Leading Systems Change in Community

"We cannot use the master's tools to dismantle the master's house," reflects Benjamin Nakamura, invoking Audre Lorde. "The National Equity Project seeks to effect genuine, deep, systemic change. And that comes through adopting different tools, different ways of being that are not rooted in a quick fix or a solution, but rather in acknowledging the complexities and the nuance of the challenges that we face."

This philosophy anchored the Rebel Leader Collective (RLC), a transformative fellowship program by the National Equity Project that brought together educational leaders committed to creating more equitable systems in public schools. Offered from 2022-2024, and an evolution of NEP’s Leading for Equity Fellowship (2016-2020), the lessons of this team-based development experience offer a powerful roadmap for educators seeking to deepen their equity leadership capacity. 

Here are four key strategies any leader can apply to their own equity leader development journey.

1. Build community to combat isolation.

For equity leaders working alone in their organizations, finding community is essential. "Being able to work with a team of people in similar roles has been irreplaceable,” says Gigi Gonzalez, Engagement Coordinator at Burlingame School District, after discovering the power of connection. “There's times that I've come to a meeting with a situation and felt like there's no one in my district that sees it the same way. So it must be me that's the problem."

"Being an equity leader is already hard, and then being alone in it can be isolating,” echoes Niambi Clay, former Executive Director of Equity, Social Justice, and Inclusion at San Mateo County Office of Education. “For me, just having the space to come together to talk about both our successes and our challenges and talk through things and support one another has been the most impactful part."

Leadership in Action: Create regular opportunities to connect with other equity leaders across districts or organizations. Even informal networks can provide crucial support and validation for your work.

2. Embrace complexity in equity work.

Rather than seeking quick fixes, effective equity work requires understanding and engaging with systemic complexities. "It helped me to really conceptualize and give language to a lot of the complex equity challenges that you face in social systems,” says Nakamura, Regional Director of Equity and Culturally Responsive Teaching at Aspire Public Schools. “The language they gave us enabled me to deepen my understanding of inequities that exist."

Leadership in Action: Take time to map out the interconnected factors influencing your equity challenges. Asha Sitaram, Senior Equity Leadership Consultant at NEP, suggests incorporating both "equity consciousness" and an understanding of systems complexity into your approach. “We can't actually influence the kind of change that we want to see without acknowledging and understanding how to work with the complexity of the challenges we face today." 

3. Start small, but think systematically.

While systemic change is the goal, RLC coaches encouraged their leaders to balance urgent needs with thoughtful, sustainable approaches. "I think there are times that we're operating in the urgency and quick fix,” shares Melissa Brookens of Aspire Public Schools. “NEP really helped us slow down and think through how we make changes in our organization."

Leadership in Action: Identify small, concrete actions you can take while keeping the bigger picture in view. Colm Davis, Director of Talent and Organizational Learning at NEP, notes the importance of this balanced approach. "A lot of people hold on to the enormity of the task of working toward equity and justice,” he says. "We have to hold that enormity and also not let it paralyze us."

4. Create space for differences.

Effective equity leadership isn't about getting everyone to the same place at the same time. "I used to think equity leadership was really about getting everyone on the same page about a cause,” Clay recalls. “But now I think equity leadership is really about holding space for folks no matter where they are in their equity journey, and really creating opportunities for them to engage depending on their own experiences and their own sphere of influence to create change."

Leadership in Action: Design inclusive processes that acknowledge and value different starting points and perspectives in your work.

Moving Forward Together

The power of collective equity leadership lies in its ability to sustain and amplify the work of systems change over time. “My hope is that people walk away feeling like they have a greater web of support, even when it's hard,” Davis reflects. “Their team is a source of support, but I also hope that the broader cohort and the National Equity Project is a source of support in that way as well."