Community Organizing

At Davila Applied Anthropological Research, leadership is not taught as a set of abstract skills. It is cultivated through deep cultural understanding, lived experience, and participatory practice. We combine applied anthropology, community organizing, and equity-centered strategy to help emerging and established leaders navigate complex organizational, community, and social systems.

Whether you lead a nonprofit, a small business, a community-based organization, or a public initiative, DAAR equips you and your teams with the insight, tools, and confidence to lead with purpose, advocate effectively, and build stronger communities.

Leadership Training

Our leadership training programs are designed for executives, managers, board members, emerging leaders, and community organizers who want to lead with cultural intelligence and authentic presence.

We help participants:

  • Understand the cultural and structural dynamics that shape their teams and stakeholders
  • Develop inclusive decision-making practices
  • Strengthen communication across difference
  • Lead through change and resistance
  • Align personal values with organizational and community impact

Training can be delivered as single workshops, multi-day intensives, or ongoing cohort programs tailored to your budget and goals.

Advocacy Strategy

Effective advocacy requires more than passion — it requires cultural insight, clear messaging, and strategic relationship-building. DAAR supports organizations and leaders in designing advocacy approaches that center lived experience and drive measurable change.

We work with clients on:

  • Issue framing and narrative development
  • Stakeholder mapping and coalition building
  • Community-informed policy and program recommendations
  • Inclusive campaign design
  • Capacity building for staff and community members engaged in advocacy

Our approach is rooted in participatory methods so that the people most affected by an issue help shape the solutions.

Community Leadership Development

DAAR specializes in community leadership development that strengthens local capacity and fosters sustainable change. Drawing on our work in Harlem, with disabled entrepreneurs, and across New York City nonprofits and small businesses, we help organizations and neighborhoods build leadership pipelines that reflect the communities they serve.

Services include:

  • Community leadership academies and fellowships
  • Participatory action research projects
  • Capacity-building for neighborhood groups and grassroots leaders
  • Youth and emerging-leader development (including our Harlem Applied Anthropology Internship model)
  • Organizational culture and equity assessments that support inclusive leadership

We believe strong communities are built when residents, workers, and stakeholders are equipped to lead from within.

Our Distinctive Approach

What sets DAAR apart is our foundation in applied anthropology and community organizing. We do not offer generic leadership curricula. Instead, we ground every engagement in cultural context, power analysis, and real-world organizational and community dynamics. Our founder’s own journey — from East Harlem to building a certified MWBE firm focused on equity — informs the practical, resilient, and justice-oriented leadership we help others develop.

Who We Serve

  • ​Nonprofit and community-based organizations
  • Small businesses and social enterprises
  • Disability-led and disability-serving organizations
  • Public agencies and coalitions
  • Foundations and intermediaries investing in community capacity
  • Emerging leaders and grassroots organizers

Ready to strengthen leadership capacity in your organization or community?

Contact us to design a leadership training, advocacy strategy, or community development program that fits your goals and budget.

Contact Us To Get Started