Community Possibilities

Community Coalitions and Systems Change with Susan Wolfe

April 01, 2021 Ann Price Season 1 Episode 3
Community Possibilities
Community Coalitions and Systems Change with Susan Wolfe
Show Notes

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Susan Wolfe, a fellow community psychologist, evaluator, and one of my business besties. 

Susan's evaluation work focusses on community coalitions and racial inequities.  We talk about the meaning of systems and environmental change and how to engage community members in hard conversations about racism. We touch on white privilege, defunding/reforming the police force (one of Susan's sons is a police officer) and so many things. Like her beauty school diploma. Fun fact.

Susan is active in the American Evaluation Association is the incoming President of SCRA- The Society of Community Research and Action (Division 27 of the American Psychological Association). 

She is an inspiration to me and I know you will enjoy this conversation.

Her bio:

Susan M. Wolfe, PhD

Susan Wolfe enjoys evaluation work when it is complex and challenging, like evaluating policies and systems, and working toward equity and justice. She has been a Community Consultant with Susan Wolfe and Associates since 2009 where much of her work focuses on community coalitions and national, multi-site projects. 

Susan started looking at systems with her Master’s thesis that focused on police needs to better respond to domestic violence. She was able to make recommendations to the police department for systemic level changes to facilitate a better response. Later in her career she worked as an analyst for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General where she and the teams she worked with conducted studies assessing policy implementation and made recommendations for changes to policies and practices. In her current work with coalitions she facilitates the development of strategies focused on systems change rather than at a programmatic level.

Susan is a co-author of an article about principles for collaborating for equity and justice that was featured in Nonprofit Quarterly in 2017. In 2020 she teamed up with Ann Webb Price and Kyrah K. Brown to co-edit an issue of New Directions for Evaluation – Evaluating Community Coalitions and Collaboratives. Also, in 2020, Susan, Ann Price, and Jenn Ballentine teamed up to create Positive Impact Consultants to collaborate on work with foundations,  nonprofits, and  coalitions. She has a Master of Arts degree and post-graduate study in Ecological Psychology from Michigan State University, with a cognate in organizational psychology and a PhD in Human Development from the University of Texas at Dallas. She currently lives and works in Cedar Hill, Texas with her husband, Chihuhua and chiweenie.

Contact Susan through her website at

Like what you heard? Please like and share wherever you get your podcasts!

Connect with Ann: Community Evaluation Solutions

How Ann can help:

· Support the evaluation capacity of your coalition or community-based organization.

· Help you create a strategic plan that doesn’t stress you and your group out, doesn’t take all year to design, and is actionable.

· Engage your group in equitable discussions about difficult conversations.

· Facilitate a workshop to plan for action and get your group moving.

· Create a workshop that energizes and excites your group for action.

· Speak at your conference or event.

Have a question or want to know more? Book a call with Ann .

Be sure and check out our updated resource page! Let us know what was helpful.

Community Possibilities is Produced by Zach Price
Music by Zach Price: Zachpricet@gmail.com