Randi Burlew, The Burlew Group
Randi Burlew, PhD, founded The Burlew Group in 2019. Her firm supports mission-driven organizations to create inclusive cultures and stronger partnerships with communities of color so they can attract and retain diverse talent and grow their impact.
Who are you, who do you serve, and what are you focused on right now?
I founded The Burlew Group in 2019 to support my work consulting with organizations about how to best meet their DEIJ goals. This was in response to repeated requests from my network for help with projects that really relied on having strong relationships with the communities they serve.
This resonated with me because one of the things I had seen over and over again is that many of the nonprofit organizations I worked with really struggled to connect with the communities they served in a meaningful way. Instead, their relationships with these communities were narrowly focused on implementing programs, meeting targets, and reaching outcomes identified by their funders. Because of this, the needs and wants of the communities were getting lost.
The Burlew Group supports mission-driven organizations to create inclusive cultures and stronger partnerships with communities of color so they can attract and retain diverse talent and grow their impact.
What led you into this work?
A recent moment really crystallized for me why this focus on how to partner with communities of color is important. I have been working on a project with a Tribal organization in Northern California for about five years. As part of the grant requirements, we attend a federal conference each year with other Tribal organizations and their consultants that receive the same funding.
At the conference, I was in a small discussion group, and among the participants were some grantees who, like me, are not Indigenous. They were lamenting the fact that they could not get their project off the ground because the Tribal nation near them would not "cooperate" with them. The other members and I started asking some questions.
When you were applying for the grant, did you work with the Tribal nation to ensure that they would partner with you on this work? The answer: no.
After receiving the grant, did you form a Tribal Advisory Group to help guide and oversee your work in the community? The answer: no.
Have you done research or spoken to families in the community about how they understand and experience childbirth and parenting? The answer: no.
Have you ever done work in a Tribal community before? The answer: no.
They had written this grant with the idea that they knew a lot about child development and could impose what they thought were the right interventions on the Tribal community. And predictably, it wasn't working. Like many other organizations, they did not invest in building a partnership with the community, and that was the crux of their problems.
A lot of organizations believe that because they have good intentions, they will have a good impact, and this is not the case. Sometimes they can't get their projects off the ground. Sometimes they implement a program and it doesn't work. But worse than that, sometimes they implement a program and it causes harm to the very communities they want to serve. If they had just partnered with the community, the community could have told them that.
What was one of the hardest parts of building your career or business?
The anti-DEI pushback has been incredibly difficult. Many of my clients lost contracts, and in some cases that has meant that I have also lost contracts. In other cases, we are finding new ways to continue doing this important work. My passion for this work keeps me moving forward.
What's a project you're proud of?
I spent a few years working with a mission-driven organization focused on child welfare. First, we were able to review all of the training that caseworkers and supervisors take through a race equity lens and make important and significant changes that will improve the experiences of children and families of color. I also facilitated a race equity working group with child welfare leaders for two years. In addition to increasing knowledge, participants left with skills and ideas that can touch communities across the state.
What are you building right now?
I am focused on helping philanthropic and mission-driven organizations partner better with the communities of color that they serve. This involves addressing organizational culture, changing harmful policies and practices, and sharing power with communities.
What belief about consulting or nonprofit work has changed for you?
I believe that the most important and sustainable work that any of us will ever do is investing in community leaders. These are the people who are most committed to the work, who have been navigating these challenges before our organizations arrived on the scene, and who will continue working on these challenges once funding priorities change.
What advice would you give someone earlier in their journey?
Learn as much as you can from the communities you serve. Community members have been navigating these unjust systems in order to survive. Nobody knows these systems better than the communities that are disproportionately impacted by them every day.