Hello
My name is Shekinah Alegra, and I use She/Her & They/Them pronouns. I am a Portland-based consultant who is deeply committed to nurturing thriving community leaders and organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Employing innovative methodologies, I facilitate transformative journeys toward regenerative organizational cultures founded on principles of creativity, inclusivity, integrity, accountability, and continuous growth. Rooted at the intersections of applied theater, organizational development, somatic practice, ecology, mental health , and multi-level systems change; I work with community leaders and organizations to unlock their creativity, cultivate well being, train attuned awareness and responsiveness to dynamic challenges, and develop abundant internal and external resources.
With over a decade of nonprofit experience serving diverse communities, I am dedicated to elevating your organization's mission and wellbeing. My expertise lies in orchestrating holistic strategies for catalyzing your team's creative potential, organizational development and growth, nonprofit sustainability and resource development, and leveraging the impact of small businesses with a social mission. Whether it's catalyzing team synergy and collaboration, DEI trainings and professional development, navigating grant applications and fundraising, or crafting visionary roadmaps; I am here to infuse a spirit of play, purpose, practicality, and inspiration into our work together that will fortify your organization's resilience and foster its holistic growth.
As a Theater of the Oppressed (TO) facilitator, community educator, earth-lover, shadow stalker, truth teller, dancer, mixed-media artist, performer, mental health advocate, and snack aficionado, I bring a diverse set of skills and perspectives to my work alongside organizational leaders and changemakers.
My Approach
As a consultant and T.O. facilitator, I specialize in steering communities and organizations through transformative group processes and trainings that foster resilience, creativity, diversity, inclusivity, collaboration, and the cultivation of organizational cultures conducive to individual and collective well-being.
Together, we explore practices that enhance our awareness of the intricate connections and patterns within ourselves, our communities and our ecosystems. My approach pulls from multiple methodologies integrating relational, somatic, and creative group processes such as applied theater, social permaculture, meditation, movement practices, and a systems based approach that recognizes the vital function of each part in the whole. These methods not only strengthen relationships but also unearth collective wisdom and enhance creative problem-solving.
I also offer more traditional consulting services, TO workshops, and teach grant writing and fundraising classes and services tailored to grassroots organizations, community leaders, artists, and change makers. My nonprofit consulting services include strategic planning for organizational development, resource development, fundraising strategy, supporting nonprofit boards, donor communications, DEI & professional development trainings, and grant writing services.
Whether through one-on-one consulting, group sessions, or workshops, my focus remains on providing practical support and a holistic support that catalyzes creativity for transformative change.
Learn more about my guiding principles:
Community-Centered & Driven: My approach is grassroots and community-led, ensuring that solutions arise from community needs and participation through an organic and guided process. This centers the well being and desires of community, employees, or other participants as being of equal value and importance to outputs; and as an integral part of actualizing an organizations values and mission.
Play & Creative Expression: I advocate for integrating play and creativity into our relationships and workplaces, fostering trust, resiliency, joy, and connection while improving communication, collaboration, innovation, and the integration of diverse perspectives.
Nature & Body As Teacher: Grounded in ecology, social permaculture, and living systems theory, and a deep appreciation for science behind the body, trauma, and somatic practice my approach recognizes our interconnectedness and emphasizes restoring human and more than human relationships to a state of balance that is benefical for the whole eco-system.
Anti-Oppression Lens: I work from an anti-oppression lens, recognizing systemic inequities and the need to integrate diverse ways of relating, thinking, and existing in the world with the goals of creating spaces that support the perspectives and thriving of all individuals and groups in a group including the experiences of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, differently abled and neurodiverse individuals. This means acknowledging the impacts of of racism, sexism, homophobio, ableism, etc. and actively working to addressing impacts and seeking to change these patterns. I utilize tools such as theater of the oppressed and parts work to explore the dynamics of power and privilege, systemic oppression, and the lived experiences and impacts on an individual and collective level.
Consent: I prioritize consent, ensuring that participants have agency in choosing their level of engagement and creating environments where participants are empowered to exercise agency at each step of the process.
Trauma Responsive: I am striving towards creating trauma-informed spaces, acknowledging individual and collective traumas that impact this work and that may arise during practice. I am committed to ongoing education and training to build my capacity to offer more trauma-responsive environments; and to helping organizations integrate a deeper understanding and attunement to trauma into their work.
Restorative Values: I value accountability and repair, both individually and collectively, understanding the nuanced factors contributing to harm and how frequently harm occurs in our organizations and communities. I strive to cultivate spaces conducive to transformative experiences while actively addressing and rectifying harm as it arises. Open to feedback, I engage in processes of accountability and repair when needed, recognizing their integral role in fostering organizational and community wellbeing. Moreover, I advocate for restorative justice practices, advocating for their adoption whenever possible, given their profound impact on promoting healing and harmony.
My Story
My journey began in the midst of adversity, where hardship and resilience intertwined. Growing up amidst poverty, homelessness, and grappling with my own neurodiversity, my parent's struggles with mental health, and the loss of parent to suicide I learned the power of community, movement, meditation and creative expression in fostering resilience and joy.
Driven by a passion for justice and equity, I delved into the nonprofit sector after high school beginning my nonprofit career with three years of Americorps service in diverse communities across the country. Over the years, I have worked with many urban and rural organizations serving BIPOC, immigrant, neuro-diverse and other marginalized groups as a mentor, educator, and in nonprofit leadership and development.
During my years in the nonprofit sector I witnessed countless organizations and communities grappling with burnout and limited resources as they tackled systemic challenges rooted in trauma and disconnection with the natural world and each other much of which can be traced back to the historical impacts of colonization, racism, sexism, and ableism. Many of these challenges exist as much within our own bodies as they do within our systems.
While working with Glacier Peak Institute, I witnessed firsthand the transformative power of collaboration, team building, shared goals, and creativity during the pandemic. Together, we navigated the challenges, engaging our networks in creative problem solving and resource building, adapting fundraising efforts to virtual formats and expanding program reach despite the odds - from a place of deep connection to our team, our stakeholders, and our shared mission.
My personal resilience journey was intertwined with practices like Theater of the Oppressed, Butoh, and other creative expressions such as dance, ritual work, creative writing, painting, and singing which illuminated our inate capacity to heal and to access new ways of seeing and being in relationship to ourselves, others, and our ecosystems.
Many community members, leaders and organizations hold a vision for healing and empowerment in their communities; while struggling to embody and actualize their mission and values without an intact web of community support, nourishment, accountability and restorative practices. So how do we bridge the gaps?
Bridging these gaps internally and externally requires a shift towards cultures of care, accountability, inclusivity, welcoming diversity, creative thinking, and the ability to reimagine what is possible when we step outside the box and invite one another into a deeper process of learning and play through the vital work we do with and for our communities. .
In order to create lasting change, we need experiences that create real breakthroughs, on a personal and collective level.
How do we learn to move into a state of rest? To re-evaluate our priorities and re-align with our values? To connect in the midst of a conflict? How do we access our creative potential when we've been stuck in a scarcity-mindset for years? Can we come together to re-imagine, rehearse, and try again from a more collaborative, resourced, and creative mindset.
Creative, relational, somatic and interactive practices offer profound solutions with far-reaching implications for organizational leadership and cultures. Through my experiences, I've discovered that play holds the power to integrate new learning and perspectives more efficiently and quickly, while fostering positive connections and enhancing cognitive function. Applied theater and similar creative practices create a unique platform for individuals and groups to delve into conscious and subconscious patterns, decolonizing their approach to organizational leadership and better understanding trauma's somatic impact on individuals and their organization. These practices can help foster psychological safety and belonging within any group. Integrating insights from living systems theory and social permaculture principles, this approach provides a playful yet powerful environment to observe reactions, cultivate empathy, and engage in creative and collaborative problem-solving.
For bridging the gap between our ideals and their realization, I advocate for transformative practices such as applied theater, somatic work, and group-centered approaches. These methods not only deepen awareness but also disrupt maladaptive behaviors and nurture regenerative practices, fostering meaningful change at individual, group, and collective levels. In Augusto Boal's work he refers to Theater of the Oppressed as a "rehearsal for life."
My diverse background and knowledge in nonprofit consulting, performing arts, somatic psychology, ecology, and mental health advocacy enriches my approach. By promoting cultures of care and creativity, I invite others to join in shaping a brighter future, one where community well-being is prioritized and nurtured.
Contact
I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.