November 2021 Program Quality Learning Series
From November 8-17, 2021, Root Cause hosted a series of free webinar workshops introducing our Program Quality Roadmap, a proven system for building equity and excellence in social service organizations. Each webinar focuses on a different component of the Roadmap: a panel of nationally-renowned experts and practitioners guide you through each core component, show you how to apply it to your organization, and facilitate a discussion on the topic with attendees.
From Guilford County, North Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts, this innovative Program Quality Roadmap has been researched, tested, refined, and successfully used with over 25 nonprofits and communities. This series is an opportunity to learn how you, your organization, and/or your grantees can use this roadmap to set program goals, test solutions, make improvements, and achieve greater equity and excellence.
Our goal for this Learning Series is to build a learning community of practitioners who want to continue to improve themselves, their organizations, and their communities. We invite you to view the recordings of these webinars using the links below.
View Our Webinars
Introduction to the Program Quality Learning Series: Opening Session
This webinar serves as an introduction to Root Cause’s Program Quality Roadmap, a proven system for building equity and excellence in social service organizations. Our panel of nationally-renowned experts and practitioners guide you through the Roadmap, show how organizations can use it, and dive more deeply into how racial and economic equity is embedded throughout the Roadmap and essential for success.
Panelists:
- Jasmine P. Williams, JD – Racial and Economic Equity Consultant
- Ben Perkins, MA, MDiv – Executive Director, Wholesome Wave
- April Nishimura, MA, MBA, Director of Capacity-Building, RVC
- Consuela Greene – Principal Consultant, Root Cause
- Abby Alexanian, MPP, MBA – Project Director, Root Cause
Evidence-Informed Program Design
How can nonprofit programs and social service providers use evidence-based models and available research to best meet the needs of their communities ?
View the recording of our Evidence-Informed Program Design Webinar, a Core Component of the Program Quality Roadmap.
Panelists:
- Sunday Taylor, PhD – Director of Evaluation, Boston Public Health Commission and former Root Cause Senior Consultant
- Cathy Burack, EdD – Senior Fellow, Brandeis University Heller School Center for Youth & Communities
- Anjali Nath, MPH – Director of Asthma Prevention & Control, Boston Public Health Commission
- Sotun Krouch – Vice President of Evaluation and Learning, Roca
- Darris Jordan – Coordinator of Breathe Easy at Home Program, Boston Public Health Commission
Trauma-Informed Approach
How can social service and nonprofit programs be designed to identify and address the consequences of trauma?
View the recording of our Trauma-Informed Approach Webinar, a core component in the Program Quality Roadmap.
Panelists:
- Dontaè Roberts, LCSW – Racial and Economic Equity Consultant
- Ken Epstein, PhD, LCSW – Founder, P.R.E.P. for Change Consulting
Referrals and Partnerships
November 10, 9:30am-10:30am EST
How can social service and nonprofit programs give and receive referrals and manage partnerships that lead to seamless service coordination between programs?
View the recording of our Referrals and Partnerships Webinar, a Core Component in Root Cause’s Program Quality Roadmap.
Panelists:
- Jean Workman – Executive Director, Every Baby Guilford
- Elbia Altamirez – Community Health Educator, Every Baby Guilford
- Leandra Vernon – Fetal Infant Mortality Review Coordinator, Every Baby Guilford
- Abby Fung – Managing Director, Root Cause
Program Accessibility
How can social service and nonprofit programs address barriers to accessibility to ensure community members can receive needed services regardless of zip code, race, gender, language spoken, disability, work schedule, household income, and/or other factors?
View the recording of our Program Accessibility Webinar, a Core Component in Root Cause’s Program Quality Roadmap.
Panelists:
- Anand Dholakia, MBA – Principal Consultant, Community Science and former Root Cause Principal Consultant
- Jessica Santos, MA, PhD – Scientist and Lecturer, The Heller School of Brandeis University’s Institute for Economic & Racial Equity
- Jonathan Rosenthal – Assistant Director (School-to-Career), Boston Private Industry Council (PIC)
Family and Community Engagement
November 16, 10am – 11am EST
How can/should families and communities be engaged in planning, designing, evaluating, and strengthening social services and nonprofit programs? What roles can they play in leadership or feedback processes?
View the recording of our Family and Community Engagement Webinar, a Core Component of our Program Quality Roadmap.
Panelists:
- Dontaè Roberts, LCSW – Racial and Economic Equity Consultant
- Jeff Rogers – Executive Coach, DEI facilitator, and Former CQI Coach at Root Cause
- Dinah Shepherd – Co-Founder and Co-Director, First Teacher
- Alexa Saint-Fort – Parent Leader, First Teacher
Data Measurement and Capacity
How can/should a social service or nonprofit program collect and use data to measure performance and progress towards goals and outcomes? What are some best practices?
View the recording of our Data Measurement and Capacity Webinar, a Core Component of our Program Quality Roadmap.
Panelists:
- Kurt Von Stetton – Director of Data Services, YouthBuild
- Cailin O’Connor, MS – Senior Associate, Center for the Study for Social Policy
Staff Support and Performance
November 17, 11am – 12pm EST
How can social service and nonprofit programs better support staff members to promote their well-being and enable them to provide the most effective services?
View the recording of our Staff Support and Performance Webinar, a Core Component of our Program Quality Roadmap.
Panelists:
- Cheryl O’Donnell – Executive Director, Florence Crittenton Programs of South Carolina
- Erin Rodriguez – Executive Director, Root Cause
