about us
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context
We live in parallel but polarized realities and agree on fewer facts by the day. Hate is on the rise, and our faith in leaders is at an all-time low. Given the unprecedented divide between the haves and have nots, the crumbling of our infrastructure, our deepening climate crisis, the very soul of our democracy is at stake. The choices we make now to address our differences and how we face our common future will determine the world we pass on to generations to come.
We all have a responsibility and role to play in making this. Third Settlements is our response to the call.
We trace our lineages to different parts of the world. We are immigrants and the descendants of enslaved Africans. We are translators, trailblazers, code switchers and shapeshifters maneuvering a complex, dynamic world in commitment to communities impacted by systemic injustice.
mission
We believe the path to organizational transformation involves understanding, learning, and a willingness to change. Transformation is only possible when organizations commit to sustaining difficult conversations that create radical empathy and lead to a culture where all people are treated and seen as equals. When people are valued, they want to add value. This belief underpins our work.
We foster honest conversations to guide people and organizations past stigmas and fears and toward solutions. We seek to understand and affirm each person’s experience. We co-create environments where people can flourish and create pathways to an organization’s ideal state.
At Third Settlements, we confront the issues head on. We stand by the power of intergroup dialogue, systems analysis, and collective problem solving for advancing democracy and humanity. We channel art, data, history, current events, and personal narrative to engage the most pressing workplace conversations so that people and places can create their own, urgent, sustainable answers.
testimonials
our origin, our name
Our roots were formed two decades ago as advocates, mentors, and facilitators for young people. In that context, we sought to hear from and build bridges between students and the faculty and staff on college campuses. We created psychologically safe spaces beyond classrooms, dining halls and dorm rooms–Third Spaces–where folks from vastly different backgrounds, and carrying divergent identities, could speak to one another with more honesty and care.
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When we decided to merge our craft into a formal consulting practice in 2019, we searched for a name that captured our essence. Years earlier, Chirag created “Second Settlements”—an artists’ collective that explored identity and diaspora through performance and creative expression. As students of history, settlement houses stood out to us. For migrants arriving in the United States at the turn of the 20th century, these humble structures offered sanctuary, support and services to those navigating the tumultuous waters of a new nation. These houses were more than mere structures; they were living testaments to the belief that community development and social justice are the bedrock of democracy. This ethos resonated deeply within each of us as we embarked on our own journey.
Our namesake today is a child of these origins, forged through friendship, imagination, and a fierce belief in humanity's potential for Third Settlements—symbolic new spaces and practices within our organizations and institutions that challenge orthodoxies and welcome innovation and liberation.