The people most affected by a system usually know the most about how to fix it. At Lutheran Services in America, we are building the capacity to act on that.
We work with more than 300 organizations serving 1 in 50 people. And one of the most consistent things we hear from leaders across that network is this: we need to listen better to the families we serve and to the communities we’re part of.
Knowing it and building the capacity to actually do it are two different things. And that is what Transforming Together is about.
This week, 14 organizations from across the Lutheran Services in America network launched a nine-month action cohort — one of the first initiatives of its kind in our network — designed to embed lived experience at the center of how organizations work and how they influence the systems around them. Not as a checkbox or consultation, but as a genuine driver of strategy, evaluation, and practice.
With expert facilitation from Greater Good Studio, these 14 organizations are building real skills:
- how to gather and use community feedback in ways that actually change decisions
- how to tell stories rooted in lived experience
- how to design evaluation that captures what matters to the people served
We have long recognized that the people closest to the problem are closest to the solution. Transforming Together puts capacity behind that belief with a cohort of leaders focused on building the infrastructure to truly listen and make change.
We’re excited to share what this cohort discovers and the changes we make alongside people and families.
Participating organizations include:
- Advocate Health
- AK Child & Family
- Concordia Place
- Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch
- Immanuel Living
- Lutheran Community Services Northwest
- Lutheran Services Florida
- Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
- Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota
- Lutheran Social Services of Southern California
- Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan
- Missouri Slope
- St. John’s United
- Transforming Age
This work is made possible, in part, through the generous support of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and other national partners. We are deeply grateful for their partnership and commitment to strengthening communities and advancing opportunities for those we serve.