About Optimistic Anthropology
Optimistic Anthropology LLC works with organizations, partnerships, and communities seeking to create a more just and positive world. As facilitators, collaborators, and advisors, we help clients understand current systems and build the mindsets, practices, and cultures needed to make transformational change. We are woman-owned consultancy rooted in the values of joy, curiosity, rigor, humanity, and deep equity.
Our Values
At Optimistic Anthropology, we seek to model our values in all the work that we do. These values are:
About Our Founder
Hi, I’m Alison Gold — Chief Optimistic Anthropologist, travel-enthusiast, amateur baker, and someone who believes that systems can change when we learn together. I founded Optimistic Anthropology in 2017 to bring my work and educational background -- as an anthropologist, emergent learner, systems-changemaker, and community-weaver -- to organizations and collaborations wanting to partner with a consultant who will co-create and facilitate processes and strategies to enable the creation of a more just and positive world.
Over the years, I’ve worked across philanthropy, government, and nonprofits in the U.S. And now my consulting practice (and life) enables me to work internationally, too. This gives me the chance to learn about and explore connections across seemingly disparate areas of social change—from nuclear threat reduction to health inequity, genocide prevention to urban poverty. I consistently see common threads across these fields of work that I believe can help changemakers better understand how systems and institutions and communities came to face the challenges they do, and how people can collaborate and learn together to bring a different world into being.
I am also a faculty member and coach for the Emergent Learning Community Project and I participate in the Causal Pathways Initiative as a Brain Trust member and workshop facilitator. And, as a life-long learner, I continue to build my own knowledge and skills in practices including adaptive leadership, emergent learning, emergent strategy, facilitative leadership, and undoing racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Beyond my professional work, I find joy in swimming, hiking, travel, crafting, baking and hosting friends and family for meals. I am also trying and improve my Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS) speaking skills and maintain some of my ability to converse in Spanish.
Today, I divide my time between the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, DC and the Koševsko Brdo neighborhood of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina with my husband Emir. I love sharing both my hometowns with visitors, and building connections and community with my neighbors, aided by my very cute dog, Dimi.
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Colleagues
Optimistic Anthropology partners with independent consultants and small firms to assemble a skilled team tailored to our clients' needs. Check out the links to learn more about our talented colleagues!
Derisa Grant, Ph.D.
Derisa Grant, Ph.D., (she/her/hers) is a researcher and consultant focused on equitable opportunities for marginalized groups. She recently studied barriers to diversity, equity, and inclusion in nonprofits. Previously, she taught at USC and was an associate director at Stanford. Derisa holds multiple degrees, including a Ph.D. from Stanford and a bachelor’s from Harvard. Originally from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, she grew up in the Bronx and now lives in the California Bay Area.
Tiffany Manuel, Ph. D.
Tiffany Manuel, Ph.D., (she/her/hers) is President and CEO of TheCaseMade, where she helps changemakers drive systems-level change for more equitable, inclusive communities. A nationally recognized thought leader and social scientist, she brings 25+ years of cross-sector experience advancing equity and opportunity. She led the development of Opportunity360, a pioneering data platform used by over 100,000 professionals to drive outcomes in community development and social policy.
Shamsah Ebrahim, Ph.D.
Shamsah Ebrahim, Ph.D., (she/her/hers) is Principal of Leading Edge Advisors, guiding foundations, nonprofits, and public institutions in equity-centered strategy, learning, and systems change. With a Ph.D. from MIT and 15+ years of global experience, she has led multi-stakeholder initiatives in education, health, and innovation—including with the UC system and Silicon Valley Community Foundation—bringing depth in systems thinking, human-centered design, and organizational transformation.