Tenacious Change Academy

“For the past 15 years I have been on the frontlines of engaging communities and building the capacity of their residents. This course is informative and presented at a proper level to both experienced participants and those less "seasoned" participants. It provides real world, "relatable" examples that will help communicate the challenges of the "mission" and help people realize that they are not alone with their challenges. In summary, I am confident that every participant will walk away from the course having learned very valuable lessons, including the difference between the concepts of "buy-in" and "ownership". They will feel better prepared to address the challenges they face and leave feeling that their valuable dollars were well spent. Each module is exciting and informative! The information shared, matches, and therefore, reaffirms, my real world experiences relating to the area of "Community change". This gives me confidence that the modules are communicating the proper information in that area. That being said, every community is different and the approach to addressing their needs and wants may be different. However, though the approach may be different, the goal and ultimate outcome may be the same. That is why real world examples are useful.”

Carmelle Marcelin-Chapman, Bridges at Lake Worth (Florida)

“This course is an excellent combination of theory and tools that almost any group can use to achieve better practices, increase their inclusivity, and honor the diverse backgrounds of all affected community members. It identifies common mistakes and traditional methodologies, and explains how each of those could be improved. It addresses conflict and power dynamics and always centers the participants most affected by that issue or change. You will also laugh! I really appreciated the heavy emphasis on context experts' inclusion, rejecting buy-in mentality, and adopting an attitude of continuously changing and trying new things based on the ever-evolving dynamics of any group ”

Naomi Sonne, Social Program Ministry Engagement, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

“Tom Klaus is a masterful and brilliant educator! I must say that this course has been one of the best professional experiences that I have ever had in my career. In particular, I truly appreciated the focus on community engagement, "ownership" and the attention given to equity. Thank you for re-energizing me in authentic community engagement! ”

Stan Martin, Buffalo Office Director, HOPE Buffalo/CAI Global, Buffalo, New York

“Tom Klaus is an expert in Community, Organizational and Systems Change. The Tenacious Change experience will take you on a mindful journey to gain thoughtful processes in understanding how to bring a solid model of change into your community! ”

Laura Brucia Hamm, Director of Development and Quality Improvement, Hale Kipa, Honolulu, Hawaii

“This course was very informative on how to integrate within a community and how to involve community members in positive decision making. This gave a great understanding on how to listen and work with those who have studied this but also with community members who have their own personal experiences. Overall, a wonderful course. ”

Jasmine Tatianna Bennett, Community Engagement Facilitator, El Paso, Texas

“In a culture of quick fixes, Tenacious Change faces the reality of what meaningful change requires. Its approach taps into the needs, resources, and wisdom of the community to create paths that will be sustained by the people who live with and benefit from those changes. No building on quicksand when sustainable change requires deep roots and resilient foundations. An excellent expression of leading and following in service to a common purpose and the greater good.”

Ira Chaleff, Author of The Courageous Follower and Co-editor of The Art of Followership

“Getting Started with the Tenacious Change Approach [TCA] is an excellent resource for persons wanting to make a meaningful change in their community. Tom Klaus, developer of the TCA, is quick—in his orientation video—to broadly define “community” and to identify a host of social and health issues that can be addressed using TCA. This series of 10 videos identifies 10 important principles underlying the TCA and the accompanying “tasks” to bring about fundamental, long-lasting change in a community. The videos are professional-quality and wonderfully interactive, using a “Pause” feature that invites viewers to reflect on the content and record their observations in a “TCA Journal” provided with the course. A quiz at the end of each video reinforces the content. I have known and worked with Tom for more than 30 years and I can see in the videos that he has applied much of his practice experience—and some personal experiences—to exemplify the principles and tasks he shares. His energy (!), sincerity and humor is evident in each video. Most importantly, his knowledge of the “community change” process is grounded in his direct practice with local, state and national organizations and ad-hoc groups. This is no mind-numbing theoretical video course, although Tom does cite the research and theory that guide his principles. Tom takes you on a detailed walk through active, inclusive, relationship-dependent community engagement. If you cannot bring Tom personally to your group, this video course is the next “best thing.” As much as I thought I knew about community change, I learned 10X more from watching this entire series. Your thinking will be challenged and you’ll be more confident in approaching the process of community change. Finally, Tom invites your continued participation in TCA by joining an “Implementation Learning Cohort” after finishing this video course. As Tom points out in the last video, TCA is a “journey” and there is help for you as you take this journey with him and others for community change.”

Ed Saunders, MSW, MPH, PhD, Emeritus Associate Professor, University of Iowa

“As a change facilitator and keen lifelong learner, I am always looking for new perspectives and approaches to change. I met Tom Klaus through the Behumankind community and we connected through our shared value of connection and learning. I embarked on the journey of learning about the Tenacious Change Approach that Tom shared with me, hoping to develop my own practice of change facilitation and with a longer-term possibility of implementing the TCA in the UK charity sector. I took away a lot of great learning to develop and add value to my practice. For example, a key message that I took away was changing the mindset from ‘buy-in’ to ‘ownership’. The day after I watched a video where Tom talks about that, I was running a session with a leadership team and talked about shifting their mindset to one of ‘ownership’ which resulted in some lightbulb moments for them. I look forward to continuing conversations with Tom and the team about the possibility of implementing the TCA. On a practical note, the videos are well-produced and easy to watch. I appreciate the small touches like the supporting text, music and images, a dancing clip, and the short and helpful quizzes to check the learning of the key points. There are great reflection questions at the beginning, during and at the end of the videos which were helpful to pause and think and write about in my journal. I highly recommend this learning resource to anyone looking to develop their own practice in change and anyone looking for an introduction to the TCA. ”

Ed Shrager, Co-Found 3C Charity Culture Catalyst and The King Prawn, London, UK

“No stone is left unturned in this comprehensive and detailed introduction to inclusive change. Even as a newcomer to the field, it was clear to me how each stage of the Tenacious Change Approach works and why each part is so essential to get right! Tom Klaus is an enthusiastic and passionate guide and the videos are engaging and watchable. I especially appreciate the distinction made between content and context experts, different methods of decision-making, and various ways to ensure equity and achieve collaborative leadership. I highly recommend viewing the entire series start to finish as one lesson flows logically into the next.”

Sharna Fabiano, Author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork and host of the Lead & Follow podcast