CoDesign Works, PLLC

01/31/2026

CoDesign Works is now Aligna. The work continues under our expanded legal and strategic advisory practice.
Follow updates here: wearealigna.com

11/26/2025

Our partner Roots of Inclusion is looking for a young co-facilitator with a disability for its new youth organizing fellowship. Interest is due 12/8:

At Roots of Inclusion, we believe in the power of young people, community leadership, and lived experience to transform systems and create more just and inclusive futures. ​We are building a team...

05/26/2025

Wondering what to do about accessibility during these challenging times? Join a virtual panel this Friday from 12-1:15pm Pacific. While our focus will be on the arts, we'll have practical advice for everyone. Cultural Accessibility Consortium is hosting this free event, but always appreciates donations.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14Gx7sW9CES/

Registration is open for our spring program: Sustaining Accessibility in Challenging Times. May 30 from 12:00-1:15 pm. Registration is free but we appreciate donations!
Moderated by Manny Cawaling, ED of Inspire Washington - Opening doors to Science, Heritage, and the Arts, we have a great panel: Amber Rose Jimenez, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, James Miles, Assistant Professor, Seattle U, Claudia Balducci, King County Councilmember, and Carrie Griffin Basas, CoDesign Works
Check out our newsletter with all the information. https://mailchi.mp/1f1f52bb71e8/springprogram2025

Register here: www.seattlecac.org

05/09/2025

Roots of Inclusion, in partnership with CoDesign Works, conducted a comprehensive survey to understand how K-12 education in Washington can better prepare students with disabilities for post-secondary success.

This report summarizes our findings and provides actionable insights to help educators better prepare students with disabilities for successful transitions to college and beyond. Key findings included students' need for training in assistive technology, time management, organizational skills, and self-advocacy before they made the transition. Students also wished they had mentors and community.

https://buff.ly/MvculIG
Happy to email the PDF, too.

Final Report: Postsecondary Transition for Students with Disabilities in WA State

05/08/2025

Now that the full set of Rooted in WA podcasts has been released, I wanted to share the storytelling guide for school communities and educators that we produced with Roots of Inclusion. Start your own series! https://www.calameo.com/read/007939612aff905aadda0
Happy to email a PDF copy, too.

Family Engagement Through Storytelling and Podcasting: A Toolkit for Washington State's K-12 Schools Family engagement is a cornerstone of student success, and storytelling is a powerful tool for understanding families' experiences and...

05/03/2025

Heidi (Schillinger) Sohn of Equity Matters and I will be presenting at the Nonprofit Association of Washington's conference (5/13). Consider joining our virtual session about pathways for just governance. If your Board practices and policies feel out of synch with your underlying organizational values, then this is the place for you to be.

Thank you for your interest in the 2025 Washington State Nonprofit Conference, brought to you by Nonprofit Association of Washington. This year’s Washington State Nonprofit Conference will be online May 13-14 with in-person regional WSNC locations in Spokane (Friday, May 16) and Tacoma (Tuesday, M...

05/02/2025

The final episode of Rooted in WA has dropped. If you don't laugh and click after the byline, then maybe we need your secret to serenity. "We just kind of run our family on rage."- Taina Karru-Olsen
Listen here: https://buff.ly/J6lXlRh
Join host Carrie Basas and guest Taina Karru-Olsen in a lively discussion about family engagement, disability justice, and the importance of inclusive education. Taina shares insights from her personal journey as a parent of a multiply disabled child, and the creation of Inclusion for All, a grassroots movement advocating for systemic change. Together, they explore the power of community, what parent groups often get wrong, the limitations of traditional advocacy, and the need for schools to foster environments of belonging for all students. Rooted in WA is produced by Roots of Inclusion with support from the WA Statewide Family Engagement Center.

04/25/2025

"97% of us are coming home. We will be reengaged with our families."- Jim Chambers
Episode 6 of Rooted in WA is out on your favorite podcast platforms.
Join host Carrie Basas as she chats with guest Jim Chambers about the challenges facing families affected by incarceration. They discuss Jim's experiences of family engagement after serving a 23-year prison sentence and his advocacy work. Jim shares his journey from incarceration to becoming a peer leader in prison programs such as Long Distance Dads and an ally with the Black Prisoners Caucus. They delve into the challenges of reintegration, the barriers faced by incarcerated parents, the judgments that others can make about our worst moments, and the importance of supportive relationships. Jim also talks about the clemency process, working toward systemic change, and his hopes for building a better future for his family. Rooted in WA is produced by Roots of Inclusion with support from the WA Statewide Family Engagement Center. Available for listening here: https://buff.ly/zUwTH2e

04/18/2025

"What are the societal choices we've made for access and how does that make it possible for people in community to participate or not participate?"- Anna Zivarts
Episode 5 of Rooted in WA is now available on Spotify, Apple, iHeart, YouTube, and Amazon.
Join host Carrie Basas and guest Anna Zivarts, author of When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency (Island Press, 2024), as they discuss family engagement and the personal experiences of parenting with a disability and as a non-driver. Anna shares her journey as a low-vision parent, her family's history with nystagmus, transportation equity activism, and the challenges and triumphs of raising a child with a disability. They delve into the importance of disability identity, community connections, disability-identifying providers, and the role of public policies in creating inclusive environments and robust transportation systems. This episode sheds light on the impact of systemic barriers and the power of advocacy in shaping a more accessible world for all. Rooted in WA is produced by Roots of Inclusion with support from the WA Statewide Family Engagement Center. Listen here: https://buff.ly/TH82dGB