ALMA VILLEGAS brings over 25 years of experience facilitating efforts founded on social justice and equity. She has a long track record in organizational development in the private and public sector including policy, program and evaluation. A seasoned equity advisor and community engagement professional, she has worked collaboratively on a broad range of projects conducting equity assessments and strategic planning, providing one-on-one and group equity coaching and mentorship, facilitating dialogues that are grounded in trauma-informed and repair safe space principles and racial equity, and developing media and social networking platforms for multi-lingual and multi-cultural communities.
Alma has partnered with several agencies to help them go beyond translation to develop communication materials that are multi-cultural and multi-lingual with a community-driven trans creation process as the centerpiece. She has developed and implemented several community liaison models of engagement building bridges between diverse populations, non-profit organizations, cities and other government agencies. In 2014, Alma was awarded the Washington State Planners Association Award for new Innovative Community Engagement Program for the development of the Community Connectors Pilot Program in partnership with the City of Tukwila.
Alma holds a Bachelors in Liberal Arts, has received extensive training in race and social justice equity facilitation, and is certified as a Spanish language interpreter and translator.
Additional Expertise
Equity and Social Justice Leadership Facilitation and Framework Development – Facilitated social equity dialogues for organizations, boards, public administrators, and staff placing equity principles at the forefront of organizational development and growth. Supports internal groups in developing unique frameworks that enable them to apply an equity lens to evaluate and develop policies and practices
Assessment and Evaluation – Extensive experience in policy, program and diverse community needs assessment, and evaluation. Utilizing a wide range of tools and methodologies to ensure accessible and equitable engagement. Distills research findings into clear, actionable insights that directly support clients in progressing toward their programmatic goals.
Diverse Community Engagement – Over 25 years of experience in community engagement, capacity building, leadership development, and systems advocacy for low income, immigrant, and refugee populations and organizations across the region. Skilled at leveraging professional training and lived experiences to identify appropriate tools and platforms to ensure meaningful, empowering forms of engagement for all communities.
Community Strategy Expertise – Led inclusive and collaborative local and regional planning processes to address agency and community priorities, with an emphasis on equitable access and sustainability. Adept in identifying and supporting bold steps toward achieving goals while also maintaining compatibility with economic, political, and other constraints that cities, agencies, and organizations often face.