Together
Let’s bring to life a world we dream.
Have fun while learning, healing, and growing.
Discover a flow in how we collaborate and share work.
Working with Ashley
Hi, I’m Ashley Cooper (my current favorite nicknames AC and Ms. Two Rivers).
I was recently told that I’m a combination of soft, caring, direct, and diligently efficient; that people feel seen and heard with me while also experiencing my willingness to say the difficult thing or name the hard truth in order to support moving forward in meaningful ways. I appreciated this person seeing both my thoughtfulness and care mixed with a deep devotion for actual collaboration that supports learning, collective action, and healing. My work is a practice of cultivating more love, collaboration, and intentional action in groups, individuals, our society, and myself.
People hire me to facilitate community engagement processes, design learning experiences, host meaningful conversations, and foster a more loving, compassionate, equitable, and collaborative culture. Clients are nonprofits, schools, municipalities, businesses, philanthropic foundations, and grassroots initiatives (see examples of past work). These are determined individuals, mission-driven organizations, and groups that are ready for support to move forward intentionally and in inclusive ways.
My approach is creative, relational, centers direct and consistent communication, and courageous when necessary. If our passion for what’s possible or respect for one another align, we are capable of creating powerful, magical experiences together. Below are some things that I love to do.
Offerings & Services
Community-Guided / Participatory Process Consulting and Facilitation
What does this mean?
Community co-creation. The people who a project, initiative, or decision impacts are engaged in processes to discern, understand, imagine, or implement what happens. The perspectives, insights, strategies, and existing relationships of people central to the matter are the expertise drawn upon to clarify direction and approach. Ashley (and other supportive, accountability partners) offer strategic direction, thought partnership, facilitation, and project management support. The approach is shaped by formal training and direct experiences with groups and communities of many sizes and compositions learning and moving forward together.
Collaboration and Team Dynamics
Because we are better together.
- Strengthening collaborative and co-creative skills within groups and teams.
- Facilitating community-wide or multi-stakeholder conversations and experiences.
- Growing muscles to move forward in caring, courageous, efficient, and collaborative ways.
Designing and Facilitating Learning Environments
Learning makes room for magic – unclogs space for possibility.
From teaching social and emotional skills to youth to graduate-level courses about leadership, community organizing, and facilitation to yearlong fellowship programs, my heart comes alive when I am co-designing and co-facilitating spaces for people to learn and grow. Programs can be multi-hour, multi-day, or spanning over a months or years and be for humans of any age. Topics vary based on what is relevant and meaningful for the particular group or purpose and the approach is always experiential, relational, and ideally meaningful.
Program/Initiative Evaluation
Growing understanding to support intentional action and positive development.
What are we doing? How is it going? What are we learning? Now what?
What is having a valuable impact? What obstacles are inhibiting positive movement? What outcomes are emerging from the efforts?
What to continue? What to adapt? What to stop doing?
The methodologies and data points of evaluation processes center learning priorities for those involved in implementing the program or initiative. Data generated is also of value for funders and other relevant parties.
Trust-Based Philanthropy
A no-strings-attached, holistic approach to giving that invites transparency and accountability.
Grounded in the perspective that:
- Some people have access to finances that are beyond personal/familial needs and desires and thus are able to invest in individuals and initiatives that are at the frontlines of enhancing more wellbeing in the communities they all live in.
- There are brilliant and creative people with direct knowledge, coherent strategies, cultural investment, and the personal relationships necessary to address existing community challenges.
- People can be trusted to use resources in ways that serve collaboration, healing, and community wellbeing.
Facilitating processes and connections between donors and grassroots initiatives led by local leaders. Communicating the opportunities and advantages of trust-based giving and initiatives that promote self-governance and financial decision-making autonomy with accountability.