Rootworks:
A Community for Systems Change Leaders
Move beyond programs to transform the systems that create inequity. Build the skills, community, and confidence to lead lasting change.
Is Rootworks for you?
Rootworks is designed for human service professionals, organizational leaders, and funders who:
- Are working on complex challenges like housing, education, health equity, or economic mobility
- Know that programs alone aren’t enough – you need to change underlying systems
- Feel isolated in your systems change work and crave connection with others who understand
- Need practical tools to map systems, navigate power dynamics, and create transformation
- Want tangible frameworks and peer support to sustain you through the long, non-linear work of systems change
Schedule & Format
Start Date: June 18, 2026
Monthly Sessions: Third Thursday of every month, 90 minutes
Format: Highly interactive Virtual sessions via Zoom (recordings available for those who can’t attend live)
Timeline for All Three Arcs:
- Arc 1: March 19, April 16, May 21 (in progress)
- Arc 2: June 18, July 16, August 20
- Arc 3: September 17, October 15, November 19
What You Get
Each three-month arc includes:
- Three 90-Minute Monthly Sessions (Third Thursday of each month)
- Hybrid format: 30 minutes of systems thinking framework + 60 minutes of peer-led case consultation on your actual work
- One Half-Day Workshop (3 hours)
- Deep-dive exploration of the arc’s priority content with hands-on practice
- Structured 1:1 Accountability Partnership
- Matched at arc start for regular check-ins, goal-setting, and mutual support
- Arc-Specific Tangible Deliverable
- Guided creation of systems maps, power analyses, or prototype plans with feedback
- Curated Tools Library
- Reusable templates, frameworks, and reading materials
- Guest Expert Sessions
- Cutting-edge practitioners sharing systems change innovations
- Alumni Network
- Sustained peer relationships and continued learning after arc completion
How It Works
Rootworks is built around three flexible, three-month learning arcs. Join the arc that meets you where you are. Take one, take all three, or come back later for more. You choose your own pathway.
ARC 1: SEEING THE SYSTEM
Foundation | Diagnosis | Measurement
Core Question: How do I understand and map the system I’m trying to change?
Monthly Themes:
- Act from the Whole – Learn to see beyond individual programs to understand systemic patterns
- Measuring Emergence – Develop frameworks to track non-linear, emergent change
- Systems Mapping – Create visual maps that reveal leverage points and interconnections
Perfect for: Leaders beginning systems change initiatives, those needing foundational tools, or anyone wanting to measure non-linear change.
You’ll create: A systems map with identified leverage points and a measurement framework for your specific challenge.
ARC 2: NAVIGATING POWER & CONFLICT
Dynamics | Relationships | Integration
Core Question: How do I navigate power dynamics and integrate diverse perspectives?
Monthly Themes:
- Power Dynamics – Understand how power operates in systems and your role within them
- Systemic Conflict Resolution – Navigate disagreement and resistance as doorways to change
- Integrating Across Diversity – Build coalitions across difference and work effectively cross-sector
Perfect for: Leaders encountering resistance, working across sectors, or examining their own role in perpetuating systems.
You’ll create: A stakeholder power analysis and engagement strategy for your initiative.
ARC 3: TRANSFORMING SYSTEMS
Courage | Disruption | Action
Core Question: How do I create transformative change rather than just adapting the current system?
Monthly Themes:
- Courage to Disrupt – Develop the inner capacity to challenge established patterns
- Creating Conditions for Emergence – Design interventions that enable new possibilities
- Enabling Transformation – Move from adaptive change to truly transformative shifts
Perfect for: Leaders ready to move from diagnosis to transformation, facing organizational inertia, or needing courage to disrupt patterns.
You’ll create: A prototype intervention with an implementation plan for your systems change work.
Investment
Choose the pathway that works for you:
Single Arc: $750
Perfect for focused skill development in one specific area
Two-Arc Bundle: $1,425 (Save $75 – 5% discount)
Build complementary capacities (e.g., Arc 2 + Arc 3)
Three-Arc Bundle: $2,025 (Save $225 – 10% discount)
Complete systems change toolkit over 9 months
Pilot Participant Special: 50% off all arcs as a thank you for helping us pilot Rootworks
Most participants fund Rootworks through organizational professional development budgets. We provide templates to help you make the case to your organization.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to take the arcs in order?
No! While Arc 1 provides foundational concepts, each arc is designed to stand alone. Choose the arc(s) that address your most pressing needs right now.
We offer the following Pathways
- The New Leader: Arc 1 → Arc 2 → Arc 3 (9 months) – Comprehensive systems change toolkit from foundation to transformation
- The Power Navigator: Arc 2 → Arc 3 (6 months) – Focus on relationships and transformation
- The Strategic Disruptor: Arc 1 → Arc 3 (6 months) – From diagnosis directly to action
- The Focused Developer: Any single arc (3 months) – Address a specific skill gap or challenge
- The Returning Participant: Repeat any arc – Deepen mastery with a fresh cohort and new challenges
What if I miss a session?
All sessions are recorded and available for 30 days. You can catch up asynchronously, though we encourage live participation for the peer consultation component.
How much time should I expect to invest beyond the sessions?
Plan for 1-2 hours per month for deliverable work, and accountability partner check-ins. The work is designed to integrate with your actual job, not add to your workload.
Can multiple people from my organization join?
Absolutely! We’ve seen the most impact when 2-3 colleagues from the same organization participate together and can reinforce learning back at work.
What if I'm a funder or consultant, not a direct service provider?
You’re welcome! Rootworks is designed for anyone working on systems change – funders, consultants, capacity builders, and direct service leaders all bring valuable perspectives to the cohort.
What's your refund policy?
Full refund if you withdraw before the first session. 50% refund if you withdraw after the first session but before the second. No refunds after the second session.
Meet Your Facilitator
Stan Holt, PhD and Co-owner of Partners for Impact
Stan’s journey into systems thinking began in the early 1990s when he encountered Peter Senge’s “The Fifth Discipline,” a book that fundamentally reshaped how he understood his work in human services. Over the past 35 years, he has witnessed firsthand how the HIV/AIDS epidemic transformed not just medical treatment but entire systems of care, community organizing, and public health response—teaching him that real change happens when we see problems as webs of interconnected causes rather than isolated issues with singular solutions. This perspective has guided his work as Executive Director of transitional housing programs, Vice President at United Way of the Greater Triangle, and now as co-owner of Partners for Impact, where he supports collective impact initiatives, evaluates community change efforts, and helps organizations build capacity for transformative work.
What sustains Stan in the challenging work of systems change is simple: relationships. He has been blessed to learn from extraordinary teachers and mentors who have shown him that where you sit in a system—and whether you benefit from it—profoundly shapes what you see and what you believe is possible. These diverse perspectives, brought together in genuine partnership, create the conditions for emergence and learning that systems change requires. Stan holds a PhD in Public Administration from NC State University, teaches program evaluation and nonprofit management, and brings adaptive leadership practices to his consulting work. But more than credentials, he brings a commitment to building the relationships and cultivating the habits of inquiry that help communities see whole systems, challenge assumptions, and lead change from within.
Questions? Email or schedule a 15-minute call to learn more.