Erin O. Crosby, Ed.D.
Founder & Managing Director
Erin launched etta mae collective to expand how organizations, schools, communities, and coalitions think about and participate in community engagement and collaboration–processes that often build or fracture social cohesion, cultural legacies, and equitable design.
As a community design consultancy, etta mae collective helps impact-focused clients investigate and operationalize radical belonging in their practices, policies, and programs.
We believe belonging, when radical, fosters generative spaces where interdependence, healing, agency, and co-creation are the norm. This belief drives us to operate at the intersection of practice and research: (i) exploring present-day questions of who is included in and excluded from our schools, neighborhoods, and institutions; (ii) examining the role of history, memory, and symbols on current challenges; and (iii) utilizing community design principles to reimagine systems and foster ways of being that lead to equitable outcomes.
Our Ways of Working
Belonging Analysis
Our work launches with a belonging assessment to understand how people experience (un)belonging across multiple settings. These insights, coupled with place-based context and community voice, shape the foundational case for clients’ strategic planning as well as shifting their practices, policies, and programs toward radical belonging.
Activities include:
- Belonging Assessment
- Community Needs & Priorities Assessment
- Constituent Interviews & Focus Groups
- Throughline Projects: History, Context, Narrative
- Foundational Case Development
Capacity Building
Our Learning Space expands client knowledge while strengthening their skills and competencies to activate radical belonging. The radical belonging framework shapes our capacity building approach, and it provides the necessary foundation for equitable engagement and collaboration.
Activities include:
- Learning Space: Workshops & Training
- Collaborative Design & Action Planning
- Leadership Coaching
Practice + Implementation
To co-create vibrant, interconnected spaces and places rooted in radical belonging, clients need generative settings to collaborate, work, and iterate. The Practice + Implementation Lab provides a container for all to engage in transformative practice and implementation.
Activities include:
- Equitable Community Practice & Reflection
- Communities of Practice + Care
- Collaborative Implementation Support
Let’s Talk
[e]: erinocrosby@gmail.com
[p]: 469.387.9434
[o]: etta mae collective is based in Washington, D.C.
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© etta mae collective, LLC 2024
etta mae collective 