Association of Consultants to Nonprofits

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Ellen Shepard

Community Allies

Member profile details

First Name

Ellen

Last Name

Shepard

Company

Community Allies

Title

CEO

ellen@communityallies.net

Phone

773/280-5744

Address Line 1

4533 N. Campbell Ave.

City

Chicago

State/Province

Zip Code

60625

Headshot

Website / Social Platforms

Website

www.communityallies.net

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebshepard/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/CommunityAllies

Company Profile

Company Overview

Community Allies designs community engagement; facilitates boards, staff, and partners in collective impact; and uplifts locally-owned and BIPOC-owned businesses. We work with non-profit, government, community, social enterprise, and philanthropic leaders across North America.

We believe that populations that have been impacted by structural inequities are experts about their own conditions and should be resourced to drive the design and implementation of solutions to address them.

Company Logo

Services

Collective impact
Facilitation
Local and equitable economic development
Community engagement
Strategic direction
Speaking and advocacy

Practice Areas (select top 3)

Board Support (Development, Governance, Retreats, Training)
Capacity Building
Leadership and Professional Development
Organizational Development
Social Enterprise
Strategic planning

Client List

Artists Laboratory Theatre
Chinese American Citizens League
Common Future
Common Pantry
Community Health Councils
Concerned Capital
Downtown Oak Park
Friends of the Chicago River
FoodLab Detroit
Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce
Grounded Solutions
JASC Housing Corporation
JP Morgan Chase Global Philanthropy
Lambda Alpha, Ely Chapter
Lincoln Community Foundation
LISC SanAntonio
Lowcountry Local First
Main Street America
Missouri Main Street
National Good Food Network
Northern Initiatives
Six Corners Association
Tools For Equitable Acquisitions in Manufacturing
Uptown United
Urban Institute
Urban Manufacturing Alliance
Wallace Center

Testimonial 1

"Community Allies crafts experiences that lead teams to sound strategy, stronger relationships, and more equitable outcomes."
– Elissa Sangalli, CEO. Northern Initiatives

Testimonial 2

"Ellen has an unwavering commitment to equity and amplifying community voice, which shines through in her facilitation style and her policy and her program recommendations."
-- Leilah Powell, Executive Director. San Antonio LISC

Testimonial 3

"Community Allies creates environments where stakeholders can come together to share their perspectives on important issues like income inequality, access to capital, and power dynamics.”
-- Rudy Espinoza, Executive Director. Inclusive Action for the City

Publications & Articles

Article 1

This City Found a Way To Get Everyone Involved in Urban Planning

URL for Article 1

https://www.yesmagazine.org/economy/2017/10/25/this-city-found-a-way-to-get-everyone-involved-in-urban-planning

Article 2

Amazon is Not the Solution to Chicago's Exodus

URL for Article 2

https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-amazon-pritzker-exodus-taxes-population-loss-0213-20190212-story.html

Speaker's Bureau Information

Speaker Bio

As an impassioned advocate for communities and local- and BIPOC-owned businesses, Ellen Shepard brings a blend of deep expertise, thoughtful analysis, and wry humor. She has presented on the importance of community empowerment, economic localism, and economic equity at conferences and universities across the United States, and she has trained dozens of communities in her methods. Ellen is a frequent and trusted source of information for city officials and economic development professionals as well as journalists, podcasters, and documentary filmmakers. In her training sessions, Ellen offers inspiring stories, practical strategies, and hands-on tools from the many communities in which she has worked.

Topic 1

From Community Engagement to Community Empowerment

Topic 1 Description

In traditional community engagement, those in positions of power are gatekeepers with control over the process, invitation list, and decisions. Community Empowerment is grounded in the belief that populations that have been impacted by structural inequities are experts about their own conditions and should be resourced to drive the design and implementation of solutions to address them.

Community Allies shows community, nonprofit, and government leaders how to invite all of the voices in a community to be equal partners in determining the community’s path, taking ownership of the process, means, and outcomes of improvement efforts. We provide hands-on tools for uplifting the voices of historically marginalized populations, ensuring that they have real power in policy decisions that impact them. We explore ways to structure meetings so that all voices are heard, the wisdom of the group surfaces, and an action plan emerges. We talk about arts -based techniques to engage community input outside of traditional meeting structures, literally meet people where they are. We break down fears around engaging community meaningfully and demonstrate how shifting power builds leadership, shared accountability, and more impactful and durable results.

The Association of Consultants to Nonprofits | 400 E. Randolph St., #3115 | Chicago, IL 60601

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