Ty Leisey

Background

About Ty Leisey

I think differently than other people. While there are plenty of people who think in terms of the big picture, I think in big-picture systems. When you engage in systems thinking, you see the external factors, along with the individual choices, that lead to any action taken or event experienced. You start to notice feedback loops and leverage points to which systems continually return. It is at these points that social changemakers should be operating. To me, being an advocate for social justice means being a professional interrupter of self-perpetuating systems, but it also means you have to see and understand the system and know the leverage point to be effective. My own background of thinking in systems gives me an advantage and has pushed me to pursue knowledge and experience in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, community organizing, and international development. I have graduate-level experience researching, intellectually unpacking, and analyzing complex international conflicts and peacebuilding settings, along with personal and professional experience creating social change in grassroots contexts characterized by inequality and oppression. We know that nothing exists in a vacuum and that systems are, by nature, dynamic; as such, I am constantly exploring. I thrive on learning new things and using critical thinking to incorporate new ideas into my own perspective, which often registers gray in a world of black and white. Colleagues describe me as quiet yet influential; being an open-minded, active listener is one of my best attributes, but being able to use what I hear, witness, and learn to create tools for mutual and accessible learning is an invaluable skill I’ve applied in many settings, from conflict analysis to mediation, from research to anti-oppression trainings. I get excited about changing the world. Seeking a passionate, driven, committed agent of social change? Contact me at tleisey@brandeis.edu. Let’s be a part of the global conversation.