Allied 2024 Voter Campaigns
Circles USA proudly announces the launch of a new wave of our popular, non-partisan Our Votes Count Campaign for Fall 2024. The...
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MISSION
Building community to end poverty through intentional friendships, personal transformation, and systemic change led by the people closest to the challenge.
VISION
All individuals live in equitable, thriving communities where poverty no longer exists.
“Circles is one of the best models for long-term poverty reduction I have ever encountered. It sets up a new dynamic that puts the families who want to become economically stable in the driver’s seat rather than being viewed as clients choosing predetermined options. All involved create a community conversation to reduce poverty regionally.”
— Lynette Fields (Executive Director of Poverty Solutions Group)
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Meet Our Team
Publications
Lives Transformed
Big View
Blog
Circles USA Annual Impact Reports
®
“In 2023, we strengthened our offerings and tools to support our chapters wherever they are in their journey, whether just launching, serving their first cohort of Circle Leaders, supporting multiple cohorts, or even expanding into multiple locations. So this has been a year of deepening and expanding Circles, not only in what we do as a successful anti-poverty initiative but in understanding who we are and what we really do. Circles USA is a teaching organization offering the model, the messaging, the coaching, and the support for the community of practice to do the work. 2023 has given us great clarity around what’s ours to do and what’s next for Circles USA.”
— Kamatara Johnson
(Circles USA Executive Director)
Circles reports chapter results at individual and community levels. Participants steadily grow skills and income, decrease dependence on public assistance, and expande resources and support networks. At the community and national levels, Circles USA connects diverse peoples across class lines and ideology, changes attitudes about poverty, and contributes to policy change.
Circles USA collects participants’ survey data prior to the start of the initiative, after training, and then every six months during the initiative. Longitudinal data is collected at 24, 36, and 48 months.
Case Studies
Denny, Justin, Brian Garvey, Lenie Nguyen, and Abia Sebaka. “Poverty Reduction and Determinants of Health.”
Journal of Poverty, January 13, 2024, 1–14.
Public health professional students at the University of Western Australia (UWA) Sebaka and Nguyen, along with UWA Associate Professor Denny, analyzed multiple years of Circles USA data and found significant income growth for participants. The UWA research team, along with Garvey (an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University), synthesized this data into a new resource for academic and independent sector workers in poverty alleviation.
Office of Family Assistance Brief:
“Social Capital Initiatives
To Achieve Employment Goals”
In 2019, Circles USA was featured as an innovative strategy for TANF programs in a brief from the Administration For Children & Families’ Office of Family Assistance This brief was part of the Office of Family Assistance’s Emerging Practice Series, highlighting how TANF agencies and their partners are helping low-income individuals gain and sustain meaningful employment.
Carmen’s Story
(Circles Northwest Arkansas)
Carmen Gonzalez of Circles Northwest Arkansas spoke about how Circles helped her grow trust alongside financial stability.
“Before Circles, I didn’t have a lot of faith in humanity. I didn’t believe in myself; I didn’t have people I could depend on locally. I joined Circles and met people who genuinely cared and wanted me to succeed in ways that no one has ever wanted for me before. That was life-changing for me and my family.”
Annual results show positive impact for local communities.
“In 2023, we strengthened our offerings and tools to support our chapters wherever they are in their journey, whether just launching, serving their first cohort of Circle Leaders, supporting multiple cohorts, or even expanding into multiple locations. So this has been a year of deepening and expanding Circles, not only in what we do as a successful anti-poverty initiative but in understanding who we are and what we really do. Circles USA is a teaching organization offering the model, the messaging, the coaching, and the support for the community of practice to do the work. 2023 has given us great clarity around what’s ours to do and what’s next for Circles USA.”
— Kamatara Johnson (Circles USA Executive Director)
Results are reported on the individual and community levels. Participants experience increased skills and income, decreased dependence on public assistance, and expanded resources and support networks. At the community level, Circles USA connects diverse people across class lines, changes attitudes about poverty, and contributes to policy change.
Circles USA collects survey data prior to the start of the initiative, after training, and then every six months during the initiative. Longitudinal data is collected at 24, 36, and 48 months.
Circles USA Leadership Team
Kamatara Johnson
Executive Director
(Albuquerque, NM)
Addie Hartnett
National Coach
& Southeast Regional Support
(Orlando, FL)
Gena Atcher
Administrative Coordinator
(Rapid City, SD)
Kris Alexander
Curriculum Development Specialist (Asheville, NC)
Courtney Cowan
Information Systems
& Design Manager
(Lowell, AR)
Board of Directors
Joan Kuriansky
Board Chair and former
Executive Director of Wider Opportunities for Women
(Washington, DC)
Jim Masters
Board Treasurer and President of Center for Community Futures (Berkeley, CA)
Jennifer Pelling
Board Member & Director of Tsuha Foundation
(San Diego, CA)
Board Advisory Council
Circles USA proudly launched a new Advisory Council in July 2022. This group, tasked with amplifying diverse participants’ voices to guide the national board’s decisions, has met eight times to date, addressing topics ranging from “What does success look like at Circles?” to mental health; building community across chapters; and long-term chapter sustainability. The inaugural Advisory Council consists of 10 people from 10 different chapters—rural, urban, and suburban; new chapters and veteran ones. As this Council cohort winds down, we are considering the best timing for the next cohort. We look forward to bringing together more fresh perspectives to serve this important role in the Circles family.
Founder
Scott Miller, Founder (Albuquerque, NM)
Since the late 1970s, Scott has initiated numerous projects in North America to help families and communities more effectively address poverty. He has spent decades developing tools and best practices for helping low income people navigate their way out of poverty for good. Scott is the author of several books about poverty reduction. Scott retired from Circles USA in 2021 and still serves as a consultant for select pilot sites working towards building a Poverty Alleviation System in their community.
Regional Coaches
Michelle Crawford, West Region (Salt Lake City, UT)
Shavonne Vasquez, SC and FL Southern Region (Hilton Head, SC)
Cheryl Williams, GA and AL Southern Region (Columbus, GA)
TJ Williams, Central Region (Fayetteville, AR)
Helen Rai, Mid-Atlantic Regional Coach (Richmond, VA)
Andrew Sprock, Midwest Regional Support (Marion, IN)
Consulting and Support Team
Amy Brooks, Content Writer & Editor (Minneapolis, MN)
Jeannie Chaffin, Poverty Alleviation Systems Consultant (Washington, DC)
Lynette Fields, Expansion Advisor, Director of Poverty Solutions Group (Orlando, FL)
Alexis Jorgensen, Assistant (Lowell, AR)
Jenny Lipfert, Graphic Designer (Cornish, NH)
Natalie Oh, Social Media Consultant (San Diego, CA)
Lise Porter, Mental Health Specialist (Glendale, CA)
Sarah Thornburg, Poverty Alleviation Systems Liaison (Ypsilanti, MI)
Chris Tinney, Sales Ambassador (Las Vegas, NV)
Dr. Evie Trevino, Quantitative Psychologist and Consultant (Bixby, OK)
Our Partners
The Circles model is unique because it easily integrates into existing support agencies. A Circles chapter can be launched by a range of organizations, including social service agencies, food banks, chambers of commerce, or houses of worship. The diverse nonprofit organizations, foundations, and corporations listed below have all been instrumental in launching and/or supporting Circles chapters across the country!
“Our group spoke to Circles USA personnel, leaders of Circles affiliates, and representatives of other kinds of self-sufficiency and community-building programs. The decision to choose the Circles model came down to this: Circles is an established program with a proven track record of success.”
Sarah Thornburg, former executive director
of Friends In Deed (Ypsilanti, MI)
What is the Big View Policy Platform?
Circles USA’s Big View Platform frames policy recommendations within the local, state, and national scope. This Platform, informed by our original National Big View Team and authored in 2020 by Board Chair Joan Kuriansky, addresses six issues our chapters flagged as high priority.
It also emphasizes Circles USA’s commitment to addressing the structural biases that unjustly affect people of color and other historically marginalized communities. These six issues are more relevant today than ever before. Circles chapters across the nation deepened and expanded their Big View work this year, tackling systemic change with collective knowledge drawn from government, schools, nonprofits, businesses, and philanthropies.
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Healthcare
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Housing
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Transportation
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Quality Jobs
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The Cliff Effect
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Broadband Access
Quality Jobs
Workers have access to jobs that pay a living wage with opportunities for career advancement and the benefits necessary to meet their dual responsibilities as workers and family members. Employers create workplaces that are inclusive and safe.
Check out our Podcast:
The Big View: Ending Poverty in Your Community.
Available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
The video version is available to watch exclusively on our Youtube channel.
What is the Cliff Effect?
As part of our Big View Policy Platform, Circles USA specially assists local chapters in identifying, bridging, and eliminating the Cliff Effect. This phenomenon (also known as a “benefits cliff”) happens when a raise or other income gain triggers the loss of benefits worth more than the wage increase. Our multi-pronged approach supports workers facing the Cliff and offers alternatives to employers and policy makers hoping to mitigate its effects.
How is Circles USA resolving
the Cliff Effect?
For seven years, Circles USA has been conducting research and developing tools to better inform families and policy makers about this barrier that too often keeps people trapped in poverty.
Circles USA recently produced a policy platform that provides local, national, and federal recommendations for mitigating the Cliff Effect.
In previous years, Circles USA prototyped a planning tool to estimate the income levels that prompt the loss of benefits. Additionally, several states commissioned our researchers to make recommendations. For Michigan, Circles USA produced a field scan of solutions nationwide. For New Mexico, our report included case studies that point to ways to resolve the Cliff Effect. Several Circles chapters also piloted an online calculator developed by Leap Fund. This tool helps recipients of public benefits understand whether they will hit a cliff, when it will happen, and how long it will take them to recover.
More recently, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Community and Economic Development department created the three tools to uncover the barriers to, and opportunities for, improved economic mobility. These tools make the data easily accessible for community planning and decision-making. Circles chapters piloted these resources to better support those who are facing the benefis cliff.
Resources for Understanding and Addressing the Cliff Effect
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Three tools to uncover the barriers to, and opportunities for, improved economic mobility
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Snapshot—Assists in understanding the potential short-term financial impact of a new job or income change.
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Dashboard—Assists in long-term career planning and flags potential financial barriers to career advancement.
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Planner—Assists in detailed career planning while creating a customized budget that helps users navigate potential financial barriers to career advancement.
Know Your Community’s Wages and Cost of Living
National Trends
For more information or to get involved, contact us.
- Sep 9
Meet Curriculum Development Specialist Kris Alexander
My Name Is… Kris Alexander, and I'm deeply passionate about our beautiful planet, drawing on my diverse life experiences to support the...
- Sep 3
Resources and Partners For Civic Engagement: How To Take Action
At Circles USA, we believe in the power of civic engagement to drive positive change in our communities. Whether you’re looking to get...
- Aug 26
Appreciations for Yvette Trujillo, Outgoing CUSA Chief Integrity Officer
After two years of heartfelt service to Circles USA, Chief Integrity Officer Yvette Trujillo will step down to pursue her next great...
- Aug 26
A Fond Farewell from Our Chief Integrity Officer
Dear Circles USA Community, With mixed feelings of gratitude and a bit of sadness, I’m announcing that my position as Chief Integrity...
- Aug 19
Podcast Recap: Circles USA’s The Big View: Ending Poverty in Your Community – Season One
Since 1998, Circles USA has been building community to end poverty through intentional friendships, personal transformation, and systemic...
- Aug 16
NEW! Circles Youth Talk Money, Happiness and More in Short Videos
At Circles USA, we believe that people experiencing poverty are the most qualified to advocate for themselves—to describe their unique...
- Aug 12
Circles Honors International Youth Day With Child Tax Credit Push
Circles Honors International Youth Day With Child Tax Credit Push Circles USA works with families of all shapes and sizes to build...
- Aug 5
Hosting an Empowering Voter Education Event
Make A Plan To Vote: Hosting an Empowering Voter Education Event Wednesday, August 28, 12 pm PT/1 pm MT/2 pm CT/3 pm ET Join Circles NWA...
- Jul 24
Circles Honors Disability Pride Month: Pt. 2
Circles USA salutes Disability Pride Month, a campaign launched to commemorate the original passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act...
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