Equitable Partnerships for Out-of-School Time (OST) Providers:
A Virtual Learning Series
Provider:
Patrilie Hernandez
Independent Consultant and Founder
Embody Lib, LLC
Class Size Limit: 50
This virtual learning series is aimed at youth-serving organization leaders and program staff in Montgomery County, MD. The series will build participants’ capacity to develop and sustain effective partnerships that expand program reach, strengthen organizational resilience, and improve outcomes for young people ages 5–24 across the County.
Learning Session 1:
Understanding our Role, Assets, and Positionality within Community Ecosystems
Tuesday, May 26 – 10am-1pm
This opening session lays the foundation for equitable partnership development by guiding participants through a deep exploration of their social identities, positionality, roles, and assets within the broader community ecosystem. Using liberatory theory, cultural awareness frameworks, and ecosystem thinking, participants will explore how their social identities, lived experiences, and institutional roles shape collaboration, trust, and collective action in community-based work. Through mapping exercises, self-reflection, and group dialogue, participants will begin to understand how their social identities, lived experiences, and organizational mission influence their ability to build and sustain equitable partnerships.
Learning Session 2:
Building Consensus on Shared Vision and Values in Intergenerational, Community-Driven Work
Tuesday, June 2 – 10am-1pm
In this session, participants will explore how shared vision and values serve as a foundation for effective collaboration and forming equitable partnerships. Drawing from evidence-informed frameworks such as Collective Impact, Appreciative Inquiry, and Deliberative Dialogue, participants will examine how to design processes that foster meaningful alignment, especially in multigenerational, cross-sector gatherings. Through a set of reflective and small group activities, participants will practice identifying readiness for consensus, choosing facilitation formats that meet the moment, and using decision-making tools to support inclusive outcomes. Participants will leave with strategies to facilitate generative conversations, bridge generational perspectives, and co-create shared visions that reflect care and commitment.
Learning Session 3:
Navigating Conflict and Sharing Power in Collaborative Efforts & Community Partnerships
Tuesday, June 9 – 10am-1pm
Conflict and tension are a normal part of collaboration and, when engaged with intention, can strengthen trust, accountability, and equity. This session introduces practical frameworks –such as the Values Iceberg, Conflict Intelligence, and models for sharing power – that help participants navigate conflict, address cultural differences, and foster psychologically safe, power-balanced partnerships.
Learning Session 4:
Formalizing Equitable Partnerships: From Action Planning to Entering Agreements with Clarity
Tuesday, June 16 – 10am-1pm
Establishing solid formal agreements is a significant step in building partnerships. But if both parties aren’t clear and intentional, these can reinforce inequity rather than disrupt it. In this session, participants will learn to distinguish between work plans and action plans, and practice building action plans that emphasize shared ownership and transparency. The session also explores the strengths and limitations of formal partnership agreements – such as MOUs, MOAs, Statements of Work, and contracts – and how to approach them with negotiation, clarity, and integrity. Emphasis will be placed on developing values-aligned agreements that foster trust and ensure that documentation reflects reciprocal responsibility rather than a hierarchical structure.
Learning Session 5:
Partnerships that Last: Evaluating Impact, Navigating Change with Care
Tuesday, June 23 – 10am-1pm
This final session brings the series full circle, focusing on how partnerships can be sustained, adapted, and nurtured over time. Participants will explore approaches to evaluating impact that reflect both measurable outcomes and the quality of relationships, including nontraditional indicators of change. Additionally, participants will examine strategies for maintaining alignment, managing transitions—such as funding shifts, leadership changes, or evolving priorities – with dignity and transparency. Participants will leave with practical tools to strengthen long-term collaboration, measure community impact, and navigate change with care and accountability.
Supplementary Session:
Designing Outcomes that Matter: Part 1½
Tuesday, June 30 – 10am-11:30am
Many organizations write outcomes to meet funder requirements but struggle to make them meaningful, measurable, and connected to real community change. This session will deepen participants’ ability to design outcomes that reflect both programmatic results and relational, systemic, and contextual shifts. We’ll revisit the difference between outputs and outcomes, explore the SMARTIE framework, and learn to balance hard data with soft indicators of belonging, confidence, and agency. We’ll also explore the role of leading vs. lagging indicators in tracking both short-term progress and long-term change. Finally, participants will explore how outcomes can be co-created with funders and resource partners through participatory grantmaking models, ensuring that evaluation reflects not only compliance but also community priorities, equity, and power-sharing.
Supplementary Session:
Communicating & Collaborating Across the Generational Spectrum
Tuesday, July 7 – 10am-11:30am
Building upon a previous session in the Capacity Building Series, this session deepens participants’ understanding of how generational dynamics influence communication and collaboration in intergenerational communities and workplace settings. Participants will explore how generational assumptions shape engagement and decision-making across teams and partnerships. Through reflection, dialogue, and case study exploration, participants will analyze generational tendencies in communication and collaboration, identify common challenges, and learn key practices that promote mutual respect, shared learning, and trust. Participants will leave with resources and language to navigate tension, foster generative dialogue, and strengthen cross-generational collaboration in community-based and organizational settings
About the Provider
Patrilie Hernandez, Principal Consultant & Founder, Embody Lib LLC
Patrilie Hernandez (they/she) is a liberatory designer, facilitator, strategist, and educator with 16 years of experience across public health, food systems, and community-driven initiatives. Their consulting practice, Embody Lib, works with values-aligned organizations, public institutions, and care providers to strengthen organizational capacity, culture, and practices that support equitable and effective service delivery.
Through Embody Lib, Patrilie supports organizations in translating policies, competencies, and frameworks into practical tools and strategies that improve decision-making, alignment, and social impact. Their work is grounded in interdisciplinary systems thinking and focuses on evidence-informed, culturally responsive solutions that are feasible across complex operational environments.
Patrilie’s academic background spans culinary arts and hospitality management, social science, public health, nutrition, and nonprofit management. This multidisciplinary foundation informs a participant-centered, co-design approach that bridges strategy and implementation while remaining accountable to community needs.
Their work is guided by a core belief that all bodies deserve dignity and access to the resources, power, and opportunities necessary to thrive. Patrilie’s practice is also shaped by lived experience navigating systems of care as a higher-weight, neurodivergent, gender-queer person of color in recovery from an eating disorder. This intersection of lived and professional expertise enables them to help organizations interrogate harmful narratives and adopt more just, sustainable, and community-centered practices.
Who Should Sign Up? This capacity building opportunity is ideal for nonprofit leaders and program managers responsible for the development of positive youth development and Out-of-School Time (OST) youth programming focused on the ages of 5-24.
Registration Requirements: Participants must work with youth in Montgomery County, Maryland. Participants can register for any of the sessions, in any combination.