2022: A Year of Stories
2022 was a time of transformation and growth, rooted in a deepening understanding of self. We grounded ourselves in the ways of working that we commit to embodying: as individuals, in teams, and as a firm.
We had many teachers this year who modeled how they act on their values, both in daily acts and in culminating moments. Here, we share just a few of the lessons that have stuck in our heads and hearts. We look forward to the next 12 months of making change – to self and systems – together.
Illustrations by Yuko Okabe
Visit 2020 stories ︎︎︎ Visit 2021 stories ︎︎︎ Visit 2023 stories ︎︎︎
“Neighborhood assets should be viewed as interwoven, feeding into and growing each other.”
JANUARY
Sow for the future.
Soni Gupta heads up the Neighborhoods & Housing impact area at The Boston Foundation. Our work together focused on the Foundation’s pandemic-responsive work in community investment and housing stability. Soni’s strategies look across time horizons to be agile in action while also tending to long-term ripple effects.
Soni teaches us that our shared work should aspire to multigenerational impact.
The project: We worked with Soni and her colleagues to develop storytelling that brings emergent strategies to life for the Foundation and its partners: https://www.tbf.org/what-we-do/strategic-focus-areas/housing
“I sacrificed my life for the work that I’m doing, to make a difference, to break chains for our community, to show the power of empathy.”
FEBRUARY
Vulnerability is powerful.
Noble Williams is Senior Director of Programming at the Transformational Prison Project, a restorative justice organization that focuses on community healing. When Noble leads circles, he makes each person feel entirely seen. He is generous in his listening and in what he shares of himself.
Noble reminds us that people should not be judged by the worst day of their lives, and that both hurt and healing can be held in community.
The project: A number of our teammates completed restorative justice training this year with the Transformational Prison Project: https://www.transformprison.org/
“When it comes to the root of justice and equity, I will always stand for what’s right and be willing to lose for what’s right.”
MARCH
Stand in your values.
Donald Osgood Sr. is Senior Program Manager for Boston’s Neighborhood Trauma Team Network. In this role, he guides the city’s response to incidents of violence.
Donald combines his corporate management experience with his love for Boston’s communities. In acts both small and big, he speaks truth even when it doesn’t serve people in power and shows love when it is a radical act.
Donald teaches us that presence is power. Showing up – or walking away – is a daily practice of one’s beliefs.
The project: Agncy is working with the Boston Public Health Commission’s Division of Violence Prevention to use a trauma-informed approach in co-creating its racial equity plan.
Our mission is to use design to reduce structural inequity in America. Agncy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. © 2020 Agncy Design Inc.
augusta@agncy.org
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts