Hello, I’m Mike Kang. I am a strategist, facilitator, writer, and engineer with a big heart and a passion for helping people create change.
I have over 18 years of experience conceiving, building, and leading initiatives designed to create lasting change in systems that affect people and the planet.
I help change leaders solve difficult problems and achieve their goals: people who commit to solving tough problems that marginalize their communities, deny basic human rights and dignities, and deepen inequities of power.
I help such folks get organized, set strategic direction, build relationships with stakeholders, build their teams, and tell their stories. I have helped leaders navigate the challenging, messy work of changing human systems in many domains, from human rights to health and education, to international development and governance, to infrastructure equity and sustainability, to technology development.
My intent is to make validating, affordable, effective professional support available to change leaders regardless of their economic or social circumstances. My goals are to:
Accelerate the work of change leaders with important, ambitious visions by offering experienced strategy, coaching, facilitation, and writing support.
Reduce the financial and social barriers for under-resourced change leaders to access quality professional services by offering flexible pricing based on context, resources available, and the impact we are seeking.
Connect and cultivate a community of change leaders who are working for greater human dignity, equity of power, and just, sustainable relationships, serving as a facilitator of knowledge sharing, mutual support, and solidarity between aligned communities.
I aim to help ensure that important work happens, whether or not it’s easy to fund. I support initiatives that might otherwise have difficulty accessing the support they need; e.g. early-stage initiatives with minimal resources, efforts from change leaders in economically or socially marginalized contexts, or important social change initiatives that still need to catch the attention of funders/ financiers. I also connect change leaders to others in my network who can support them, while helping them build the capacity and resources they need to take advantage of the best opportunities: funders, designers, campaigners, artists, experienced change leaders and experts, and consulting firms with bigger teams that can take on larger-scale processes.
Selected examples of my experience
Motion Light Lab - Ensuring Deaf children’s human rights to language
Building a US national strategy to end language deprivation for Deaf children, the systematic denial of access to sign languages, Deaf communities, and Deaf cultures in early years that causes lifelong harm.
Language deprivation is a systemic harm that causes unacceptable outcomes for Deaf and hard-of hearing children. Motion Light Lab (ML2) is a Deaf-led social impact organization whose mission is to end this harm for all Deaf kids. ML2, in partnership with the National Association of the Deaf, Evolve on Purpose, and over 20 other Deaf-led organizations, is building a national strategy to achieve this goal, beginning with a Community of Practice designed to build community power through shared learning, connection, and solidarity.
Evolve on Purpose is ML2’s “Strategy Partner” in this initiative. My role is as a coach, strategic guide, facilitator, and writer to help build this strategy, as well as support to ML2 to ensure its long-term sustainability.
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs - The future of Manitoba’s First Nations
Creating scenarios and a shared vision and strategic framework for the future of the health and well-being of the First Nations of Manitoba.
The First Nations of Manitoba face a host of interconnected and growing challenges, as inequities worsen in health, education, economic well-being, and child welfare, all against the backdrop of growing threats to First Nations self-determination, culture, and language. This project brought together a diversity of Elders, Knowledge Keepers, youth, and First Nations leaders in health, education, community development, and child welfare from across the province to create scenarios for how to future will unfold, then use them to craft an inclusive, shared vision for all First Nations in Manitoba.
This project was led by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC), in partnership with three other local indigenous organisations, and the University of Manitoba, with support from Reos Partners. My role on the Reos Partners team was to support process design, lead engagement with the Elders, and be the lead writer for the historic vision document that we produced.
Engineers Without Borders Canada - Governance and Sustainable Services
Building leadership and institutional capacity in Ghana and Malawi
Image credit: Stina Brown
Kafou Lespwa - The future of Haiti
Confronting the many intersecting social, economic, and security crises that are crippling Haiti and envisioning ways out of the mess.
The social, economic, and security crises facing Haiti are beyond the control of any single Haitian or international institution. Kafou Lespwa, meaning “Crossroads of Hope”, is a collaborative initiative aiming to build a shared language to envision possible futures for Haiti, both good and bad. In a context that is extremely polarized and ineffectively governed, we convened Haitians from all areas of society — politicians, activists, artists, youth, unionists, and more — to express their concerns and align a shared vision to reimagine their country’s future. This diverse, influential group has created a space for strategic discussions about the real options facing the country of Haiti.
Convened with support from Reos Partners, a group of Haitian entrepreneurs and other leaders concerned with the future of the country and seeing no viable solutions on the table. My role on the Reos Partners team was to support process design, facilitation, and the building of a strategic framework to help the group visualize potential strategies to address these crises.
Port of Vancouver - Port Forward initiative
Building the collective capacity of the Port of Vancouver ecosystem to navigate an uncertain future together.
The Port of Vancouver is Canada’s largest shipping gateway. Its efficiency and sustainability depend on strong problem-solving relationships between the dozens municipalities, First Nations, shippers, and other organizations critical to the sustainable movement of goods through the port. The port has experienced many local and global disruptions beyond its control, including the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events, supply chain disruptions, Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and the worsening cost of living crisis and industrial land shortages in the Vancouver area. Amid an uncertain and volatile future, the Port of Vancouver, with support from Reos Partners, brought together a diverse group of senior leaders key stakeholders from across the gateway to explore questions about our shared future: how the gateway might change over the next 40 years, what might be the critical drivers of change, and how the group can collaborate today to see the desired results in the future.
My role on the Reos Partners team was to lead process design and deliver facilitation of this multi-stream initiative, be the lead writer of the scenarios with input from the various engagement groups, and to engage the Executive Team and other senior leaders in the Port of Vancouver to steer the project.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Postsecondary Strategy
Building collective clarity and capacity for the US postsecondary education system to transform its performance on equity and inclusion.
The US higher education system was not established with the interests of people of colour, Native Americans, or low-income students
Since its inception, many elements of the US higher education system were not built with the interests of people of colour, Native Americans, or low-income students in mind. It was, in fact, built to exclude them in many cases. The system continues to show large inequities at all levels. The foundation’s goal to help close this persistent gap is to “dramatically improve student outcomes and ensure that race, ethnicity, and income are not predictors of postsecondary success”. The foundation is supporting a multi-disciplinary, collaborative strategy to bring together an ecosystem of organizations whose mission is to help colleges transform how they integrate racial consciousness in their practice. This project brought together a “microcosm” of the dozens of organizations involved in the foundation’s strategy to build a shared understanding of how to translate innovative ideas into practice, how to collaborate across differences in culture, processes, and interests, and how to deliver a smooth process for campuses.
With so many organizations from different contexts, this strategy needed support from Reos Partners to clarify and build capacity to collaborate effectively to support colleges to change, both structurally and culturally. My role on the Reos Partners team was to lead process and agenda design, create strategic maps and frameworks to clarify the strategy, and to develop a thorough systems analysis of the strategy and recommendations for how to improve it.
After serving as the Co-Director of the Engineers Without Borders Water and Sanitation Team in Malawi for 3 years, I served as Portfolio Manager for Engineers Without Borders’ investment ventures in governance for sustainable services. This portfolio aims to support innovation in citizen-accountable, financially sustainable service strategies for agriculture, governance, and water, and sanitation challenges in Malawi and Ghana.
I helped venture leaders and managers navigate the complexities of aid politics, governance, and the roles that funding can play in distorting the incentives in local government in Africa.
Through this work, my most important role was as a coach to the venture leaders in my portfolio. I helped EWB's venture leaders' systemic change initiatives in agriculture and governance in Ghana figure out how to structure their teams and find their strategies, as well as navigate the complex funding relationships that always arise when working on systemic change. I also helped EWB manage its transition from a traditional non-profit granting model to a more sustainable social venture incubation model.
COACHING
I help people navigate the obstacles, opportunities, and the relational, organizational, and emotional challenges that arise as they lead change. I listen, ask questions, and offer perspectives that help people better understand their goals, current realities, and options, informed by my diverse experiences with change leadership and transformative initiatives.
Examples:
Canada Bridges
Coaching for the Executive Director of Canada Bridges, an organization that supports young people to be catalysts for change in their lives and communities.
Promise54
Leadership and implementation coaching for Promise54, an organization focused on achieving racial equity in education in the USA.
Freshwater International
Coaching for the Executive Director and leadership team of Freshwater International, a Malawian organization that provides safe water supply to rural communities.
Water, Sanitation, Hygiene Catalysts (WASH Catalysts)
Executive Director and implementation coaching for WASH Catalysts, an organization that aims to build sustainable systems for water and sanitation infrastructure.
TECHNOLOGY
I have a rich background in engineering and exploring the impact of technology on society, including how we create equitable and sustainable infrastructure systems. I hold a degree in Engineering Physics from the University of British Columbia and a Masters in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge, as well as three patents in colour technology.
Examples:
Engineers Without Borders - Sustainable Service and Infrastructure
Building citizen-accountable, financially sustainable infrastructure strategies for agriculture, governance, and water, and sanitation in Malawi and Ghana.
Canadian Department of National Defence
Facilitating partnering processes to ensure sustainability and efficiency in the Department of National Defence's construction of new training and health care facilities at Canadian Forces Bases.
Mozilla Community Participation
Exploring data on diversity and inclusion within Mozilla’s open-source communities, to understand disparities, barriers to involvement, and the impact of leadership and country-based exclusions.
Research and development in lasers and optics
Developing lasers used by spaces agencies for Mars rovers, fibre optic brain implants used in Parkinson’s treatment, and earning of three patents in colour control for TV and projection systems.
Whistler Sessions Scenarios: stories for the future of Whistler
Collaborative writing with community leaders and members concerned with the future of Whistler as a community, a resort, and a centre of mountain culture.
WRITING
I am a versatile and impactful writer who helps change leaders communicate their visions to build engagement and understanding of key systemic issues, inspire and enable action, spark useful conversations, and attract funding to their missions.
Examples:
Wahbung: Our Tomorrows Imagined
Collaborative writing with the First Nations of Manitoba on a vision for the future of their health and well-being.
Articles published in Forbes on critical social issues
Ghostwriting to drive action and build understanding on the global migration crisis, the private prison industry, and social innovation.
Port Forward: scenarios for the future of the Vancouver port
Collaborative writing with the Port of Vancouver and the stakeholders in its system concerned with navigating an uncertain future
Urban Matters - Strategy for Catalytic Impact
Building a social enterprise to support people-centred community development in innovative and inclusive ways.
STRATEGY
I have led and played key design and facilitation roles in many initiatives aiming to change structural and systemic conditions for the better. I help leaders and diverse groups build shared understanding of the factors and mindsets that are producing current results, see possibilities for transformed futures, and take collaborative action to make progress.
Examples:
Motion Light Lab - Deaf babies’ rights to language
Building a collaborative strategy to end language deprivation for deaf babies, the systemic lack of sign language access from birth that causes lifelong harm.
Kafou Lespwa (Crossroads of Hope): scenarios for the future of Haiti
Supporting key Haitian business, community, and political leaders to build shared language to navigate a dangerous, uncertain future and build capacity to address the many converging crises.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Postsecondary Success Strategy
Building alignment and shared strategy between the diverse ecosystem of organizations working to transform racial equity in US higher education.