Centering Survivor Voices: HOPE-MA Shares Coalition-Building Lessons with Massachusetts Nonprofits

Posted On:  12-02-25

On October 22, Mariya Taher, Executive Director of Sahiyo, and Dr. Crista Johnson-Agbakwu, Executive Director of the UMass Chan Collaborative in Health Equity, presented on behalf of the HOPE-MA team at the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network‘s Annual Conference, “Stronger Together,” held at the DCU Center in Worcester. This year’s conference brought together nonprofit and business professionals from across Massachusetts for a day of networking, workshops, and expert roundtables.

Building Bridges, Creating Change: Community-Centered Approaches to Multi-Sectoral Movement Building was a 60-minute interactive workshop that explored community-centered approaches to multi-sectoral coalition building, drawing on the history and evolution of FGM/C advocacy at local, regional, and national levels. The session presented the journey of Massachusetts’ original coalition work that led to the state’s FGM/C law, through to the current iteration of HOPE-MA Coalition’s model.

Attendees represented a diverse mix of directors, managers, advocates, and service providers working across sectors in Massachusetts. Olivia Harris, HOPE MA’s project coordinator, led attendees through an interactive stakeholder mapping exercise to examine power dynamics within cross-sector partnerships and to develop practical strategies for centering the voices of those most impacted. The session was documented by UMass Chan Project Coordinator Sammie Doxsey and ultimately reinforced the value of collaborative and survivor-centered approaches to drive meaningful policy and systems change.

Interested in learning more about coalition building and community-centered advocacy? View Session Content Here.