Hub for Social Movements + Innovation

Social Movements + Innovation is a new project that is building a hub for movement leaders, collaborators, and partners to come together and think and act at the intersection of social movements and innovation. We’re co-creating the infrastructure 21st-century leaders need to do their best work. By creating a community of practice where we experiment with strategies and give and get meaningful feedback, we can build the muscle memory of iteration and failing fast to learn fast. Social Movements + Innovation, formerly CoreAlign, is co-led by faculty director Sujatha Jesudason, Professor of Professional Practice in Management at Milano and executive director Judy Pryor-Ramirez, former director of Lang’s Civic Engagement and Social Justice office. The New School’s first activist-in-residence, Shanelle Matthews is an advisor on the project. Sometimes when institutions are created, they are done so without input from the people they want to serve. Social Movements + Innovation is changing that by asking stakeholders upfront what they need and want. To start, we are going on the road to host listening and learning sessions in Chicago, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Washington D.C. to name a few. We will also host gatherings on campus to listen and learn from New School students, faculty, and staff about what is needed and desired from a “think and do tank” that can offer learning, practice, and innovation space for activists and movement leaders in collaboration with the university community.