As organizations strive to address complex social challenges, there is growing recognition that meaningful solutions are strongest when informed by the wisdom of those who have lived through the issues being addressed. Lived experience leaders bring invaluable insight, perspective, and expertise that can help organizations better serve communities, strengthen decision-making, and create lasting impact.

This six-session cohort is designed to help professionals and organizations build authentic, respectful, and effective partnerships with lived experience leaders. Participants will explore how to move beyond consultation toward true collaboration, creating environments where lived experience expertise is valued, compensated, and integrated into organizational culture, strategy, and practice.

Each session is tailored to the unique opportunities and challenges faced by a specific sector, offering practical guidance, real-world examples, and thoughtful conversation. The series concludes with a panel discussion featuring allies who have built strong and successful partnerships with lived experience experts and who will share lessons learned from that journey.

Government and policy leaders. Nonprofit professionals. Task force members and law enforcement. Coalition leaders. Healthcare and mental health providers. Business leaders. If your organization has decided that lived experience expertise belongs in your work — and you want to get the how right — this cohort is built for you.

• Gain a deeper understanding of lived experience as a form of expertise. 
• Learn best practices for engaging lived experience leaders with dignity, respect, and equity. 
• Explore strategies for sharing power and fostering authentic collaboration. 
• Develop approaches for compensating, supporting, and retaining lived experience experts. 
• Identify opportunities to strengthen organizational policies, practices, and culture through lived experience leadership. 
• Build connections with professionals and leaders committed to creating more responsive and inclusive systems. 

This cohort is grounded in the belief that lasting change happens when professional expertise and lived experience expertise are brought together in partnership, with mutual respect, shared purpose, and a commitment to learning from one another.