Michael J. Montoya, PhD
Principal Consultant
ABOUT ME
I'm a native Oregonian proud of both my NE Portland and rural roots. I attended Portland Community College, received my BA from Lewis and Clark College, and my PhD from Stanford University. I am ridiculously realistic and hopelessly optimistic. I thrive where waters are turbid. I wayfind by finding the people behind the roles they must inhabit. My relational approach was learned the best way - by ordinary people doing amazing work.
MY STORY
For over 20 years I have worked with individuals and organizations to clarify mission, develop programs, evaluate impact and learn from “the work.” Prior to graduate training, I worked as director, board member, policy advocate and manager in the areas of health, housing, hunger and education. I applied my academic work to equity and community engagement on and off campus. Now I blend my experience in social impact, higher education, research and community development to help anyone serious about their work. By serious, I mean a deep desire to overcome obstacles, include everyone, redefine their industry and make a positive difference in the lives of the people in their business, organization or movement.
What I Believe
Community is something you do. It is an action that takes place between people. Therefore, engagement skill sets are relational skill sets. Whether changing a workflow, a priority stream, a program or a product, deep actionable knowledge comes through connections with others.
Community: It’s something you do!
Community is most often considered a noun. That is a thing, a group of people, or a spatially bound area. However the best research demonstrates that community is in fact an action. It is something we create and make in our engagements with others.
Engagement: It’s a relationship!
Like community, engagement is not something we have: It is something we do. Thriving organizations use engagement in an effort to be inclusive in design, implementation, and evaluation. Finding those relational skills sets that you or your organization already have, is the best first step to strengthening your engagement with others.
Knowledge: It’s about actionable understanding together!
Knowledge that presumes connection and is created inclusively is built upon a solid foundation. Team science, collaborative research, and participatory design all describe techniques of developing the best knowledge possible using interconnectedness and engagement.