Founder and Lead Consultant at
Water’s Edge.
Heart-centered consultant supporting social change.
My work is rooted in an awareness that we live in the balance of systemic oppression and ever-emerging resilience, and a personal commitment to Liberation through building and sustaining relationships that open up possibilities for healing, growth, and change.
My professional background and expertise represent an alchemy of both lived and formal learning experiences, all of which have involved developing skills and strengths to survive mainstream systems as a Black biracial, queer, nonbinary, transracially adopted person. After 23 years working and living on Lenni/Lenape land in NYC, I now support change work on Wabanaki land in Lewiston, ME, where I live with my partner and two kiddos near the Androscoggin River.
work with Hilary at water’s Edge
Water’s Edge Consulting: Coaching, training, and facilitation for liberatory change in organizations and communities.
Reach out if any of the above services align with your needs, or you wish to explore additional consulting support.
My work with Hilary has transformed and informed my leadership style tremendously. As a result of working with Hilary, within my school community I have been able to guide my team in reimagining a justice that is healing, relational and participatory. I am so grateful to Hilary for modeling and messaging the importance of there being joy in the work of justice, and that, as we pursue equity and justice, we have a responsibility to and for each other.
Johara Sealy
Assistant Head for Diversity and Equity, The Nightingale-Bamford School, New York, NY
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Why Water’s Edge?Water is a transformative element, continuously shaping and reshaping our world. A model for the power of change, the very nature of water connects us to the energy of flow, cycles, and the usefulness of boundaries and containers. As a critical component of our internal and external ecosystems, our interdependency on water represents an intrinsic relationship deserving of awareness, stewardship, and care. Looking closely at the edges of our professional relationships and organizational dynamics is an invitation to explore possibilities for renewal and change as we focus on what is “washing up” and calling for our attention.
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What do you mean by “liberation?”Put simply, liberation is all about getting free from the myriad ways systemic oppression has impacted the minds, bodies, and hearts of our natural surroundings, our ancestors, and our current selves. By centering liberation as a continuous and ongoing process of examining where dehumanization and the harms of oppression are holding us back and keeping us small, we invite folks to expand into their place in the broader history of social change, and grab onto the possibilities for healing, growth, and transformation within ourselves and our communities.
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What does restorative support look like?At Water’s Edge, our work is anchored in building care-centered, accountable relationships with folks we work with. We model transparency and practice humanizing ways of being that strengthen connections and support trust building. In response to conflict, we sometimes practice a Circle process, a tradition of Indigenous Peoples for millennia that offers a non-hierarchical way to hold space for deep listening and healing. Amidst the disorienting dynamics of conflict and unrest, we interact in ways that support our clients to feel held and seen, and we work collaboratively to support the anti-oppressive change that you seek.
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Who do you collaborate with?I am a collaborator by nature and am always seeking opportunities to work in partnership with fellow change work practitioners. Past partnerships have been with Bianca Laureano as a member of the AnteUp! Team. In work centering antiracism in predominantly white spaces, we regularly partner with Randy Clancy, a white consultant, facilitator, and racial justice trainer working in accountability to BIPOC leadership.
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