From VDC's Founder
In 2012, I moved to Philadelphia and began working at a large nonprofit with an important mission. I was managing staff, running an entire department, and informing high-level organizational strategy. I was working ~60 hours/week, but really making an impact on people’s lives. My work was challenging and rewarding, and I got along well with many of my co-workers. However, I quickly learned that the organization operated like so many large nonprofits in the U.S. - centering profit over people and reinforcing racist, patriarchal work environments. The organization perpetuated a traditional notion of charity (read: White Savior Complex) and fundraising (larger donors are given too much decision-making power), and did not listen to the voices of clients or community partners.
I began fiercely pushing the organization and its leadership to examine these issues and take action. Deep within me, I knew that a shift needed to occur: I wanted the leadership team to acknowledge the problematic structures in place, assess their relationships to community partners, and deconstruct the antagonistic work environment. Though I offered functional and transformational solutions, using my privileges to center voices in the organization where they were intentionally ignored, I was consistently met with hostility from the people with the most power.
During all of this, my partner and I began caring for an ailing family member as they underwent cancer treatments and, ultimately, home hospice. This family member was a lifelong entrepreneur who listened eagerly to my struggles at work and urged me to leave the organization and start my own business. Though I was scared and it wasn't my plan, I knew I could make it work.
Drawing from my experiences working with small and large nonprofits, my education in women's studies and nonprofit management, and my personal political values, I began networking, teaching, and eventually taking on consulting clients. Though the structure of VDC has changed over the years, my intentions have always remained the same: to support visionary people and organizations who are doing valuable social justice work by providing personalized training and capacity-building, centering the strengths and assets of clients and their communities.
Now with a team, Vision Driven Consulting is passionately providing consulting services, facilitation support, and trainings that truly make an impact on the people and communities we engage while also centering our values. I hope that you are here because you, like me, realize that healthy organizational shift is not only vital but actually possible. With the right tools, resources, and relationships, your vision is within reach. My team and I are eager to collaborate with you as you navigate the steps of seeing it through.
-- Brittany Campese, VDC Founder & Principal
I began fiercely pushing the organization and its leadership to examine these issues and take action. Deep within me, I knew that a shift needed to occur: I wanted the leadership team to acknowledge the problematic structures in place, assess their relationships to community partners, and deconstruct the antagonistic work environment. Though I offered functional and transformational solutions, using my privileges to center voices in the organization where they were intentionally ignored, I was consistently met with hostility from the people with the most power.
During all of this, my partner and I began caring for an ailing family member as they underwent cancer treatments and, ultimately, home hospice. This family member was a lifelong entrepreneur who listened eagerly to my struggles at work and urged me to leave the organization and start my own business. Though I was scared and it wasn't my plan, I knew I could make it work.
Drawing from my experiences working with small and large nonprofits, my education in women's studies and nonprofit management, and my personal political values, I began networking, teaching, and eventually taking on consulting clients. Though the structure of VDC has changed over the years, my intentions have always remained the same: to support visionary people and organizations who are doing valuable social justice work by providing personalized training and capacity-building, centering the strengths and assets of clients and their communities.
Now with a team, Vision Driven Consulting is passionately providing consulting services, facilitation support, and trainings that truly make an impact on the people and communities we engage while also centering our values. I hope that you are here because you, like me, realize that healthy organizational shift is not only vital but actually possible. With the right tools, resources, and relationships, your vision is within reach. My team and I are eager to collaborate with you as you navigate the steps of seeing it through.
-- Brittany Campese, VDC Founder & Principal