“We are blessed to be standing on the shoulders of the great leaders from our past who paved the way to make tremendous impact in our community.”

Written by: Tyler Wiest

What drew you to this role of CEO of Coleman Advocates?

I would love to share a personal story. I come from an area of the nonprofit sector where you quickly identify a problem, find a solution, and follow a linear pathway. At Coleman, the work was more diverse. It took time to understand exactly what we do, our value proposition, and what we offer the world. I have learned that I am privileged to stand on a legacy of powerful leaders and successes. I am honored to build upon the foundation they laid for me.

Another privilege is walking into an organization with that history. Your primary responsibility is to not ruin it. I was previously working at an organization called Cityteam—a fantastic organization. I knew I wanted to be part of the decision-making process. I wanted to maintain my connection to the nonprofit space while being a decider—the one who says, “This is what we should care about.”

Tell us about what stood out to you most about Coleman Advocates?

Fifty years of wins! One major victory is the Children’s Fund, which remains in circulation today. It was a charter reform that allocated a portion of profits toward child services, wraparound services, and school support systems. It has become a model across the United States. Another recent signature win was the Safe and Supportive Schools Act, which allocated funding toward a holistic approach to child development.

This goes beyond the classroom to provide student support teams. These teams provide the psychological and emotional support systems children need to become fully functioning, productive members of society.

What are you most excited about coming into this role of CEO of this organization?

I am excited about both the present and the future of Coleman Advocates. I see Coleman as a unifying force for good. In a dual capacity, we also serve as the preventative arm of the CBO ecosystem. To summarize in layman’s terms: every child has predictors that lead to adverse outcomes. These signs appear well before you see someone struggling on Skid Row or in the Tenderloin. It starts around age seven, or even earlier.

Coleman’s focus is identifying those signs using predictive analysis. We then turn that data into pathways and leadership development curriculums that can be deployed across the San Francisco Unified School District. These are disseminated to parents to create pathways that disrupt negative outcomes and provide children with opportunities to succeed.

Tell me about Coleman Advocates now, and what lies ahead for the organization.

This is an awesome time. I am excited about the present and future of Coleman. I see the organization as a unifying force for good, serving as the preventative arm of the CBO ecosystem. Every child has predictors that lead to adverse outcomes.

These indicators show up long before someone struggles on Skid Row or in the Tenderloin; they start around age seven or before. Coleman’s goal is to identify these through predictive analysis and turn them into pathways and leadership curriculums for the San Francisco Unified School District and parents. This creates ways to disrupt those outcomes and provide positive pathways for success.

How do you want to work to create a space for people who want to influence the Bay Area?

That is what Coleman is all about. Our youth justice director, Rachel Jones, says that Coleman is a megaphone. I often use the word “platform,” but I love “megaphone” because we are unified voices for lasting solutions. We achieve this through boots-on-the-ground work. It is important for members to be a key voice in the decisions shaping their daily lives. They are the experts of their own lives. We provide resources and pathways so their elevated voices are clearly understood in any space.

To solve problems, you must involve the people most impacted by these issues in the conversation. However, a translation must take place. The way they understand their experience and the way that is communicated to those with the power to influence political outcomes can be different. Language can be a barrier. We are not only a megaphone and a platform; we are a translator.

In your new role, what are some of the main things you want to focus on?

I’ve been vocal with our staff: I want to move from “anti” to “pro.” I want to transition the organization from only being vocal about what we are fighting—which is important—to moving toward something. My challenge is naming the harm while simultaneously providing a solution.

I believe we have an opportunity to rethink how we write the narratives of the world. It is a challenge when so much is wrong and easy to name. I choose to focus on positive change rather than negative harms. Harms are impactful and metrics support that, but naming a harm does not solve it; it only identifies its existence. We have an opportunity to understand what is wrong while fostering a society of free-thinking, critical-thinking individuals who can identify how to fix it.

Stepping into this role, what do you say is the thing you are most apprehensive about?

There is a great book called How to Make Big Things Happen. I grew up as an athlete, so I understand appropriate fear—the fear you feel when competing or when you are injured. Here, the appropriate fear is that change is hard. Change is difficult for anyone, but it is particularly hard in a community that no longer believes in the systems used to make that change.

When you identify an institution or system as the “harmer” or “oppressor,” trusting that those things can change to benefit you is scary. This is compounded by the human instinct to reject discomfort. My apprehension lies in how to partner with a community that has lost hope in the institution we call the United States.

“You’re the advocate and the architect of your own liberation, and our job is to sit Colmies in the right room at the right time with the right people.”

-Mfalme Mashairi

How can you bring hope to the community you’re working in?

There is a palpable yearning. You can feel the desire for people to evolve past their current conditions. There is a listening ear for anything different. This can be felt globally, but it is certainly felt here in the Bay Area. We are talking about the fourth wealthiest economy in the world—on planet Earth

Yet it has among the highest homelessness rates, job insecurity, drug abuse, and criminality persist alongside some of the worst public school academic scores in the US. These scores are lower than those in Mississippi, a region often unfairly mocked. Coleman Advocates provides tangible, common-sense solutions by viewing the individual as the architect of their own liberation. Our role is to place people in the right rooms so decision-makers understand the human impact of their actions.

What sets Coleman Advocates apart from other organizations?

Many nonprofits are incentivized to exist because their funding is tied to the persistence of a problem. Coleman Advocates is different; our bottom line is attached to resolving problems. We connect directly with members to shape a mission focused on results.

What do you say to all the Colmies out there?

If you are a Colmie, come back. We are active in the Excelsior, Mission Bay, Mission District, Bayview, Hunters Point, and the Tenderloin. Our goal is to end suffering and create success. It is not enough to name a harm; we must identify and provide solutions. Coleman is the platform to stand for what you believe in.

What do you want to tell anyone interested in supporting us?

Whether you live in the Excelsior or the Tenderloin, you are family. If you are hearing about Coleman for the first time, we want your voice in this movement. Move beyond stating what you are against and start vocalizing what you are for. This is how we transform the Bay Area and solve global challenges.

Any last words for us?

Consider the story of the people on the hill. Those at the top build their lives, but their waste becomes the oppression of those at the bottom. The people at the top often do not realize they are causing harm, while those at the bottom assume the harm is intentional.

We must drop these assumptions and communicate. Coleman acts as a unifying force to get both sides talking. The real issue is creating a society where everyone has the space to succeed. Join this movement at www.colemanadvocates.org, follow our social media, and talk to your local representatives about our mission.