Alight Alchemy is a consulting practice that seeks to spark transformation by providing facilitation & coaching for movement leaders, organizational infrastructure support, and multidisciplinary healing for people moving through change.
“Liberation lies in functional and connected ecosystems. It unearths and honors wisdom and activates new ways of deepening connection, trust, joy and purpose. It’s being in right relationship with nature. It’s community that witnesses, nurtures, inspires, and transforms us. It’s the ability to rest deep and dream big. It’s our cups being so full that they run over, nourishing generations. It’s love actualized. ”
We are often guided by social justice movement organizers, rooted in the belief that liberation is possible. That we can weave intersectional visions of collective power. That there is enough for all of us. That we, too, are enough.
But, in moments of change and transition, we may find that the systems of care and sustainability within our institutions are not strong enough to hold our wildest dreams.
It’s in these moments of transition where our greatest power and potential lies.
I am a facilitator, artist, and health/healing practitioner working to strengthen and sustain our connections and our movements. I have over 15 years of experience leading community health organizations through a racial and gender justice lens, and am a death doula and budding land steward trained in several interconnected healing modalities. More about me can be found here.
My work centers the embodied liberation of Black queer and trans people, women, and femmes - and the network of communities, organizations, fiscal sponsors and funders that support Black queer and trans people, women, and femmes.
Over the years, I have built a thoughtful and expansive network of values-aligned consultants as sub- and co-contractors on projects. We’re in deep practice of mutual accountability and interdependence, bringing together the right people for the right work who can hold nuance, rigor, and care when moving organizations through the possibility in change and transition. Through this, we amplify those consultants’ individual work and the magic of the collective. More about them can be found here.
This practice exists within a vibrant ecosystem and is guided by several core questions I moved through in my own leadership journey. If these resonate for you, I’d love to connect!
How do I stay whole & grounded in this work?
Living out of alignment can be some of deepest grief we experience. And in leading organizations, there is little time for learning new tools and strategies, or cultivate a place to receive loving accountability in your own leadership journey. We support movement leaders in their day-to-day practice of leadership - through skills building around topics such as supervision practice, setting boundaries, moving toward generative conflict, making intentional rest commitments, and alignment / capacity checks - while connecting you to supportive mental/physical/emotional/spiritual care practitioners.
“Blair has been an extraordinary guide this year, offering wisdom, empathy, and sharp insights that transformed my leadership journey. Their ability to deeply listen, challenge with care, and illuminate clarity during moments of complexity has been invaluable. Blair’s support has truly empowered me to lead with greater confidence, intention, and impact. My work in co-directorship as a Black, queer leader in philanthropy has been enriched by our sessions and support. Look forward to continuing!”
“I found Blair by attending a workshop she gave at the 2023 NNFS Conference, completely by chance and by luck, at a time when I was struggling to meet the moment with confidence in my new professional role at my organization. I wasn’t sure if Blair even did professional coaching, but I knew I wanted more of her wisdom, so I was extremely grateful when Blair said yes. What i’ve received from Blair has been everything I needed to shift my own mindset and move with confidence and support. She’s been my thought partner and my comrade in arms against imposter syndrome, siloing, and disorganization. Blair’s kindness and approachable nature is obvious, but the best surprise has been how ORGANIZED she is - her notes and documentation skills have been invaluable to me. I often come into a meeting with Blair scattered and overwhelmed, but I always leave feeling more put together and ready to face my tasks head on.”
How can we collectively navigate conflict & change?
Change is present everywhere in the natural world around us, yet moments of transition within our organizations too often disconnect us from ourselves and each other. Using practices in improv, politicized somatics and emergent strategy, we facilitate organizations to adaptively plan for the future, sharpen their conflict literacy, and move through accountability, repair, and visioning processes. This work is stewarded in deep partnership with Ti Malik Coleman.
“I’m incredibly grateful to Alight Alchemy. They supported us in closing a difficult chapter where many people were impacted. I found the nuance, care, and thoughtfulness given to all involved and how they navigated tricky dynamics of power and systems of oppression incredibly helpful. While I felt seen through the process I also felt I was able to see the experience of others who might have been more or less negatively impacted by the fallout of the situation they were helping us conclude. I would highly recommend Alight Alchemy for their ability to center humanity and hold the nuance of the systems we’re all trying to operate within, outside of, and against.”
“Working with Blair was just as expansive, inspiring, and creative as I knew it would be! I chose Blair to lead as an architect and guide for a six-month experiential, embodiment, and trauma-informed community of praxis for Black conflict transformation practitioners. We were bowled over and delighted by how Blair guided and invited us to share and leverage our collective wisdom. Blair facilitates like a dancer, knowing when to guide when to pause, when to breathe, and when to pivot. She gave us the space and support to share, question, learn, and create - which was such a beautiful gift. If you have a curious nature, enjoy exploration and discovery, like to laugh and grow, and appreciate depth and care, then I highly recommend partnering with Blair!”
“Blair had been tapped a few times to support the connection times of our virtual all staff meetings. So when our Admin Team (about a 25-person team) was planning to get together in 2024 (in person for the first time since before the pandemic), of course we turned to her to support us in crafting a team retreat agenda that allowed for spaciousness, for all the feels of being in person after so long only Zooming, and for meeting the needs of such a varied group of individuals.
We originally wanted Blair to help facilitate parts of the retreat, but dates didn’t align. So Blair got creative in her support. She helped craft the agenda, and then she pre-recorded portions of the day for us to experience all together. I appreciated her adaptability, her care for our folks during a time of vulnerability, and her general energy and light.
This won’t be the last time TMC works with Blair!”
“Blair is an incredible facilitator, insightful strategist and creative thought leader. I have had the pleasure of working with Blair on various projects and each time I am continuously blown away. She has a beautiful way of facilitating groups that allow for a space for emotions and various perspectives, while also holding participants to task and being very productive. Blair’s own training and depth of experience, allows for them to show up to the work with ideas, perspectives and out of the box thinking that often holds many of us back. This same expertise is exemplified even more when Blair supports folks in working through conflict or misunderstanding. At the core of Blair’s work is a lasting commitment to liberation and justice, which shows up so clearly in all that they do.”
How do we sustain the infrastructure needed to best support our movements?
In the fight for the health of our communities, we can easily lose sight of the sustainability and infrastructure needs in our own organizations. We support organizations with individualized support or group consulting and coaching intensives, bringing together Black and Brown LGBTQ experts in fundraising, human resources, financial management, research & evaluation, nonprofit law, healing justice, and conflict literacy to resource organizations for the long-term. This work is stewarded in deep partnership with Jabari Lyles.
For specific resources and tools for fiscal sponsors, click here!
“I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to work, learn and build my practice alongside Blair. For the past two years, we partnered with Blair and their facilitation team on a project for a corporate philanthropy client creating a year-long program that strengthens sustainability among queer Black leaders and their organizations through education, coaching, and network support. Blair conceptualized, co-created, implemented, and is archiving the program as a curriculum for scaling with different cohorts of leaders of color. As an evaluator for this project, I hear participants use words like “life-changing” when they speak about the impact of the quality, attention and care that Blair has cultivated. In our day-to-day work and in their overarching vision, Blair continuously embodies practices of true collaboration, justice, healing, and strategic program design. Blair creates a space of ease, joy, imagination, and accountability that is elemental to social change.”
“Working with Blair as our organizational consultant was deeply generative. My co-ED and I originally reached out to Blair because of their content expertise and experience as a former organizational leader in our field. As we worked together, Blair continued to offer valuable insights and resources, increasing the value of retaining her consultancy for years. Over the course of some of our hardest years, Blair guided me and other staff in processes to identify goals and hopes for both the organization and individual professional development. Our staff was able to increase in size, skillset, and capacity to push our interpersonal growth edges.”