How clients describe us …

Easy to work with. Flexible. Innovative. Rigorous. Approachable. Budget-friendly.

Effective Strategies

Equitable Systems

Strong Communities

Let’s Do Some
Good Work Together

We Adapt to Your Needs

At Community Science, we don’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Each community, organization, and challenge is unique — and so is our approach with you. We listen to understand and confirm your goals and what matters most to you, then work together to create strategies that fit your strengths, culture, and needs. Our work is grounded in evidence, and the solutions we build are shaped with you and your community every step of the way.

Our Areas of Focus

We work with foundations, nonprofits, and local governments to help make communities stronger and more inclusive and equitable. Our goal is to ensure that everyone has equitable access to the opportunities and resources they need to succeed and thrive. We share knowledge and practical experience on how to bring people together to act collectively on issues like housing, job security, and economic development.

We strengthen the capacity of organizations to support young people to play an active role in their communities and have a voice in decisions that affect their lives, especially youth who are often overlooked due to systemic barriers, or lack of access to resources and opportunities.

We believe health equity means fairness, opportunity, and practical solutions that improve the conditions that shape people’s health — the social determinants of health — and help everyone thrive. We partner with nonprofits, foundations, and all levels of government to uncover the root causes of poor health in communities, design better strategies, and strengthen existing solutions.

Transformative community engagement means working with communities so they can lead — not just advise and inform — on the policies and decisions that affect their lives. This approach focuses on building community power to increase their control over decisions affecting their lives, sharing power fairly, and building strategic partnerships. We work with local foundations, intermediaries, and grassroots organizations to achieve this.

Nonprofit organizations are vital to our communities. They respond to community needs, provide essential services, and advocate for policies that benefit people. To succeed, they must develop and implement strategies tailored to the communities they serve, measure their impact, and apply lessons learned to strengthen their work. We help nonprofits do this.

Resilient communities depend on capable and credible individuals who know how to lead, collaborate, and fight for equity and social justice. Leadership programs are plentiful; yet we still know too little about which progam elements truly drive change at the individual, organizational, community, and systemic levels. We can provide support to help public, private, and nonprofit institutions evaluate, learn, and continuously improve their leadership strategies.

Challenges like gentrification, displacement, and housing shortages are complex, and they disproportionately impact low-income communities, communities of color, and rural communities.

Decades of research and lived experience show that community—a network of relationships people can depend on—is essential for well-being and collective action. People feel a true sense of community when they share a common identity and history, know their voices matter, see their needs met by coming together, and feel deeply connected to one another.

We believe that evaluation, learning, and continuous strategy improvement all go hand- in- hand to help organizations design better solutions, assess their outcomes, see what’s working, and use those lessons to make improvements. We bring the experience and skills to help organizations articulate their theories of change, create ways to measure progress and impact, set up feedback loops as they go, and reflect.

Collaboration is admired and often aspired to, but in practice it is never simple. It is shaped by six paradoxes that must be recognized, understood, and managed: mixed loyalties, dependence vs. independence, autonomy vs. accountability, unity vs. diversity, means vs. model, and scarcity vs. collective abundance. We know how these paradoxes show up and can help collaboratives confront, address, and manage them.

Who We Work With

We partner with foundations, nonprofits, and local governments committed to building stronger, more inclusive, and more equitable communities. Our goal is to help ensure everyone has fair access to the opportunities and resources they need to succeed and thrive. We bring together knowledge, practical experience, and community voices – as well as science – to support collective action on shared concerns and inform solutions that make a lasting difference.

Featured Projects

Driving Systems Change Through Youth-Led Health Interventions: AHEF and Community Science
Community Science is proud to be partnering with the Atrius Health Equity Foundation in its mission to close the life expectancy gap across Eastern Massachusetts. Through the Youth as Health Care Change Agents initiative, the Foundation is investing in youth ...
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Atrius Health Equity Foundation
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary’s Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary’s Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities included a priority to assess and heighten the impact of all HHS policies, programs, processes, and resource decisions to reduce health ...
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Foundation for Louisiana
Investigating The Black Wealth Gap in Atlanta
According to data from the United States Census Bureau, Atlanta Georgia has the highest income inequality among large US cities. The city’s entrenched racial disparities have been attributed to driving much of Atlanta’s income and wealth inequality. The Atlanta Wealth ...
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The Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative

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Our Approach

We partner with organizations to identify problems, implement solutions, and foster learning and improvement. Our work is collaborative, practical, and scientifically rigorous, guided by compassion, candor, and integrity.

Our Commitment

We work to ensure that our efforts lead to real change — expanding fair access to resources and opportunities, strengthening communities’ ability to make the most of them, and promoting respect and dignity for all communities.

Kien Lee, PhD
Amber Trout, Ph.D.Amber Trout, PhD
Annapurna Ghosh, MPH
Michael Shields, PhD
Carlos Anguiano, PhD
Brandi Gilbert, PhD
Michelle Haynes-Baratz, PhD
Kerlin Morales, MBA
Dontarious Cowans, MA
Mariah Laird, MPH, CHES
Faith Garnett, MS
Marissa M. Salazar, PhD

We combine our scientific training, practical experience, and commitment to equity and social justice to make a meaningful difference in the world we all share. Our team’s passion, humanity, and expertise help clients and partners overcome challenges, achieve their goals, and build capacity through strategic thinking, cross-cultural insight, and practical, grounded solutions.

About Us

One of our greatest strengths is our ability to bridge science and practice to drive meaningful social change. Our team — the right people with the right expertise and the right mindset — is what makes this possible. At Community Science, we meet our clients’ challenges with deep knowledge, interdisciplinary approaches, cross-cultural understanding, and lived experience. Together, we’re committed to making a positive difference in the world we all share.