Photo Courtesy of Elana Needle’s personal collection. A storm rolls in at Aoraki/Mount Cook, South Island, New Zealand.
Mission
Needle Strategies’ north star is a world where we can all be free. To get there, we partner with individuals, communities, organizations, and sectors to center the lived realities of communities of color to infuse racial equity principles in people, policies, culture, organizations and systems.
About Elana
Dr. Elana Needle is the Founder and Principal Consultant at Needle Strategies LLC. She formed Needle Strategies after serving as the Racial Equity Anchor Collaboration Director at UnidosUS where she brought nine nationally preeminent racial justice organizations (Anchors) together to work on short- and long-term collaborative projects to move the needle on racial equity in the US. Elana leverages her professional experience to teach the next generation of movement leaders by serving as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Silver School of Social Work, New York University since 2015. Elana teaches her classes from a critical race and intersectional perspective, infusing structural racism knowledge into each lecture. And, she challenges students to understand their privilege and how that impacts policies and movements.
Why Work with Needle Strategies?
Organization and Coordination
Social justice and racial equity issues can be complicated. With a multi-pronged, cross-community, and partnership approach to these issues, your project can shift perspective, bring people together, and create change in communities, organizations, and systems. Elana is super organized and prides herself on being able to pivot easily. She is an expert in facilitation, coordination, and providing strategic direction, even during the most complicated times.
Relationship Centered Design
Pushing the needle on racial equity cannot be accomplished alone. Your project will likely require relationship building and connecting with people and organizations. And through these relationships, Elana centers and partners with community members, communities and organizations striving to ensure a future where our differences are recognized, appreciated, celebrated, and loved; a future of shared power, resources and responsibility; a future which centers people, communities and organizations typically siloed and silenced; a future where racial and intersectional equity is central to any and all work.
Expertise
Learning to navigate the complexities of racial equity and social justice will not happen overnight. For the past decade, Elana has worked in the racial equity field. Elana’s work has crossed sectors: philanthropy, national racial justice organizations, the private sector, and education. And, various communities: multi-racial groups, race / ethnicity- specific organizations, and internationally. These partnerships had varying subject matter focuses including civic engagement, strategy development, research, policy analysis, advocacy, narrative change, program creation and implementation, fundraising and development, etc. As part of her anti racism learning journey, Elana was a 2019 Atlantic Fellow for Racial Equity. She remains an active member of the Atlantic Institute’s fellowship alumni network. Due to her longevity in the sector, Elana has deep relationships with racial equity movement leaders, organizations, and government practitioners.
Needle Strategies Approach
As a white cis-gender woman working in the racial justice sector, Elana operates from a frame of radical inclusivity and with an anti racist lens. Needle Strategies is an organization working to dismantle white supremacy and create equitable systemic change. In order to deconstruct supremacist systems, Elana works every day to continue learning and understanding how race operates in America, about her privilege and to question how she “takes up space.” Elana also strategically “inserts herself” to ensure the people of color who she is partnering with or serving are not carrying the bulk of the work. In all things, Elana deeply believes in shared leadership with and lessening the burden for the people of color who she partners with or serves. When working with Elana, people and communities who have been traditionally excluded help to shape everything from soup to nuts.
Services
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving racial equity and racial justice. Needle Strategies provides services that are bespoke and collaboratively scoped in partnership with clients. Some examples of our services include:
Research:
Equitable Evaluation*
Landscape Analysis
Literature Reviews and Qualitative Analysis
Thought Leadership:
Strategy Consultation
Facilitated Dialogues
Strategic Planning
Partnership and Relationship Building:
Network Building
Relationship and Partnership Development
Anti Racist Organizing and Movement Building
Project Implementation and Management:
Project Direction and Management
Customized Training Curriculum
Agenda Creation and Facilitation
Also embedded within each engagement, free of charge, is Elana’s sense of humor… all the dad jokes.
*possible sub contract / partnership
Curriculum Vitae
Experience
Principal Consultant
Needle Strategies
Nov 2021 to present
Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative Director
UnidosUS
Aug 2018 to Dec 2021
Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative Coordinator
Race Forward
Jan 2016 to July 2018
Regional Manager
Healthy Weight Partnership
July 2014 to Dec 2014
Adjunct Assistant Professor
New York University
Sept 2019 to Dec present
Adjunct Lecturer
New York University
Jan 2015 to May 2019
Data Systems Director
Young Nonprofits Professionals Network
Dec 2014 to Nov 2015
Regional Manager
Mind, Exercise, Nutrition …. Do It! (MEND)
Sept 2008 to July 2014
Adjunct Lecturer
SUNY Stony Brook
Jan 2010 to May 2011
Education
PhD in Social Welfare, May 2014
SUNY Stony Brook
Dissertation Title: “You are Not What You Eat: The Myth of School Food and Childhood Obesity.”
M.A. Women’s Studies, May 2001
Tufts University
M.A. Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, August 2005
Tufts University
Board Membership
H.E.A.L. Together Initiative, Race Forward
Advisory Board Member
March 2022 to present
Footage Foundation
International Advisory Board Member
Oct 2016 to present
SMART Recovery NYC
Board Member
August 2020 to March 2023
Fellowships, Certificates, Reviews
Global Atlantic Fellow, Atlantic Institute, July 2020 to present
Selected Participant, Atlantic Institute, Global Justice and Transformation: The Māori and New Zealand Experience thematic gathering, 2023
Atlantic Fellow for Racial Equity, Atlantic Institute, June 2019 to June 2020
Expert Reviewer, Interdisciplinary Research Leaders National Program, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2022
Selected Participant, Scholars as Bridge Builders Study Tour to Israel, Jewish Community Relations Council, 2015
Selected Participant, Nonprofit Tech Academy, NTEN, 2015
Volunteer Work
Tufts University Alumni Admissions Program, Nov 2006 to present
Planned Parenthood of New York City, Activist Council, Sept 2011 to Sept 2013
Nechama, The Jewish Response to Disaster, 2006 & 2013
Selected Presentations
2021: Press Briefing: “Police Accountability Roadmap to Reform,” “Briefing on Census Data”; Esri User Conference: “Using Mapping to Minimize the Undercount,” “Using GIS to Operationalize Racial Equity & Social Justice,” “Supporting Latinx Communities with GIS”; “Data-Smart City” Podcast; Change Unity Summit Spark Talk: “Building Cross-racial Power for an Equitable Democracy;” Instagram Live: “Police Accountability: Mental Health & Police;” NAACP Virtual Convention: “Race and Criminal Justice Reform Session.”
2020: “Census 2020” Briefing for the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee; Funders Census Initiative, “Census 2020 Messaging Testing Results” webinar; Black Census Media Briefing; COVID-19 Response #EquityForAll Forum; “Equity in Evaluation” webinar, Community Science.
2015: “Little Rock: Then and Now,” “Tell your YNPN story,” and “YNPN Data Rocks,” YNPN 2015 National Leaders Conference, August 6-8, 2015. “Opening Remarks,” YNPN Grand Rapids Annual Conference, Conversation to Action: Embracing Equity and Equality, May 29, 2015.
2012: “Race, Space and the Urban South: Then and Now,” Robert Hawkins (New York University), Rosie Tighe (Appalachian State University), Elana Needle (SUNY-Stony Brook), Urban Affairs Association 42nd Annual Conference, Rethinking the Future of Urbanism. Cities and Regions in a Post-Industrial Era, April 18-21, 2012.
Selected Publications
Press Releases & Joint Statements: “Civil Rights and Racial Justice Organizations Demand Accountability from CNN in Wake of Rick Santorum’s Racist Remarks,” “Civil Rights and Racial Justice Organizations Applaud Chauvin Verdict: Accountability in the Courtroom One Step in Journey to Justice,” “Civil Rights and Racial Justice Organizations Denounce Abhorrent Rise in Anti-Asian Hate Crimes,” “Leading Civil Rights and Racial Justice Organizations Denounce Violent Insurrection at U.S. Capitol,” “Civil Rights and Racial Justice Organizations Denounce Insufficient Charges in Breonna Taylor Indictment,” “Condemning Sheriff Joe Arpaio Pardon: Joint Statement from Leading Civil Rights and Racial Justice Organizations,”
Needle, E. (2016). Educators Visit Israel Under the Banner of JCRC, Education Update, 21(3), pp. 14.
Tighe, R., Needle, E. and Hawkins, R. (2015). Race, Space and the Urban South: Then and Now. Journal of Policy Practice, 14 (2), pp. 96-113.
Hawkins, R. L., Jaccard, J., & Needle, E. (2013). Non-academic factors associated with dropping out of high school: Adolescent problem behaviors. Journal of the Society for Social Work Research, 4 (2).
Needle, E (2010). “Book Review: Lockheart, L. L. and Danis, F. S. (Eds.). (2010). Domestic Violence: Intersectionality and Culturally Competent Practice. New York: Columbia University Press,” In Press.
Hawkins, R. (2010). Fickle Families and the Kindness of Strangers: Social Capital in the Lives of Low-Income Single Mothers, Journal of Human Behavior and the Social Environment, 20 (1). Elana Needle credited with research assistance.
Needle, E (2009). “Book Review: Sokoloff, N. (Ed.). (2005). Domestic Violence at the Margins: Readings on Race, Class, Gender and Culture. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press,” Affilia, 24 (3).
Needle, E. (2008). “Book Review: Igra, A. R. (2007) Wives Without Husbands: Marriage, Desertion, and Welfare in New York, 1900-1935. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,” Affilia, 23 (1), pp. 99-100.
Needle, E., et al (2005). “Unlocking the Potential of Homeless Older Adolescents: Factors Influencing Client Success in Four New England Transitional Living Programs.” Published through New England Network.
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Portfolio
Building a Bigger We: GARE Leverages Transformative Partnerships to Build Institutional Change at the State Level
National States Strategy For Racial Equity: Our States Strategy Steering Committee includes the Government Alliance on Race and Equity at Race Forward, State of Equity at the Public Health Institute, and Needle Strategies.
What It’s Like Working With Elana
“Elana has a keen ability to grasp, organize, and communicate a vast amount of information across multiple issue “silos.” She has a proven ability to capably support and drive a diverse collaborative of civil rights leaders and organizations, an effort that required considerable humility and flexibility along with substantive expertise. She is a strong facilitator/coordinator, taking great care to make sure each voice is heard and that the materials developed together were equitably reflective of all voices in the collaborative. And, she an effective program manager, tracking and moving various partners, vendors and consultants to advance multiple objectives in real time. In sum, Elana is the consummate professional.”
Charles Kamasaki, Former Executive VP, UnidosUS; Fellow, Migration Policy Institute; Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Cornell Law School
“The global pandemic and social justice uprising of 2020 really tested the leadership of many organizations and created a monumental need that we were not fully prepared to address. We had to show up in so many ways for our communities and try to take care of ourselves at the same time. That’s were our Racial Equity Anchor partners really saw Elana step in and step up. Elana truly is a master facilitator. She helped us organize our thoughts into strategy, she kept us on track with our goals, yet she allowed us time to process and be mindful about how we navigated complex issues that were unfolding daily. Elana’s personality is genuine, caring, humorous, and unwavering in her pursuit for collective liberation.”
Lycia Ortega Maddocks, Former Vice President of External Affairs, National Congress of American Indians, Racial Equity Anchor Partner
More Coming Soon!
Current and Past Clients & Partners
Logos for National Network of Public Health Institutes, Echoing Green, State of Equity, Race Forward, Provoc, UnidosUS, Axle Impact Studio, Apollon Research and Consulting LLC.
Contact
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Needle Strategies LLC is a New York State Certified Women Business Enterprise (WBE).
Needle Strategies LLC website was created with assistance from Dominique Apollon of Apollon Research and Consulting and Lycia Ortega Maddocks of Thunderbird Strategic LLC.