Meet Kayla Frawley of The People’s House LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Frawley

Hi Kayla , can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am a Medicaid mom, who gave birth on Medicaid in Colorado in 2016 and then 5 years later I expanded Medicaid for postpartum moms with a small coalition of Birth Equity leaders. I have since worked on nearly 100 pieces of legislation at the Colorado State Capitol since from tax policies for working families to expanding state programming that I myself have been dependent on as a single parent in Denver Colorado. I am proof that when we honor our lived experience and passion, we can change state law. While we can’t always change our own circumstances we can change them for thousands of people when we tell our stories and remind law makers what “lived expertise” truly is. In 2019 I made a shift to working in the policy and advocacy sector and by 2020 I started consulting nonprofits as a Policy Manager on leadership development for families like mine. I led a Community Ambassador Program where my mentees learned like I did – that as a Medicaid mom you have a lot more agency and power than you realize. Together we made the biggest tax changes in Colorado for working families and got our undocumented neighbors health care like they deserve. In 2022 I registered our firm, which is now 6 contractors strong – placing community leaders in collaborative projects with government departments and nonprofits who want to centralize lived expertise in policy and advocacy. We pay a thriving hourly contracting wage to leaders (including a bilingual differential) who are ready to use their personal expertise in strategic design and support for working families in Colorado. As a single parent I know what kind of space you have to fight for in policy and advocacy and I have carved out a whole pathway for my community to find their way into a exclusive and competitive field – to make the changes they deserve to be leaders in.

As a single mom in Colorado who has faced the barriers of poverty and being a “systems involved family” I am proud to build with my community. We have built a firm of systems involved families that serve as vehicles of change in those exact systems.

My first career I was a Midwife, where I learned the power in reminding someone of their own autonomy and will, and I share that gift with my mentees and partners at The People’s House LLC every day now. Agency is the first lesson in addressing power.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not. There have been many struggles.

Us single parents spend a lot of time in survival mode. We are cash poor, strategic, resourceful and constantly have to say “not today”, “not us”, “not me”.
As a leader who leads from my lived experience I am still amazed at the lack of trauma informed frameworks still in our traditional policy and advocacy nonprofit sector. It is severely isolating to be “the only” in the room, and there is a unique weathering to working on the issues that you live day to day. However, leaders like us get to experience a magic that can’t be anyone else’s – we change what we live, we are full agents of not only our lives but those around us. There is a profound experience of being both the harmed and the one making the change. While I have struggled a lot in this I have built and gained so much more power from it.

I have had to overcome a lot and deepening my own therapy to “deal with the oppressive realities” of single American parenthood, let alone fight to lead in the exclusive, elite and often bully-oriented sectors of politics and policy. The economics of engaging in civic processes is still disadvantaging to single parents – we compromise and give up more to engage including our time with our children and ability to climb leadership ladders. I built The People’s House LLC to offer MORE leadership to those farthest from the opportunity and we have been successful in working with 5 nonprofits and 1 government agency in 2024 alone. There continues to be a large gap of those with lived expertise and those in political leadership positions – including in nonprofit leadership and in office, and I intend to continue working on that by mentoring young and older leaders through our firm to reach their full autonomy as leaders in policy and advocacy and organizational development – for and with Coloradans.

I have been burdened with educating my sector a lot about how exclusive policy making is for single parents and highlighting working class issues which is exhausting (anyone who has to teach others about their own oppression can relate). When organizations are not family oriented in policy and advocacy this absolutely perpetuates our struggle to engage them in policy and advocacy. As a small business owner, a single parent who face economic desperation a lot you have to carve out your ability to envision life for yourself. You have visualize how big the win is, you have to learn how to psychologically free yourself from anything you can not control. Because above all, single parents and entrepreneurs – we are the most resourceful people you will ever meet, and believing in yourself is the most important and sometimes – the last thing we consider. From having to find consistent internal motivation, access to capital to grow and having to stand up to bullies – the path is laced with struggle for anyone, let alone single working parents. It is our resilience in what we have lived through that pushes us to overcome it all and metabolize the pain, that is why I love us single parents – we turn struggle into flourishing businesses even amidst it all.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The People’s House LLC?
Our mission is to amplify community leadership in program and policy design in Colorado. We do this by supporting local leaders to advance systems change in their communities through networking and consulting on projects supported by nonprofits and or governmental agencies and departments. Our strategies and expert consultation serve as a bridge and access avenue for everyday advocates who want to use their lived experience for systems change. We have helped executive coaching for new Executive Directors to supporting new non profit business plans to a struggling business to strategic planning with a small nonprofit focused on community safety. The way we design projects is by doing deep listening to community, including in 1-on-1s, listening sessions and facilitated dialogue to move organizations to their next goal. Our vision is to one day have a state where working Coloradans can influence policy change and development at every stage in the process, with ease – and not just through nonprofit membership organizations but through their own individual political autonomy. Simply stated, our mission is to put people back in the House. We are working to build a Colorado where working Coloradans are centralized leaders in the programs and policies that impact them the most because policies, services, and programs are the most powerful when those most impacted are central to increasing their efficiency and impact. Our services include strategic planning, facilitation, short project management, coalition convening, legislation stakeholder and development, campaign design and management, communications planning and workshops geared towards transitioning from community engagement to community leadership.

Our former clients include Elephant Circle, Seasons Birth Center, Denver Alliance for Street Health Response, Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver University, Bring Our Neighbors Home Coalition, Colorado Home Visiting Coalition and others. We envision a Colorado that is developed by those most historically oppressed, farthest from opportunity – but closest to the issue. This means ann inclusive policy process in which working Coloradans can not only engage civically but can also lead in policy ideas and creating law and programming that impacts their lives. We work with organizations who share our values or who are striving to get there.

With decades of collective experience, we bring specific expertise to non-profits, governmental agencies and do executive coaching on non-profit management, event planning, legislation design, coalition building, leadership program development & community engagement. Our fees start at $55 an hour & we provide opportunities for organizers to mobilize systems change in their area of expertise and be paid.

We have been showcased and presented at 3 conferences – Good Business Colorado’s Level up Academy in Denver, Reproductive Justice Summit in Chicago, and Worth Rising – Prison Phone Call Conference, Minneapolis. Join us, we are built for these times.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Yes, meet with people. Meet with many people to find your influential mentors and role models. Often us entrepreneurs outgrow slow progress and do not be afraid to let your old hero’s fall so you can step forward and find the inspiration you need to persist. It is important to have the role models – whether it’s someone you know well or someone who shares your values and navigates the world in ways you want to. They keep us inspired and it is important to continue seeking new north stars. I have old mentors that I may do not see frequently, but I know they will give me the right advise and I lean on them. Do not be afraid to find people that are different than you – it is a huge mistake to position yourself among only those that think like you. If you can – find a mentor who actually thinks differently but that you can admire. They will provide insight you may not have. For working class people – we are often always our own peer mentors, cause often – we are the first, and so we have to see the mentor inside each of us too. I spend many hours mentoring other single parents who want to find their way, because I believe in the power of mentoring and how it changes the life course of people.

Never give up your creativity, specially in the face of political pressure, you will find that your creativity and innovation ignite your skills into the world, so stay away from folks that dim that shine. Politics is bully oriented, learn how to be tough and gentle, be tough on systems – and be gentle on people, we are all trying our best. Good mentors build you up, they do not engage in tearing others down. True mentors do not use weird legal tactics to pressure people, which is abundant behavior in politics – so stay clear of those folks.

Mainly, find people who have been through what you have, they have lived expertise that your body and soul know, find connection with those people. Giving my network opportunities for belonging and connection has been extremely rewarding, and I recommend doing just that to network.

Pricing:

• starting monolingual contractors are paid $50
• 2nd year monolingual contractors are paid $55
• bilingual contractors doing bilingual work are paid $75 an hour
• Full high level facilitation is priced at $150-200 an hour depending on project
• Project management and co-facilitation is priced at $100 per hour for nonprofit and $150 for government agency

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thepeopleshouseco.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaylaqfrawley/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ms.kaylafrawley
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayla-q-frawley-74329a175/
• Twitter: https://x.com/KaylaQFrawley

Image Credits
Kayla Frawley