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When communities control their own data, something shifts. Data moves away from top-down approaches and becomes a tool for learning, accountability, and action, rooted in what communities say they need, not what outsiders assume.
Join us for our next Network Commons on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 1:00-2:30 pm ET/10:00-11:30 am PT, for a conversation with practitioners who are putting community-led data strategies into practice. At a moment when large federal datasets are increasingly uncertain, locally grounded data matters more than ever. Community-owned data can foster trust, deepen inclusion, and support decision-making that reflects lived experience and local priorities.
In this session, attendees will gain insight into how organizations across the country are reclaiming data as a resource for community power. Speakers will share concrete examples of how community feedback and neighborhood-level data are being used to design more responsive programs and services, and why community-led data approaches are essential for advancing equity, trust, and accountability. Additionally, we’ll explore how local and national leaders are working together to make data more actionable, useful, and centered on community priorities.
Register for the Network Commons here!
Featured Speakers:
D. Rashaan Gilmore, Founder and President/CEO, BlaqOut
Lakota Vogel, Executive Director, Four Bands Community Fund
Kathryn Pettit, Senior Fellow, Housing and Communities Division, Urban Institute
Moderators:
Ruth Thomas-Squance, Co-Executive Director, Build Healthy Places Network
Ashley Hernandez, Research and Product Manager, Build Healthy Places Network