Capacity Building for social change

Working in Europe and the US, we provide support to people looking to make the world a better place. The heart of this work is capacity building: creating and improving systems, coaching and training staff in new skills and ways of working, building partnerships, and bridging the gaps between theory and practice. And, of course, securing resources to enact your vision. See here for sample projects.

 
 
 
 
 

K Maeve Powlick

founder and lead consultant

I have twenty years of experience with consulting, program evaluation, and research to support organizations seeking to make a difference. My consulting work grew out of collaborative, mixed-method research I conducted for my dissertation, with youth programs in communities of concentrated poverty in New York State. In 2011, I earned a PhD in Economics from UMass, Amherst based on this research. That same year, I started working full time to support the work of leaders in social change, helping them to tell their stories and get more funding to implement their ideas. In 2023, I completed a Research Masters in Societal Resilience at Vrije Universiteit (VU) in Amsterdam, further building on my data skills to better use big data sources in research related to community change. I currently conduct research at the VU and am working on a second PhD in Political Science and Public Policy. I work with an international team and collaborate with other consultants as needed.

 

International and Cross-Cultural Learning

  • Roots in New York.

    I am a New Yorker at heart, and have gained a wealth of experience and knowledge working with treasured colleagues in New York. My work in New York focuses mostly on supporting local community-based organizations in communities of concentrated poverty in New York City, but I have also worked in upstate communities including Hudson, Otsego, Yonkers, Troy, and Albany.

  • New growth in Amsterdam.

    In Amsterdam, I have reconnected with academia as a researcher at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. I am part of several research consortia doing mixed-methods research projects about understanding how to promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Through this work, I have built new skills in cutting edged mixed-method research techniques using Big Data for social change. I also teach in both English and in Dutch. The Netherlands is a wonderful place to live, as my children grow into adolescents!

  • Teaching, Practice, Research, Theory

    My work is all about understanding and supporting intergenerational processes of change, healing, and development. Children and adolescents are at the center. I am looking forward to the next chapter in my career, blending teaching, practice, research, and theory.

  • Building cross-cultural connections.

    I am excited to build connections between New York and the Netherlands, because I believe this connection is one ripe for cross-polination of ideas and deepening our understanding of social change from a cross-cultural perspective. I am multilingual and have the "taalknobbel" as they say in Dutch. I am fluent in English and Dutch, have conversational level French and Spanish, and have experience with multiple other languages and operating in multi-lingual environments (Sierra Leonean Krio, Wolof, Japanese, ASL). My next language goals are Nederlands Gebarentaal and Arabic! And maybe Greek!