Our Offerings
We fundamentally believe that today’s institutions, systems, and world can become better—not through wishful thinking that ignores real challenges, but through intentional, curious, and collaborative learning that embraces complexity rather than simplifying it away.
Check out the different ways Optimistic Anthropology can work with you and read what clients and collaborators have to say about their experience working with us.
Offerings
As anthropologists, facilitators, emergent learners, and systems changemakers with experience working in multiple sectors, here are the ways we can work together:
Developing Emergent Learning Cultures & Strategies.
In a busy and rapidly changing world, individuals and groups are always learning. Yet they often struggle to share, make meaning of, and integrate insights so they generate collective wisdom and more effective strategies. We partner with teams to build cultures of curiosity and real-time learning that navigate complexity for meaningful social change.
Starting with your existing strengths, we help evolve your team's mindsets, skillsets, and heartsets. Together, we co-create processes that enable everyone to adapt strategy as conditions change—unlocking your group's full potential for creating a more just and equitable world.
Developing Emergent Learning Cultures & Strategies.
In a busy and rapidly changing world, individuals and groups are always learning. Yet they often struggle to share, make meaning of, and integrate insights so they generate collective wisdom and more effective strategies. We partner with teams to build cultures of curiosity and real-time learning that navigate complexity for meaningful social change.
Starting with your existing strengths, we help evolve your team's mindsets, skillsets, and heartsets. Together, we co-create processes that enable everyone to adapt strategy as conditions change—unlocking your group's full potential for creating a more just and equitable world.
Developing Emergent Learning Cultures & Strategies.
In a busy and rapidly changing world, individuals and groups are always learning. Yet they often struggle to share, make meaning of, and integrate insights so they generate collective wisdom and more effective strategies. We partner with teams to build cultures of curiosity and real-time learning that navigate complexity for meaningful social change.
Starting with your existing strengths, we help evolve your team's mindsets, skillsets, and heartsets. Together, we co-create processes that enable everyone to adapt strategy as conditions change—unlocking your group's full potential for creating a more just and equitable world.
Designing & Facilitating Learning Experiences
For people, communities, and organizations to thrive, they need intentional learning spaces that expand understanding and illuminate new possibilities for change. We create generative workshops, learning communities, and leadership programs that build meaningful connections among participants.
Our carefully designed experiences can help deepen understanding of dynamic issues, communities, and systems—helping diverse groups develop the collective wisdom needed to navigate change together.
Designing & Facilitating Learning Experiences
For people, communities, and organizations to thrive, they need intentional learning spaces that expand understanding and illuminate new possibilities for change. We create generative workshops, learning communities, and leadership programs that build meaningful connections among participants.
Our carefully designed experiences can help deepen understanding of dynamic issues, communities, and systems—helping diverse groups develop the collective wisdom needed to navigate change together.
Designing & Facilitating Learning Experiences
For people, communities, and organizations to thrive, they need intentional learning spaces that expand understanding and illuminate new possibilities for change. We create generative workshops, learning communities, and leadership programs that build meaningful connections among participants.
Our carefully designed experiences can help deepen understanding of dynamic issues, communities, and systems—helping diverse groups develop the collective wisdom needed to navigate change together.
Dialoguing as an Independent Learning Partner
Leaders and small teams often need a trusted outside perspective to enhance their work. As your Independent Learning Partner, we serve as a thoughtful sounding board, asking powerful questions that clarify thinking, unlock new possibilities, and illuminate paths forward.
Our collaborative dialogue helps you transform everyday insights into actionable wisdom for navigating complexity.
Dialoguing as an Independent Learning Partner
Leaders and small teams often need a trusted outside perspective to enhance their work. As your Independent Learning Partner, we serve as a thoughtful sounding board, asking powerful questions that clarify thinking, unlock new possibilities, and illuminate paths forward.
Our collaborative dialogue helps you transform everyday insights into actionable wisdom for navigating complexity.
Dialoguing as an Independent Learning Partner
Leaders and small teams often need a trusted outside perspective to enhance their work. As your Independent Learning Partner, we serve as a thoughtful sounding board, asking powerful questions that clarify thinking, unlock new possibilities, and illuminate paths forward.
Our collaborative dialogue helps you transform everyday insights into actionable wisdom for navigating complexity.
Delivering Workshops & Webinars
Organizations tackling complex social challenges require engaging and accessible entry points to powerful frameworks and methodologies that can transform their approach. Without structured opportunities to explore and apply concepts like Emergent Learning, teams often remain stuck in conventional thinking patterns that limit their impact.
We offer a suite of engaging workshops, webinars, and series on specialized topics including Emergent Learning, Theory of Change for Systems Transformation, and Multi-Sector Partnerships for Social Change. Each offering can be thoughtfully tailored to your specific audience and learning goals, creating opportunities for collective discovery and practical application.
Delivering Workshops & Webinars
Organizations tackling complex social challenges require engaging and accessible entry points to powerful frameworks and methodologies that can transform their approach. Without structured opportunities to explore and apply concepts like Emergent Learning, teams often remain stuck in conventional thinking patterns that limit their impact.
We offer a suite of engaging workshops, webinars, and series on specialized topics including Emergent Learning, Theory of Change for Systems Transformation, and Multi-Sector Partnerships for Social Change. Each offering can be thoughtfully tailored to your specific audience and learning goals, creating opportunities for collective discovery and practical application.
Delivering Workshops & Webinars
Organizations tackling complex social challenges require engaging and accessible entry points to powerful frameworks and methodologies that can transform their approach. Without structured opportunities to explore and apply concepts like Emergent Learning, teams often remain stuck in conventional thinking patterns that limit their impact.
We offer a suite of engaging workshops, webinars, and series on specialized topics including Emergent Learning, Theory of Change for Systems Transformation, and Multi-Sector Partnerships for Social Change. Each offering can be thoughtfully tailored to your specific audience and learning goals, creating opportunities for collective discovery and practical application.
Want to explore working together?
Want to explore working together?
Want to explore working together?
A Little Birdie Told Us…
Read what some of our clients, collaborators, and colleagues have to say about working with Optimistic Anthropology and our founder. To make this section a bit more fun, we've illustrated the testimonials with photos of birds. Alison took all these snaps during her travels.
"I can't imagine where we would be without her! Her joyful energy, insightful questions, and her wisdom have helped us move our program forward in a way I couldn't have imagined."
We have worked with Alison and Optimistic Anthropology on a number of different projects since 2017 - we actually started with her on one project and she added such value that we asked her to work with us on another project. Thanks to Alison, we have been able to produce a theory of change for our program that has had hundreds of ripple effects into how we do our work. The work on the theory of change helped us clarify some of our implicit learning goals, and led us to develop curriculum to directly address these goals. Alison has helped us dig deep and through her advising, we have made connections I didn't know were there. It is so clear that she cares deeply about the work she does, and her love and joy shine through.
Director, UC Berkeley UCSF Joint Medical Program and Former Director PLUS program, UCSF
"I can't imagine where we would be without her! Her joyful energy, insightful questions, and her wisdom have helped us move our program forward in a way I couldn't have imagined."
We have worked with Alison and Optimistic Anthropology on a number of different projects since 2017 - we actually started with her on one project and she added such value that we asked her to work with us on another project. Thanks to Alison, we have been able to produce a theory of change for our program that has had hundreds of ripple effects into how we do our work. The work on the theory of change helped us clarify some of our implicit learning goals, and led us to develop curriculum to directly address these goals. Alison has helped us dig deep and through her advising, we have made connections I didn't know were there. It is so clear that she cares deeply about the work she does, and her love and joy shine through.
Director, UC Berkeley UCSF Joint Medical Program and Former Director PLUS program, UCSF
"I can't imagine where we would be without her! Her joyful energy, insightful questions, and her wisdom have helped us move our program forward in a way I couldn't have imagined."
We’ve worked with Alison and Optimistic Anthropology on several projects since 2017. She started on one and added so much value that we invited her onto another. Thanks to Alison, we developed a theory of change for our program that has rippled across how we work. That process helped clarify our implicit learning goals and led us to create curriculum that directly addresses them. Alison’s guidance has helped us uncover connections we didn’t see before. It’s clear she cares deeply about her work—her love and joy truly shine through.
Director, UC Berkeley UCSF Joint Medical Program and Former Director PLUS program, UCSF
"Through her genuine interest in getting to know people and their experiences, she weaves together concepts into action and individuals into communities working toward a shared goal. I admire her fearlessness and thoughtfulness in exploring the world"
Alison is more than a storyteller, she’s a story-getter. As both a friend and former colleague, I’ve seen Alison draws insights and experiences out of people that they may not have even known they had.
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority and Former Budget Director, City of Philadelphia
"Through her genuine interest in getting to know people and their experiences, she weaves together concepts into action and individuals into communities working toward a shared goal. I admire her fearlessness and thoughtfulness in exploring the world"
Alison is more than a storyteller, she’s a story-getter. As both a friend and former colleague, I’ve seen Alison draws insights and experiences out of people that they may not have even known they had.
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority and Former Budget Director, City of Philadelphia
"Through her genuine interest in getting to know people and their experiences, she weaves together concepts into action and individuals into communities working toward a shared goal. I admire her fearlessness and thoughtfulness in exploring the world"
Alison is more than a storyteller, she’s a story-getter. As both a friend and former colleague, I’ve seen Alison draws insights and experiences out of people that they may not have even known they had.
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority and Former Budget Director, City of Philadelphia
"Alison's meditation that curiosity takes you places that certainty almost never can struck a chord and has opened us up to new ways of approaching our work."
Optimistic Anthropology guided our team in exploring and applying new frameworks. Our key takeaways – work from good learning questions, frame ideas as hypotheses, and articulate held assumptions – have transformed our practice. We've replaced the feeling that we need to offer solutions with an intent to facilitate learning.
Partner, City Scale
"Alison's meditation that curiosity takes you places that certainty almost never can struck a chord and has opened us up to new ways of approaching our work."
Optimistic Anthropology guided our team in exploring and applying new frameworks. Our key takeaways – work from good learning questions, frame ideas as hypotheses, and articulate held assumptions – have transformed our practice. We've replaced the feeling that we need to offer solutions with an intent to facilitate learning.
Partner, City Scale
"Alison's meditation that curiosity takes you places that certainty almost never can struck a chord and has opened us up to new ways of approaching our work."
Optimistic Anthropology guided our team in exploring and applying new frameworks. Our key takeaways – work from good learning questions, frame ideas as hypotheses, and articulate held assumptions – have transformed our practice. We've replaced the feeling that we need to offer solutions with an intent to facilitate learning.
Partner, City Scale
"She has helped us get to the "why" of what we're doing and recommends appropriate strategies to meaningfully engage the "who."
We've been working with Optimistic Anthropology since 2017 and it’s helped us clarify our processes so we can maximize the impact of our work. Alison is not afraid to ask the tough questions and does so in a positive way that is for the good of the organization. Alison is a leader of integrity and excellence and brings a joyful energy to her interactions and communications. We enjoy working with her and would whole-heartedly recommend her to others.
President, American Institute of Architects Philadelphia
"She has helped us get to the "why" of what we're doing and recommends appropriate strategies to meaningfully engage the "who."
We've been working with Optimistic Anthropology since 2017 and it’s helped us clarify our processes so we can maximize the impact of our work. Alison is not afraid to ask the tough questions and does so in a positive way that is for the good of the organization. Alison is a leader of integrity and excellence and brings a joyful energy to her interactions and communications. We enjoy working with her and would whole-heartedly recommend her to others.
President, American Institute of Architects Philadelphia
"She has helped us get to the "why" of what we're doing and recommends appropriate strategies to meaningfully engage the "who."
We've been working with Optimistic Anthropology since 2017 and it’s helped us clarify our processes so we can maximize the impact of our work. Alison is not afraid to ask the tough questions and does so in a positive way that is for the good of the organization. Alison is a leader of integrity and excellence and brings a joyful energy to her interactions and communications. We enjoy working with her and would whole-heartedly recommend her to others.
President, American Institute of Architects Philadelphia
"Working with Optimistic Anthropology is one of the smartest decisions our organization has made. They were intentional every step of the way, and came to the project with genuine humility and curiosity, despite their many years of experience"
They were able to tackle a fairly complicated project, and from start to finish ensured that the project was organized, timely, and at the highest level possible. Every check-in, deliverable review, and phone call had a clear agenda and desired outcomes, and was an incredibly safe place where collaboration flourished. Between Alison’s anthropological roots, and Alice’s vast experience in adult learning, they are an absolute dream team!
Senior Program Manager, Black Business Accelerator, Amazon and Former Program Director, U.S. Soccer Foundation
"Working with Optimistic Anthropology is one of the smartest decisions our organization has made. They were intentional every step of the way, and came to the project with genuine humility and curiosity, despite their many years of experience"
They were able to tackle a fairly complicated project, and from start to finish ensured that the project was organized, timely, and at the highest level possible. Every check-in, deliverable review, and phone call had a clear agenda and desired outcomes, and was an incredibly safe place where collaboration flourished. Between Alison’s anthropological roots, and Alice’s vast experience in adult learning, they are an absolute dream team!
Senior Program Manager, Black Business Accelerator, Amazon and Former Program Director, U.S. Soccer Foundation
"Working with Optimistic Anthropology is one of the smartest decisions our organization has made. They were intentional every step of the way, and came to the project with genuine humility and curiosity, despite their many years of experience"
They were able to tackle a fairly complicated project, and from start to finish ensured that the project was organized, timely, and at the highest level possible. Every check-in, deliverable review, and phone call had a clear agenda and desired outcomes, and was an incredibly safe place where collaboration flourished. Between Alison’s anthropological roots, and Alice’s vast experience in adult learning, they are an absolute dream team!
Senior Program Manager, Black Business Accelerator, Amazon and Former Program Director, U.S. Soccer Foundation
"Her ability to do that work while working on different issues, in different sectors and within different contexts is a testament to her rock star status."
I have known Alison for over a decade and she is one of the most impressive and thoughtful changemakers that I've had the pleasure of working with. While there are many passionate leaders with great intentions, far fewer are like Alison, able to create significant social impact by bringing the right people to the table to collaborate. As a thought partner and colleague to me on two separate occasions, I've seen how Alison has approached cross-sector collaboration, facilitation, and curriculum development with an innovative and strategic mindset.
CEO, BLCK VC
"Her ability to do that work while working on different issues, in different sectors and within different contexts is a testament to her rock star status."
I have known Alison for over a decade and she is one of the most impressive and thoughtful changemakers that I've had the pleasure of working with. While there are many passionate leaders with great intentions, far fewer are like Alison, able to create significant social impact by bringing the right people to the table to collaborate. As a thought partner and colleague to me on two separate occasions, I've seen how Alison has approached cross-sector collaboration, facilitation, and curriculum development with an innovative and strategic mindset.
CEO, BLCK VC
"Her ability to do that work while working on different issues, in different sectors and within different contexts is a testament to her rock star status."
I have known Alison for over a decade and she is one of the most impressive and thoughtful changemakers that I've had the pleasure of working with. While there are many passionate leaders with great intentions, far fewer are like Alison, able to create significant social impact by bringing the right people to the table to collaborate. As a thought partner and colleague to me on two separate occasions, I've seen how Alison has approached cross-sector collaboration, facilitation, and curriculum development with an innovative and strategic mindset.
CEO, BLCK VC
"Alison’s the person we turned to when we knew we had a problem, but we didn't know how to solve it."
We asked her to help our grantees build stronger cross-sector collaborations, and she figured it out. We asked her to help our organization share what we were learning through our grants and investments, and she figured it out.
Former President & CEO, Living Cities
"Alison’s the person we turned to when we knew we had a problem, but we didn't know how to solve it."
We asked her to help our grantees build stronger cross-sector collaborations, and she figured it out. We asked her to help our organization share what we were learning through our grants and investments, and she figured it out.
Former President & CEO, Living Cities
"Alison’s the person we turned to when we knew we had a problem, but we didn't know how to solve it."
We asked her to help our grantees build stronger cross-sector collaborations, and she figured it out. We asked her to help our organization share what we were learning through our grants and investments, and she figured it out.
Former President & CEO, Living Cities
"She achieved the perfect balance of building genuine friendships with local leaders, while being able to push them to ensure they were reaching their goals."
I had the pleasure of working alongside Alison for two years and appreciated the heart, curiosity, and knowledge she brought to partnerships we were developing with other organizations. Four years later, I find myself sharing lessons I gained from her with the people I work with today.
Director, Frontline Solutions
"She achieved the perfect balance of building genuine friendships with local leaders, while being able to push them to ensure they were reaching their goals."
I had the pleasure of working alongside Alison for two years and appreciated the heart, curiosity, and knowledge she brought to partnerships we were developing with other organizations. Four years later, I find myself sharing lessons I gained from her with the people I work with today.
Director, Frontline Solutions
"She achieved the perfect balance of building genuine friendships with local leaders, while being able to push them to ensure they were reaching their goals."
I had the pleasure of working alongside Alison for two years and appreciated the heart, curiosity, and knowledge she brought to partnerships we were developing with other organizations. Four years later, I find myself sharing lessons I gained from her with the people I work with today.
Director, Frontline Solutions
"Alison has the unique ability to truly listen to people, understand where they are coming from, hear their challenges and to apply her formidable problem-solving skills to guide them to smart solutions."
I love Alison. In the fifteen years we've known each other, I've hired her on three separate occasions because of her combination of smarts and compassion. Through her work she creates community and paradigm shifts that inspire people. She provides the framework for change.
CEO, Fís Mór - Big Vision and Founding President, Trust for the National Mall
"Alison has the unique ability to truly listen to people, understand where they are coming from, hear their challenges and to apply her formidable problem-solving skills to guide them to smart solutions."
I love Alison. In the fifteen years we've known each other, I've hired her on three separate occasions because of her combination of smarts and compassion. Through her work she creates community and paradigm shifts that inspire people. She provides the framework for change.
CEO, Fís Mór - Big Vision and Founding President, Trust for the National Mall
"Alison has the unique ability to truly listen to people, understand where they are coming from, hear their challenges and to apply her formidable problem-solving skills to guide them to smart solutions."
I love Alison. In the fifteen years we've known each other, I've hired her on three separate occasions because of her combination of smarts and compassion. Through her work she creates community and paradigm shifts that inspire people. She provides the framework for change.
CEO, Fís Mór - Big Vision and Founding President, Trust for the National Mall
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Sign up for a periodic field report from Optimistic Anthropology—featuring fresh blog posts, events worth your time, new additions to our resource collection, updates on what we're up to, and an occasional photo of our office mascot, Dimi the wonderdog!
All photos are by Alison Gold, unless noted otherwise. Content on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License. For permissions, visit https://www.optimisticanthro.com/contact-us.
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Subscribe to Optimistic Anthropology Newsletter
Sign up for a periodic field report from Optimistic Anthropology—featuring fresh blog posts, events worth your time, new additions to our resource collection, updates on what we're up to, and an occasional photo of our office mascot, Dimi the wonderdog!
All photos are by Alison Gold, unless noted otherwise. Content on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License. For permissions, visit https://www.optimisticanthro.com/contact-us.
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Subscribe to Optimistic Anthropology Newsletter
Sign up for a periodic field report from Optimistic Anthropology—featuring fresh blog posts, events worth your time, new additions to our resource collection, updates on what we're up to, and an occasional photo of our office mascot, Dimi the wonderdog!
All photos are by Alison Gold, unless noted otherwise. Content on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License. For permissions, visit https://www.optimisticanthro.com/contact-us.
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