RHD LLC
Rachel Huff-Doria,
Owner & Director
Strengthening leadership, community, and strategy through participatory design and facilitation.
RHD LLC helps communities, non-profit organizations, and civic leaders build on their strengths, get clear on their vision, values, and strategies, and get comfortable with the discomfort of learning and growing in community.As owner and director of RHD LLC, Rachel's work is informed by over a decade of experience leading non-profit organizations, campaigns, coalitions, leadership programming, civic engagement, and community organizing efforts.
About RHD LLC
About Rachel
Prior to founding RHD LLC, Rachel spent over a decade leading work at the intersection of electoral, policy and advocacy, and cultural change.As a former executive director, campaign manager, registered lobbyist, and member of countless boards, committees, and coalitions, Rachel has seen first-hand the pitfalls that can happen when planning and engagement processes fail to account for the complexities of real people.Pitfalls like...- a stalled out plan because your team is moving in different directions.- a watered down plan because compromise was the only vision for success.- a checklist of activities that fails to connect with the desired impact.- a process that leave stakeholders feeling like you were simply checking a box when connecting with them.That’s why I help non-profit organizations, communities, and leaders...- build on their strengths;- get clear on their vision, values, and strategies, and;- get comfortable with the discomfort of learning and growing in community.
Who we work with
Planning firms
Community agencies
Non-profit organizations
Coalitions
Leaders...who desire to have collaborative, playful, and equitable processes, plans, and partnerships that strengthen community, leadership, and strategy.
How we help
RHD LLC uses tools and mindsets curated from the fields and practice of participatory design, facilitation, non-profit management, and organizing to assist clients in achieving their goals.Applied principles include:Empathy - based research builds deeper understanding of challenges and desires, resulting in more effective solutions.Strength - based leadership builds confidence in one’s strengths and a culture of honoring each others’ diverse contributions.Clarifying roles and expectations gives everyone space to succeed.Vision and values alignment allows stakeholders to build the big picture together.Commitment to practice helps groups get comfortable with the discomfort of learning and growing in community.
Facilitation and participatory design Services
non-profit strategy and capacity
Rachel uses the tools of facilitation and participatory design to support non-profit organizations and coalitions in developing strategic vision, alignment, and capacity.This can look like the development of strategic questions, mission, vision, and values statements; facilitation of pivotal conversations; examining organizational culture; visioning alternative paths for the future; and the drafting of strategic priorities and plans.Highlighted Project: Strategic Vision and Framing with American Jobs for America’s Youth - Montana
Leadership, Civics, and communication
Rachel uses the tools of facilitation and participatory design to better understand and strengthen leadership, communication, and civic development skills with individuals and groups. This includes --Facilitation of leadership and civic programs-Shared leadership vision workshops
Who this is for: co-directors, leadership teams, coalitions, or committees who need to develop an aligned vision of collaboration-Re-grounding workshops
Who this is for: Co-Directors, leadership teams, coalitions, or committees who need to reset expectations and ground themselves in their aligned vision of collaboration-Leadership support
Who this is for: Individual leaders or leadership teams working with non-profit organizations, campaigns, or coalitions who are in need of outside thought partnership and coaching on a particular project or leadership goal.Highlighted Project: Facilitation with Montana Nonprofit Association's Catalyst Leadership Development for Nonprofit Professionals
community engagement and collaboration
Rachel uses the tools of facilitation and participatory design to support work with communities on planning efforts. This can look like co-designing and facilitating stakeholder engagement plans and activities that focus on creative methods of informing, consulting, involving, collaborating and co-creating plans with key stakeholders and community members.Highlighted Project: Grassroots Engagement and Community Design for the Missoula Midtown Masterplan
Social Impact Design
“We spend a lot time designing the bridge, but not enough time thinking about the people who are crossing it.”
- Dr. Prabhjot SinghDesign thinking is a creative process and approach to solving complex challenges that focuses on:- empathy (a deep commitment to understanding human experience)- idea generation- developing prototypes (i.e. a model or a mock-up)- testing and evolving solutionsMany people think of using "design thinking" to create a website, app, or a physical building but Rachel uses the tools and methods from design thinking to facilitate and co-create collaborative engagement processes and projects that support community, leadership, and strategic goals.Rachel is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design & Social Policy Executive Program for Social Innovation Design and holds a B.A. in Communication Studies with an Organizational Communication emphasis from Marshall University.
practice. practice. practice.
As a former division I collegiate athlete - a soccer goalkeeper - I trained, starting at a young age, to catch the soccer ball over and over in the exact same way.The purpose of this practice was to develop “muscle memory,” or to train your mind and body to catch a ball correctly and cleanly so during a high-stakes game, your body will instinctively react and catch the ball in the same way.As a goalkeeper, perfection is impossible but consistency and commitment are key when a single save can make or break a 90 minute game.In parallel, I often see organizations, coalitions, and leaders who understand the importance of "winning the game" - or defining the outcomes they want to achieve and a strategy to achieve them. And that's a great start!However, many leaders aren't taught to view the planning process as an opportunity to practice what they hope to achieve.To develop capacity to transform systems, we must go beyond designing a road map to follow - we must do the messy work of creating things together, trying things together, and sometimes failing and re-trying things together.We must practice, practice, practice being in community and collaborating together.When I work with organizations and leaders, I go back to my goalkeeper training. When being in community together feels hard - and there's conflict - remember that your work - together - right now - is building “muscle memory” for future challenges.And just like goalkeeping - your practice won't be perfect but if you approach it with consistency and commitment you'll be better prepared to address challenges for the long haul.- Rachel
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Contact
Want to learn more about RHD LLC's work, availability or inquire about a project? Send a message and we'll set-up a 15 min call to see if we can help.