ABOUT US
Dragonfly Partners helps changemakers—both inside and outside the political system—get “unstuck” and work through strategic, organizational or interpersonal challenges.
Based in Philadelphia and with team members around the country, Dragonfly Partners is a multiracial consulting team serving organizations that are part of the social justice movement ecosystem in our hometown, nationally, and globally. Our clients are community organizers, advocacy groups, foundations, universities, faith-based organizations, government agencies, labor unions, coalitions, media makers, arts and culture organizations, and others engaged in work for social and political change.
We are named for the dragonfly, who migrates across borders and whose eyes can see in many directions at once. As a team, we bring a multitude of perspectives to our work with our clients.
OUR SERVICES
We support changemakers with a range of services that help them build capacity, realize organizational growth and change, and become more effective advocates for the communities they serve.
Organizational Growth and Change • Strategic Planning • Theory of Change Development • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) • Transformational Anti-Racism Work • Conflict Management • Fundraising/Resource Mobilizing • Coaching • Leadership Development • Advising and Consulting • Training • Facilitation and Mediation • Strategy and Campaign Advice • Evaluation
Clarify Strategic
Direction
We facilitate the creation of medium- and long-term strategic plans for organizations, coalitions, or campaigns.
Strengthen Leadership Capacity
We coach leaders to effectively approach tough and politically-nuanced challenges, whether systemic or interpersonal.
Engage in Political Advocacy and Campaigning
We partner with clients to devise political advocacy strategy that is reinforced by organizational strategy.
Work with Resistance to Change
We help clients identify resistance to change within the organization and/or within a coalition of allies, then develop effective mechanisms to understand and mobilize that resistance.
Have Difficult the
Conversations
We mediate disputes, design problem-solving sessions, and facilitate meetings that are interpersonally or politically charged.
Negotiate with allies and adversaries
We develop effective approaches using interest-based negotiation models.
Develop Public Policy Solutions Across Partnerships and Agencies
We support and facilitate multi-party development of public policy.
Lead for Racial Justice
We help clients strengthen their ability to lead for equity in a multiracial and multicultural environment.
CONTACT US
PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION AND ONE OF OUR ASSOCIATES WILL BE IN TOUCH WITH YOU SHORTLY.
OUR TEAM
We can be reached individually at: firstname @dragonfly-partners.com
Barbary Cook
Partner, Praxis Designer
she/her
Barbary works behind the scenes at Dragonfly to support partners and associates to develop new tools for clients, and design change processes that center questions of power and deeply held values. Barbary was born and raised in Northern Ireland and understands how deeply rooted our human resistance to change is. She believes we need to imagine our way into the future, not as a place of perfect change but of messy adaptation, where it takes courage to let go of values that no longer serve us. Barbary supports organizations to dig beneath the surface to discover the source of their resistance to change—most often a painful clash of values. She believes in designing processes that are loving and generous, that explore how we embody our resistance to change, and that are secured in concrete, practical improvements to organizations' systems and processes. Recently, she has been focusing on supporting Dragonfly's partners and associates to develop effective and creative racial justice and equity change processes. Barbary's approach to change work is built on the Adaptive Leadership model which she learned at Harvard Kennedy School, where she got her Master in Public Policy. She also received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford, and a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Government from the University of Ulster. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She is based in Philadelphia. In 2020, Barbary began to paint, having never picked up a paint brush before. Like the people Dragonfly works with, she too is changing who she is, and how she can help change the world.
Amadee Braxton
Partner, Core Consultant
she/her
Amadee is a facilitator, trainer and coach who supports organizations and their leaders of color to move through conflict, center racial equity and justice, and fully express their power. Amadee knows that having good structure and process, being in right relationship with one another, and acting from a place of embodied power are keys to transformation in organizations. Amadee guides movement-based social justice organizations to help align their strategies with their values and learn to use tools of collaboration internally instead of the tools they might use against their foes. She especially enjoys coaching Black, Indigenous, and leaders of color to connect to their gifts and grow self-confidence so they can embody their full power. Amadee’s life experience as a Black woman and her time organizing and strategizing in social movement spaces (pro-peace/anti-war, reproductive rights, criminal justice reform, AIDS/health care) inform her work with organizations and leaders. She has a B.A. in Africana Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a Graduate Certificate from Temple University in Diversity Leadership based in the Transformational Social Therapy method. She is a trained mediator, a fundraising trainer certified by the Grassroots Institute of Fundraising, and is a Certified Professional Coach. Amadee is passionate about wealth redistribution as Board President of Leeway Foundation, which funds all kinds of women and trans/non-binary artists whose work is in service to community and social change. In her spare time, Amadee promotes ideas and tells stories that revitalize a sense of what’s possible. She is a Usui Reiki Master and energy healer.
Allison Erdneka Budschalow
Partner, Core Consultant
she/her
Allison is a people person with decades of experience in bringing folks together to build toward common goals. She has vast experience in doing this in the form of resource generation (or fundraising) based on her many years as lead development staff for community-based organizations. Allison loves to help groups increase their individual and collective power through resourcing their work with an emphasis on grassroots fundraising. Most recently, she has co-created Securing the Roots, a six month fellowship to build people-power through a resource generation, mobilization and reclamation framework. In her work with Dragonfly, she enjoys facilitating groups of all sizes through an exploration of who they are and what they are invested in, opening up ways for them to stretch and find growth. With knowledge of organizational development, an eye toward strategy, and expertise in virtual engagement, she has been navigating the pandemic skillfully, bringing folks together even as we are physically apart. Prior to her resource generation and mobilization work, she served on staff at the American Friends Service Committee, supporting social movements around the U.S. and globally. She also had the privilege of being a lead organizer of the first U.S. Social Forum, held in Atlanta in 2007. Allison has served on the boards of directors for a number of Philadelphia-based organizations. As the first person in her family to graduate from college, Allison received her BA in Sociology/Anthropology from Earlham College and her MA in Sustainable Businesses and Communities from Goddard College. Born and raised in Philly and determined to raise her kids there, too, she is a member of the Kalmyk Mongol diaspora and is always excited to investigate the intersections of food, gentrification, race, class, and story-telling in her spare time.
Aarati Kasturirangan
Partner, Core Consultant
she/her
Aarati (pronounced Arthi) works with white and BIPOC changemakers to transform internal culture and structures and build effective, values-aligned strategies for change. Aarati believes that change happens when we define the problem, identify skills and talents we can build on, and surface assumptions and values that drive us. She recognizes that people need help moving through the fears and conflicts that inevitably accompany honest self-exploration. Over the past 22 years, Aarati has been shaped by her experiences organizing with other women of color as part of Incite! Women and Trans People Against Violence and for climate justice with 350.org, her mid-career experience as a stay-at-home mom, her training in strategic planning with the American Friends Service Committee, and her experiences as a grantmaker at Bread & Roses Community Fund in Philadelphia. Aarati’s experience has allowed her to make significant contributions to individual and community healing, solidarity-building, wealth redistribution, and strategic planning in support of community-led efforts to make change. Aarati holds a doctoral degree in Community & Prevention Research in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Aarati is a dominant caste, dark-skinned, class privileged, Indian-American, immigrant, straight, cis-gendered mother of two who loves to grab an idea from the air and shape it into words that spark giggles, a tear, or a gentle sigh.
Brian Thompson
Financial Advisor
he/him
Brian provides comprehensive financial and business planning to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs who run mission-driven companies. He understands the added stresses of running a business while being a person of color and a part of the LGBTQ+ community. You may not have access to the knowledge that others do. Brian has helped lift some of that weight from Dragonfly's shoulders. Because he served the LGBTQ+ community, Brian was awarded the Inspiring Leader Award by the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) in 2018. He was recognized by InvestmentNews' 2018 "40 under 40". I'm a senior contributor to Forbes and NAPFA Advisor Magazine's Efficient Planner Column. You can learn more about Brian and his story in his profile in the New York Times and his podcast interview featured on The Huffington Post. Brian graduated cum laude from DePauw University and obtained his Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law. He earned his Certificate in Financial Planning from the Boston University Center for Professional Planning and received his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation in 2012. He became a Registered Life Planner through the Kinder Institute of Life Planning in 2020 and a certified Profit First Professional in 2021. When he's not doing what he loves professionally, Brian enjoys working out, cooking (and sometimes baking), and exploring Chicago, the best city in the world!
Brianna J. Jones
Partner, Director of Operations
she/her
Brianna is an activist and organizer. Coalition-building and facilitating collaboration and solidarity between movements is her passion. She is inspired by the African proverb "If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together." Her journey with Dragonfly began in 2016 in the position of Office Manager. She was promoted to Operations Manager in 2019 and became a Partner and Operations Director in 2023. As Dragonfly's Operations Director, she acts as the engine behind the organization's day-to-day operations, performing critical tasks like managing budgets, invoicing, and interfacing with clients. She leads Dragonfly's ongoing commitment to equitable pay practices and giving back to and connecting with the communities we serve. Brianna is a proud Philadelphia native, raised in a home where issues around justice, equality and the pursuit of Black liberation were regular topics of conversation. She is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration and is thrilled to devote her talents to Dragonfly's mission.
Noah T. Winer
Partner, Core Consultant, Managing Director he/him
Noah is an organizer, facilitator, and coach who supports movement leaders to have difficult strategic conversations, equips teams to pivot in shifting political terrain, and guides organizations to develop a transparent and accountable work culture. Noah believes underlying organizational structures often lead us to succeed wildly or fail miserably. He asks incisive questions to get leaders looking at their work in new ways. Noah was a founding campaign strategist at MoveOn. He directed the digital team at Greenpeace India. He has organized with other white people to uproot white supremacy, with other cisgender men to end heteropatriarchy, with other Jews for Palestinian and Jewish liberation, and in a cross-class, multiracial organization for health care as a human right. He was raised on a solar homestead on Penobscot land (rural Maine) in a family passionate about transforming the world. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College, learned how the world works in Philadelphia, and recently moved to Nipmuc and Pocumtuc land (Northampton, Massachusetts) with his partner and two kids.
Olivia Campbell
Administrative Assistant
she/her
Olivia is a graduate student pursuing a Masters in Counseling Psychology at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. She has interest in supporting individuals in their internal processes in order to empower them to make movement in the world on behalf of themselves and their communities. At Dragonfly, she supports the partners and Brianna in a variety of administrative roles. Olivia attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania and received her BA in Women's and Gender Studies with minors in Youth Empowerment and Urban Studies and Communication Studies.
OUR CLIENTS
We advise, support, and facilitate periods of change for our client-partner organizations from a wide range of sectors, approaches to change, and geographical scope. Here are a few of our clients:
Advocacy
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American Friends Service Committee
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Amnesty International USA
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Change.org
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Color of Change
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Greenpeace International
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Greenpeace US
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Jewish Voice for Peace
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MoveOn
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NARAL Pro-Choice America
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The Movement Cooperative
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Voting Rights Lab
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Win Without War
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Women's March
Media, Arts, & Culture
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Denniston Hill
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Girls Rock Philly
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Institute for Middle East Understanding
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Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists
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Scribe Video Center
Grassroots
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Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia
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Movement Alliance Project
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Philadelphia Coalition for a Just DA
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Philadelphia Student Union
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Philadelphia Community Bail Fund
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Pennsylvania Immigration Citizenship Coalition
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POWER: Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower and Rebuild
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SEIU Pennsylvania
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Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project
Public Interest Law
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ACLU New Jersey
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ACLU Pennsylvania
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Bronx Defenders
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Civil Rights Corps
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Fair Share Housing Center
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Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity
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The Public Interest Law Center
Philanthropy
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Bread & Roses Community Fund
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Ford Foundation
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Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation
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Leeway Foundation
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The Heinz Endowments
Rebecca Subar
Partner, Core Consultant
they/them
Rebecca is a strategist and practitioner who supports leaders at all levels of organizational life to make strategic and relationship choices with integrity in a racist world. They have given advice and support to political actors and activists on change, challenge and conflict for over thirty years, with attention to power relations and human relationships at the center of their work. Rebecca, who goes by the pronouns they/them, enjoys challenging and being challenged, bringing their flawed, authentic self to the task of coaching a client toward their own authentic best. They are as eager to apply political principles to a group’s theory of change as they are to draw flow charts to represent it. They bring a sense of humor, creativity to imagine what is possible, analytical tools to help assess what is reasonable, and enthusiasm for helping a client tell a new story of change. For fourteen years Rebecca taught in the peace and conflict studies program at West Chester University. Their book, When to Talk and When to Fight: The Strategic Choice Between Dialogue and Resistance (PM Press 2021, graphics and charts by Rosi Greenberg) echoes Dragonfly's approach to changemaking. Rebecca is a white, non-binary, middle class, able-bodied queer secular Jew. They have a master in public administration with a concentration in conflict management from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a BA in writing and politics from Barnard College. Besides solving problems related to social change, Rebecca enjoys solving mechanical problems with wood, rope, turnbuckles and pulleys.
Sara Joffe
Partner, Core Consultant she/her
Sara works with organizational leaders, staff, and members to get through stuck places and navigate the challenges of organizational transformation. Sara believes that to be most effective in bringing about the change we want in the world, progressive organizations need to become adept at embracing conflict, difference and contradiction. This means attending to internal dynamics: seeking out multiple perspectives, addressing power and other inequities, working through difficult conversations and designing new systems or structures to sustain more open communication. Born and raised in South Africa, Sara became an anti-apartheid activist at a young age and remains passionate about her commitment as a white person to racial justice. Her specialty is creating the capacity to bridge differences and manage challenging conversations, along with integrating an awareness of interconnected systems of oppression and power dynamics into all aspects of organizational life. She has done this for the past 30 years as a facilitator, mediator, organizational development consultant and coach. Sara holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Cape Town, in South Africa, and a M.Ed. from Temple University. She is also trained in the Gestalt approach to organizational development through the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and the Gestalt International Study Center in Cape Cod. Sara lives in Philadelphia, where she enjoys singing Broadway show tunes off-key with her partner and daughter.
