Hispanic Heritage Month turns 57 this year. It started as a single week in 1968, then grew into a full month by 1988. Fifty-seven years later, it still holds nearly 68 million of us, 1 in 5 Americans. A week in 1968. A month by 1988. We're just getting started.

After 11 years @civilladetroit.bsky.social co-founders Lena and Adam are moving back to the West Coast. They turned the longest benefit application in the country into something people can finish. They built a national design practice. They made care part of the method. civilla.org/stories/to-t...

to the risk-takers

Civilla celebrates co-founders Lena and Adam Selzer as they begin a new chapter

civilla.org

At @civilladetroit.bsky.social we believe that designing for the future begins with understanding the present. Join us on September 22, as we host a free hands-on journey mapping workshop during the #DetroitMonthOfDesign www.detroitmonthofdesign.org/event-detail...

Understand the Present, Design the Future: A Journey Mapping Workshop | Detroit Month Design

Learn How Journey Mapping Uses Human-Centered Design to Improve Customer Experience, Uncover Barriers, and Drive Change

detroitmonthofdesign.org

Just finished "A Dream Called Home" by Reyna Grande. Such a beautiful memoir with so many resonate themes.

Excited that @annielowrey.bsky.social’s book The Time Tax is out and features @civilladetroit.bsky.social’s first project. Grateful to Annie and to @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social for featuring this on today’s @thenyt.bsky.social podcast. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/o...

Opinion | This Is Why People Hate the Government (Gift Article)

Annie Lowrey, the author of “The Time Tax,” explains how the government steals Americans’ time — on purpose.

nytimes.com

Up north this week and grateful for that. This is pure Michigan!

People don’t call a hotline about Medicaid work requirements. They ask the food bank, the community partner - the person they already trust. States rolling out HR 1 requirements need partners engaged before rollout @civilladetroit.bsky.social built tools to help. www.eventbrite.com/e/preparing-...

Preparing Community Partners for Medicaid Work Requirements

A Live Demo of Civilla's Work Requirements Implementation Strategy & Tools

eventbrite.com

The pause is not a break from the work. It is the work. substack.com/@thejuliadal...

For some young mothers, defining a “household” for California food assistance is not simple. Who counts? A partner? Parents? Shared groceries? New Beeck Center research urges states to explain benefits rules in plain language, using real-life scenarios. beeckcenter.georgetown.edu/when-househo...

When “Household” Doesn’t Match Real Life: Why Complex Living Arrangements Make It Hard for Young Mothers to Access Benefits - Beeck Center

Research conducted by our Family Benefits Lab in California explores how lived experience shapes access to public benefits programs.

beeckcenter.georgetown.edu

It’s been almost a week since the Mackinac Policy Conference and I have some thoughts . . . #MPC2026 open.substack.com/pub/thejulia...

“Higher education needs industry, Industry needs higher education. . . We have an ethical obligation to prepare them [students] for the jobs of the future.” Laura Lee McIntyre Kudos to the @michiganstateu.bsky.social Green & White Council for facilitating these conversations. #MPC2026

Most leadership conversations right now are about the waves. Fewer are about the stance. Twenty years from now, history won’t ask whether the water was rough, it will ask how we stood in it. open.substack.com/pub/thejulia...

Before the waves

On rough waters in leadership.

open.substack.com

The porch of the Grand Hotel is where Michigan moves. See you next week at #MPC26 open.substack.com/pub/thejulia...

“About 55% of young adults 18–24 who are eligible for SNAP are not accessing it.” That gap affects financial stability, education, and opportunity. Watch the full Civilla Chat and download our research brief: civilla.org/stories/clos...

I finally hand some space to think and get my hands in the dirt this weekend. substack.com/@thejuliadal...

Are we transforming broken systems or just making them easier to live with? Required reading from @pahlkadot.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/eatingpo...

A Three Horizons Framework for Government Reform

We keep propping up a system that’s run out of time to adapt

open.substack.com

Honored to join the @mshda.bsky.social team for their All Staff this week. 60 years of building homes and communities across Michigan. That’s worth celebrating. Thank you @amyhovey.bsky.social for the invitation and keep going! #MSHDA #Michigan

Where you were born should not determine where you end up. On April 30 I’m (@civilladetroit.bsky.social) joining colleagues from @annieecaseyfdn.bsky.social and @aspeneop.bsky.social to talk about what it takes to change that. www.eventbrite.com/e/life-in-tr...

You’re never designing in a vacuum . . . Culture always matters.”

Civilla Detroit@civilladetroit.bsky.social · 6mo ago

"Culture always matters." We demoed user-tested Medicaid application templates for states implementing H.R.1 work requirements — exploring how culture shapes trust in applications. Watch the full demo: civilla.org/stories/medi...

Work requirements don’t land on policy documents. They land on people. We did the research, tested the templates, and listened. Next week, we’re sharing what we found. Join @civilladetroit.bsky.social for a live demo www.eventbrite.com/e/protecting...

And so it begins . . . 6th grade Volleyball

11 rounds of user testing. Real residents. Real input. On March 19, we’re showing states exactly how to implement Medicaid work requirements without burying people in paperwork. @civilladetroit.bsky.social www.eventbrite.com/e/protecting...

Protecting Medicaid Coverage after HR 1: Live Demo of User-Tested Templates

H.R.1 work requirements put Medicaid coverage at risk for millions. Civilla's implementation guidance could help avoid loss of coverage.

eventbrite.com

Medicaid work requirements take effect Jan 1, 2027. The risk isn’t compliance — it’s a process that fails people before they get the chance. @civilladetroit.bsky.social built something to help. civilla.org/stories/medi...

a new tool for implementing medicaid work requirements

Civilla's user-tested application templates can help states reduce paperwork and keep eligible residents covered

civilla.org

Thursday: Prosper Canada and Civilla CEOs Elizabeth Mulholland and @thejuliadale.bsky.social share how to drive change in risk-averse public institutions. Join us: civillaandprospercanada.eventbrite.com

Lessons From the Long Haul: Leading Change in Risk-Averse Institutions

Hear from two senior non-profit leaders with decades of experience working on complex, long-haul change within the U.S. and Canada.

civillaandprospercanada.eventbrite.com

For public-serving leaders who want the real story, not the highlight reel join me + Prosper Canada’s Elizabeth Mulholland as we share what 45+ years of change work inside government actually looks like. Feb 26, 1pm. @civilladetroit.bsky.social www.eventbrite.com/e/lessons-fr...

Lessons From the Long Haul: Leading Change in Risk-Averse Institutions

Hear from two senior non-profit leaders with decades of experience working on complex, long-haul change within the U.S. and Canada.

eventbrite.com

Congratulations to Winnie A. Liao on her new role as COO for the @cityofdetroit.bsky.social! detroitmi.gov/news/mayor-s...

There is incredible power in storytelling that elevates the human experience. There is incredible power in storytelling that celebrates human dignity. Tell the story.

“You can tell a great deal about a country and a people by what they deem important enough to remember, to create moments for — what they put in their museum and what they celebrate.” Lonnie Bunch, Founding Director of the National Museum Of African American History

Read @thejuliadale.bsky.social's new interview in Detroit Is It on public-serving institutions, the resilience of Detroit, and maintaining optimism that change is possible. detroitisit.com/from-resilie...

From Resilience To Reform | Detroitisit

Civilla is Rethinking How Detroit's Institutions Serve People

detroitisit.com