The seeds of Resonance Network first took root in 2013, with a group of leaders in the movement to end domestic and sexual violence.
The founding members of Resonance Network each had long histories in traditional anti-violence work and first came together within the early cohorts of Move to End Violence, a 10-year program of the NoVo Foundation. Their shared vision of a world beyond violence made it clear they would need to work beyond the constraints of mainstream anti-violence approaches, taking the longer, more emergent path toward transforming violence and cultivating thriving individuals and communities.
The lived experience and leadership of QTBIPOC people has largely been neglected in mainstream approaches to domestic and sexual violence; Resonance Network’s founding members also recognized that transforming the roots of violence meant centering the people whose communities were most impacted by interpersonal and institutional violence.
Resonance Network’s founding members also recognized that transforming the roots of violence meant centering the people whose communities were most impacted by interpersonal and institutional violence.
Evolution of the Network
To fuel collective action toward a world beyond violence, in its early days, between 2013-2015, Resonance Network created spaces for connection, collaboration, experimentation, and innovation in the areas of community-based organizing, healing, and movement-building. We explored different ways to configure our work for impact, including support for a series of practice groups, and 37 experimental projects in innovation labs.
In early 2016, Resonance launched as a staffed network and has grown to include more than 3000 people across the U.S., and more in Mexico, Kenya, Egypt, and around the world. During this time, the political and cultural landscape in the U.S. shifted significantly.
The results of the 2016 election–and the emergent crises, grief, and fear, especially within communities of color, underscored the need for even more holistic approaches to healing and transformation to uproot the causes of violence.
This need inspired our first Workshopping the Worldview gathering, and so began the worldbuilding work that shapes Resonance today.
WHY A NETWORK?
Resonance made the intentional choice to configure ourselves as a network. Unlike traditional organizations, networks hold the capacity to adapt, evolve, and scale in response to changing contexts and current events. This dynamic form not only mirrors the way change happens in natural networks like mycelium or a coral reef—it also makes broad transformation possible.
