Featuring The Center on Policy Initiatives
The Center on Policy Initiatives (CPI) was founded on the principle that public policy change can make the economy work for everyone. With a diverse and dynamic team, CPI proposes and advocates for local policy change to advance economic justice both in the workplace and in the community.
Sounds like a lot of work,
doesn’t it? Such work requires a conducive environment where learning can happen, ideas can be shared, and relationships can be built and fostered. After more than a year at home, CPI’s team including Executive Director Kyra Greene, Development Manager Jacqueline Guan, and Director of Finance & Operations Shane Stahl began to dream of what a future office space for their rapidly growing organization could look like.
They hoped for a comfortable environment for their staff with enough room for community coalitions to gather in important conversations and changemaking, collaborating with working- and middle-class people to address oppression and divestment, and improve the quality of life in under-resourced neighborhoods. SVP helped to give their dreams footing in a tightly scoped Spark Team engagement. Together with CPI’s leadership, SVP Partners Robert Hill (lead), Marty Goodman, Scott Schechter, and Tom Watlington developed a decision-making framework for the organization to use in pursuing the potential for new office space.
Over the course of five months, the team met to discuss CPI’s future working style and space requirements, explore commercial space trends and costs in San Diego, and analyze their options to lease or buy a new office location in the region better suited to the nonprofit’s current needs. Upon closing the engagement, Executive Director Kyra Greene shared:
“At [CPI] we think the best work is work that empowers people to have agency and control over important decisions in their lives. Our Spark Team provided that to us. The team didn’t just come in and tell us what to do, they worked with us to understand what we wanted and then provided us with tools and information that would help us to make the best decision for our organization.”
Does your background lend itself to helping respected nonprofits like CPI develop practical solutions to business problems? Learn how you can increase your impact in the community as an SVP Partner.