Our Team
Is What Liberation Looks Like
Our Story
Be the Change Consulting is a woman of color-owned and operated company. We specialize in equity & inclusion, youth development, organizational capacity building, and strategic planning. Rooted in Oakland, CA since 2012, Be the Change Consulting was sparked by the question- who ARE these systems working for?! And we got to work.
Sangita Kumar, principal & founder had experience working in social services, government agencies , a huge pharmacy corporation, nonprofits and even a financial company. Every environment she stepped in had something in common- folx were not feeling appreciated or being set up for success. Sangita was curious about the invisible rules that seemed to be in place and how to dismantle them. She studied organizational development to understand the design thinking process, trauma & somatics to discover how oppression shapes people, and professional coaching to learn what motivates behavioral change. These modalities fueled by social justice ideology are how Be the Change was born.
But without the brilliant minds and hearts of our exceptional team, our mission could not have gotten very far. Tanya Mayo, Owner & Operations has lived deeply in the world of art & activism with young people. She traveled with them internationally, mentored their entrepreneurship, and led them to believe in their highest expression of self through artistic rigor. Working with young people in this way was nothing less than life-changing.
When Tanya and Sangita decided to start a business together, they wanted to be women of color working in alignment with their dreams, earning their money, and supporting themselves financially. They wanted to build an organizational culture that didn’t replicate dominant culture but lived into the change they wanted to be.
Finding the right team members has been key to the success of Be the Change Consulting. Our consultants and full-time crew bring lived experiences across race, gender, ability, body size, and immigration status. We know these diverse perspectives make us stronger, more flexible, more capable, and better able to serve our clients.
Be the Change Consulting, LLC is a woman-owned and people of color-operated, racial justice-centered, full-service organizational development firm. We specialize in curriculum design, capacity building, strategic planning, and community engagement. Rooted in Oakland, CA since 2012, Be the Change Consulting was sparked by the question- who are these systems working for?!
and we got to work
How We Work
Be the Change Consulting is the real deal. We create brave learning spaces and catalyze change.
Here’s how:
- Our process is intentional
- We solve problems together
- We teach by being and doing
- We encourage cascading leadership
- We combine theory with practice
- We experiment and refine ideas
Finding the right team members has been key to the success of Be the Change Consulting.
Our consultants and full-time crew bring their diverse identities to support clients in operationalizing a culture of inclusion and belonging. We know these perspectives make us stronger, more flexible, more capable, and better able to serve our partners.
Staff
Fong Marcolongo
Vice President
Fong (she/her/hers) is a bridge-builder, community capacity builder, and youth development advocate dedicated to supporting communities of color to lead their own transformations. Her expertise resides in the design/implementation of experiential human-centered learning, culturally competent youth leadership development, positive youth development trainings, experiential curriculum development and collaborative team management. She specializes in creating interactive visual frameworks for group collaboration and strategic visioning. Fong has over 15 years of working in the non-profit sector. Her passion is to support the youth development and education field to build the capacities of their leaders. Fong received her BS in Political Science and holds a Master’s in Global Affairs. When she is not working, Fong is propagating plants, stumbling on roller skates, and keeping up with her energetic 8-year old while catching moments of joy with her family.
Kelsey Rogoff
Manager
Kelsey Rogoff is a program manager at Be the Change Consulting. Kelsey has over a decade of youth development and instructional experience ranging from teaching highschool and enrichments. During her time as an educator, she cultivated a classroom culture that uplifted her student’s leadership skills and broadened their social justice analysis. Post pandemic, she augmented her curriculum to support student and families mental health and wellness needs, and supported tutoring to close learning gaps. As a second generation chicana from Boyle Heights Kelsey leverages her lived experiences to ensure underserved communities have the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to thrive. In her free time, will you find Kelsey in the gym, coaching Crossfit and being your biggest hype woman.
Lauren Martinez
Senior Manager and Trainer
Lauren Martinez has worn many hats in the field of education and youth development. They have specifically coached basketball for over five years for UCLA recreation department, taught chess in an after-school capacity, and now are currently working for Be the Change Consulting as their Racial Justice Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Manager both the PM for the antiracist virtual public series and a facilitator for some of the offerings. They hold a BS in Psychology and Biology and are currently pursuing two master’s degrees, a Master of Social Change and Master of Divinity at “the most progressive seminary in the United States,” Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, CA. Their intentions are to remind people, in particular youth of color, through spiritual embodiment practices that center a social justice healing lens of their internal power and inherent worth whilst expanding communities understanding of ways to counter oppression and live an authentic life.
Sangita Kumar
Principal & Founder
Sangita Kumar is the founder and principal of Be the Change Consulting, LLC, a results-based organizational development firm located in Oakland, CA. Sangita oversees a team of 13 to support a diverse client portfolio in systems reform, change management, capacity building, program development, strategic planning, and curriculum design.
Sangita is a proud first-generation leader respected for her ability to wed technical training to a trauma-informed facilitation approach that motivates teams to reimagine workplace culture and practices. Sangita brings 15 years of experience in Project Management, Organizational Assessment, Instructional Design, and Facilitation. Her passion for racial equity drives the firm’s service model.
Shelley Kuang
Director
Shelley Kuang is a multigenre artist and organizer. Before joining Be the Change Consulting as a Production Assistant, Shelley has worked as an educator enacting student-led college access programming, advising a youth-led dance team, and facilitating behavioral and mental health education. Later, she honed her mixed-methods data collection, analytic and production skills while working with an evaluations research firm. She received her BA in Human Development from UC San Diego. Shelley is the Alumni-in-Residence with Emerging Arts Professionals SFBA and volunteers with the Asian Prisoner Support Committee.
Consultants
Alicia Montgomery, LCSW
Trainer
Aminta Steinbach
Senior Trainer & Coach
David Sayas
Marketing & Social Media Consultant
Ed Center
Senior Trainer and Coach
Franklin Hysten
Trainer
Jae Maldonado
Senior Trainer and Coach
Jenjii Hysten
Trainer
Lyn-Tise Jones
Trainer
Zimbabwe Davies
Trainer
