From service to solidarity…
Helping direct service organizations build tools to move towards solidarity with the communities they serve and care for.
Located in so-called Portland, Oregon, on the stolen ancestral lands of the Cowlitz, Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tumwater, Tualatin Kalapuya, Wasco, Molalla, and Watlala bands of the Chinook, and many other nations of the Nch’i Wána - “The Big River”. We recognize the sovereignty of these nations and their people, many of whom are now part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Chinook Nation and the Cowlitz Nation.
About Me
Hi, I’m Johnnie. I’ve been organizing with unhoused, Black, Indigenous, Communities of Color, and LGBTQIA+ communities for more than 20 years. As a child and young adult, I experienced being unhoused and food insecure, and today I navigate the world as a visibly fat, queer and transgender person. This lived experience brings a unique perspective to my work and drives my passion for it.
Professionally, I have experience creating, coordinating, and managing many community projects, including a community food box home delivery program, summer cooling and winter warming stations, and a monthly food pantry program centering transgender and gender non-conforming communities. I’ve coordinated hundreds of volunteers, cultivated collaborations with organizations like Rahab’s Sisters, Stop the Sweeps, and PDX Trans Housing Coalition, and served on the board of the Montavilla Neighborhood Association, where I created the Housing & Homelessness Committee and Neighborhood Support Fund.
I strive to create trusting, authentic relationships with communities, approaching them with the knowledge that the cycles of trauma and injustice that perpetuate poverty are created by the system and its structures, and not the people suffering under them. My work is rooted in racial, class, and gender justice, and my goal is to work in collaboration with communities to identify the care they need, and to develop service models and policies that honor their dignity and agency.
In the last decade I’ve designed and facilitated more than 65 trainings and workshops focused on trauma-informed, harm reduction centered community care, civil rights, and skill building for justice-driven community engagement. I facilitated 8-10 workshops per year on topics such as Food As Harm Reduction, Intro to Transgender & Non-binary Allyship, Trauma Informed Spaces, and Client Engagement Best Practices during my three years at Oregon Food Bank.
Offerings…
Coaching + Consulting
How does your internal equity work impact the people you serve externally? Is your organization ready to shift away from charity models of service towards solidarity with the communities you care for? Are you interested in creating new community feedback strategies that are anti-oppressive and move beyond multiple choice surveys? No matter where you are on your journey, a consultation is a great way to begin collaborating on ways to lower barriers, and center client experience and dignity at your programs.
Assessment + Service Design
Assessment offers a glimpse into the impacts of your current program policies, services, and offerings, and are an essential part of aligning your services with your values. In my initial assessments I’ll utilize qualitative research methods to get feedback from staff, volunteers, and the communities you serve, to assess how trauma informed and anti-oppressive your programming currently is.
Using these assessments, I can work with program stakeholders to create a training program, service design recommendations, and action plans.
Training
With more than two decades of experience as an anti-oppression facilitator and trainer, I bring a wide and varied toolkit to my workshops and trainings. I’m happy to tailor existing workshops from my current Workshop Catalog, or create new trainings based on the needs of your organization.
