial Equity 102 Training: Values to Victory - Intermediate to Advanced Action Planning Session
Organizing for Opportunities
Why Health Equity Matters
Climate Equity Training
Customized Trainings

These offerings can be facilitated virtually or in-person, one-day or two ½-day sessions.

Assessing

Just Solutions’ approach to planning for just and equitable change is rooted in viewing people as assets, not problems to solve. Just Advisors lead partners through a people-centered, planning and assessment strategy that bridges the gap between where partners are and where they desire to be. We call this process an "Equity Journey" - a step beyond just traditional strategic planning towards embedding racial equity as “a way” into the very culture of the organization.

Equity Journey (1 to 3-year process)
Racial Equity Audit
Equity Strategic Planning

Organizing

Just Solutions believes that the people closest to the problem have the solutions to the problem. Values-Based Organizing (VBO) is an organizing model of shared core values that is focused on trust, respect and partnership with the community to put these values in action. Our organizers have a wealth of experience in building strong local and regional coalitions for social change. Our success is based on PSE’s community leaders forming an Equity Ecosystem organized to support a new vision of shared prosperity within the American South.

Coalition Building
Local Level Systems Transformation
Convenings

Youth Movements

PSE’s YES! for Equity has partnered with hundreds of youth serving entities all across the country to bring about equitable organizational and local/regional systems change. We have a proven track record of helping our partners to understand and benefit from the value of partnering with youth to achieve the desired policy, systems and environmental changes needed to create equitable and thriving communities. The cornerstone of our work is our nationally recognized YES! for Equity Youth Power Model® through a racial equity lens. YES! for Equity provides training and technical assistance for youth leaders, led and facilitated by Youth Just Advisors as well as training for the Adult Allies who want to support their youth-led movements.

Youth Leader Training
Adult Ally Trainings
Youth Empowerment and Racial Equity Organizational Assessments
Consultative Technical Assistance and Coaching
YES! for Equity Network

Trainings can be facilitated virtually or in-person, one-day or two ½-day sessions.

Advising

Just Advisors advise and coach partners with their hearts in mind. We know that heart change that is rooted in empathy and a commitment to equity has the greatest potential to bring about sustainable systems change at the institutional and community level. Through our Just Circles we support a peer-to-peer advising model where the ecosystem of community partners share key learnings and successes in advancing equity across a myriad of social justice issues.

Equity Technical Assistance
Equity Leadership Coaching
Just Circles – Facilitated Peer Learning Opportunities

Communications

Nathaniel Q. Smith, Jr., Founder and Chief Equity Officer of the Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE) is a sought after nationally recognized keynote speaker who provides expertise and analysis on advancing race equity in the American South. Through his leadership, PSE has cultivated a wealth of subject matter experts that serve as guest speakers, panelists, and conference presenters.

Just Solutions also provide partners with communications strategies that can help to advance equity in their marketing communications and social media platforms.

Speaking Engagements
Keynote Speaking
Equity Communications Strategy

To book Nathaniel Smith or any member of our PSE Team for a keynote or speaking engagement please contact Rhonda Thompson at rthompson@psequity.org.

Contact Us

kwoodbury@psequity.org