Brittany Ramos DeBarros

Brittany Ramos DeBarros

Brittany provides programmatic support to the external field building work of the Collective Impact team at Living Cities. She also supports the Working Cities Challenge.

Brittany joined Living Cities in November 2013 as the Collective Impact Program Assistant. In her previous role at Living Cities, she worked to help build the field of Collective Impact in order to accelerate learning and results across the Living Cities portfolio and the larger social change field. Her previous service as an Army logistics officer and experience in strategic communications gives her a unique perspective and diverse set of skills to bring to the collective impact team. Her work with the Fund for the Public Interest and later her service in Afghanistan confirmed her passion for work that can meaningfully change communities and societies for the better. Additionally, her tenure as an independent life insurance agent and B.B.A. in Entrepreneurship from the University of Miami imbued her with a solid understanding of the importance of networks and efficient processes that support innovation.

Brittany now works as an independent consultant at Brittany DeBarros Consulting.

BrittanyNRamos

Contributing Articles

Why We’re Participating in A Day Without A Woman Strike Tomorrow

Many of the Living Cities staff have decided to participate in the #ADayWithoutAWoman General Strike tomorrow—here’s why.

What We Are Learning About Catalyzing Impact Investing in Dallas

The Dallas Impact Investing Collaborative (DIIC) is on a very intentional journey to learn about how to invest differently in social change. Here are a few reflections on how this group could be a model for mobilizing local funding communities around impact investing. Last week I had the honor of announcing the Dallas Impact Investing Collaborative’s GrowSouth Sidecar fund. This …

Collective Impact #Toolbox: Data Inventory

So you have your measures and outcomes all laid out. Now what? Assess what data you have, what data you need, and what data you hope to create over time using this handy spreadsheet. The Collective Impact #ToolBox is a series of blogs featuring simple, practical tools that members of cross-sector partnerships can use to support their day to day work. Using …

Collective Impact #Toolbox: After Action Reviews

Want to build a feedback culture? Use this fast, simple U.S. Army process to reflect, capture learning, and improve how your partnership works together over time. The Collective Impact #ToolBox is a series of blogs featuring simple, practical tools that members of cross-sector partnerships can use to support their day to day work. Consistent reflection, whether by individuals or teams, …

Collective Impact #ToolBox: Collective Impact Element Dashboard

Finding time to reflect on your initiative’s progress as you go is tough! Dashboards provide a simple way to add some structure to your reflection so you can focus on what needs improvement. The Collective Impact #ToolBox is a series of blogs featuring simple, practical tools that members of cross-sector partnerships can use to support their day to day work. …

Collective Impact #ToolBox: Partnership Leaders Explain Their Work

Four Collective Impact practitioner leaders share their ongoing work, lessons learned and insights in 10-15 minute videos. The Collective Impact #ToolBox is a series of blogs featuring simple, practical tools that members of cross-sector partnerships can use to support their day to day work. We have heard from our sites, partners, and the collective impact field at large that the …

Just Do It TOGETHER: Rapid Reflections from Day 2 of the Integration Initiative Learning Community

The second day of our Integration Initiative learning community, Achieving Change: Just Do It TOGETHER, included sessions on the practice of continuous improvement and data informed decision making at the city level. Overall this learning community has me reflecting on how we design convenings to best support the work of our sites now that they are implementing their strategies and developing much more …

Meet 10 Cities in Massachusetts Aiming for Change

An introduction to the 10 Massachusetts cities that are working to change systems and improve the lives of low-income people through the design phase in the second round of the Working Cities Challenge. Round two of the Working Cities Challenge is underway and this time it includes a six month design phase intended to better support cities in their effort to integrate …

Collective Impact #ToolBox: Icebreakers

Think icebreakers are touchy-feely? Think again. The right icebreaker can profoundly change the tone of a meeting. The Collective Impact #ToolBox is a series of blogs featuring simple, practical tools that members of cross-sector partnerships can use to support their day to day work. I came to Living Cities with a business and military background and let me tell you, …

Five Questions for Armeather Gibbs of the Rhode Island Working Cities Challenge

We sat down with Armeather Gibbs, director the Rhode Island Working Cities Challenge, a Boston Federal Reserve Bank initiative that aims to improve the lives of low-income residents by encouraging cross-sector collaboration focused on changing systems. In September 2015, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston announced that the next Working Cities Challenge (WCC) competition would take place in Rhode Island. The …

Collective Impact #ToolBox: Free Collaboration Tools

Four tried-and-true, free tools that simplify the administrative work behind managing cross-sector partnerships well. Take advantage of this technology to make collaboration just a little easier. he Collective Impact #ToolBox is a series of blogs featuring simple, practical tools that members of cross-sector partnerships can use to support their day to day work. Managing a network of partners often comes …

Contributing Resources

Video Case Study: Fitchburg’s Re-Imagine North of Main Initiative takes a holistic approach to community development

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Working Cities Challenge is an initiative to improve the lives of low-income people in smaller post-industrial cities across Massachusetts by fostering collaborative leadership, community engagement, and data informed decision making, all through the lens of changing systems. In this video, captured at a recent Working Cities Challenge funders plenary, Tom Skwierawski articulates the goals …

Video Case Study: Lawrence Working Families Initiative Addresses Unemployment

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Working Cities Challenge is an initiative to improve the lives of low-income people in smaller post-industrial cities across Massachusetts by fostering collaborative leadership, community engagement, and data informed decision making, all through the lens of changing systems. In this video, captured at a recent Working Cities Challenge funders plenary, Jess Andors articulates the goals and outcomes …

Meeting Icebreakers

Think Icebreakers are touchy-feely? Think again! Our “Meeting Icebreaker” resource provides a list of recommended icebreakers that can help you build a positive team culture. The right icebreaker can profoundly change the tone of a meeting. This is especially true in the early states of collective impact work, when the norms and culture of a partnership are still developing. Even …

Wedding Seating Chart Exercise

This short and simple exercise is designed to help cross-sector partnerships think through who they should be engaging, and in what ways, in order to achieve their shared result. When building and maintaining cross-sector partnerships, it can be difficult to understand who should be at the table and how they should be involved. Building a structure that makes sense for …

Action Commitment Exercise

Use this simple template to capture action commitments at the end of meetings with your partners. This exercise was adapted from the work of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Accountability can present a major barrier to achieving a cross-sector partnership’s intended impact. However, accountability is crucial to ensure work is moving forward and progressing in a way that contributes to a …

Webinar: Racial Equity and Community Engagement in Collective Impact

Tackling racial inequalities head on is critical to dramatically improving results for low-income people. Our webinar explored applying a racial equity lens to community engagement and collective impact work. This webinar was part of Living Cities’ Community Engagement in Collective Impact E-course, but was open to those not taking the full course as well. Overview How do you apply a …

Week 4: Applying Business Concepts to Community Engagement

In the fourth week of our e-course on community engagement in collective impact, we look at opportunities for collective impact initiatives to apply business concepts to community engagement work. Time: ~ 30 minutes of reading; ~2 hours of group time This is the fourth of five modules to help collective impact initiatives better understand why and how to work with …

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