PROJECT EXAMPLES

MULTI-CULTURAL RESEARCH PROJECT | KING COUNTY SOLID WASTE DIVISION | 2016-PRESENT
The King County Hazardous Waste Program’s mission is to protect and enhance public health and environmental quality in King County by reducing the threat posed by the production, use, storage, and disposal of hazardous materials. Alma Villegas Consulting has been tasked with designing, implementing, and evaluating an informational investigation working with King County’s residential multi-cultural communities. The contract includes evaluating past multi-cultural and multi-lingual projects to identify gaps, make recommendations, execute additional data gathering efforts, and work with department leads to improve communication and establish a framework aimed at the elimination of inefficiencies and duplication of projects.  The project has resulted in the development of a community-driven, community advocate model to aid the division in improving stakeholder engagement with multi-cultural populations.  In addition, Alma Villegas Consulting is facilitating a process to develop a long-term strategy for the Solid Waste focused on the recruitment and retention of staff of color. 

RACIAL EQUITY STRATEGY ADVISOR | CASCADIA CONSULTING GROUP | 2016 -PRESENT
Since 2016, Alma Villegas Consulting has been working with Cascadia Consulting Group as its racial and social equity advisor. Alma has been instrumental in working with Senior Leadership in developing a three-year strategy to achieve the organization’s equity vision.  This work has involved conducting a series of trainings with staff and developing culturally competent practices for all lines of business.  Currently, Alma is facilitating the implementation of staff led equity cohorts focused on improving professional development pathways and diverse staff recruitment and retention. 

COMMUNITY & PARENT ENGAGEMENT ADVISOR | READY WASHINGTON|– 2015 – PRESENT
Since 2015, Alma Villegas Consulting has partnered with Ready Washington, a statewide coalition composed of businesses, policy makers and community-based organizations, to design and execute strategies and projects to improve the coalition’s ability to better engagement parents of multi-cultural and multi-lingual communities in support student success.  Projects designed and led by Alma Villegas Consulting have include statewide multilingual parent workshops on the Smarter Balanced Assessments and the High School & Beyond Plan, and the development of a series of one-pagers utilizing a parent-driven transcreation process to share very complex resources for parents around topics such as science, math and state assessments in a culturally relevant way.  

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT LEAD| SEATTLE HOUSING AUTHORITY | 2015 - 2016
In the wake of federal and state budget cuts, Seattle Housing Authority embarked on a needs assessment process to build a common understanding of the condition and trends driving needs, and to leverage the collective insight of stakeholders to identify effective strategic and operational recommendations to serve its seniors residing in public housing across the Seattle Metro Region. Understanding the changing demographics of its growing senior population, Alma Villegas Consulting worked with BERK Consulting on the field assessment process by conducting interviews and focus groups with housing site leadership, field staff, and a diverse sampling of residents. In addition, the team worked collaboratively to use findings to inform a five-year strategic vision for an aging in place initiative.