Ajené Livingston

Impact

Where people came together and things moved

Programs, partnerships, and community work across Coatesville and beyond. Open any project for the full story.

7 featured stories

More work

Partnerships, health equity, and regional programs

  • The Alliance for Health Equity

    Strategic relationships for health equity

    As Senior Director for Strategic Relationships, I led relationship building, philanthropy, health-equity partnerships, and community engagement.

    See Tastes of Coatesville

  • America250 Greater Coatesville

    Outreach and community planning

    Outreach and community planning for America250 in Greater Coatesville.

    Watch the Declaration panel

  • The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University

    Arts and regional programs

    As Arts and Regional Programs Manager, I ran arts and regional programming and nonprofit professional development, and supported the transition of Business on Board.

Your project could be next

Let's talk about what you're building.

Start a conversation
Ajené leading a hands-on trust exercise with Work Enclave participants, guiding them through a course of colored cups on the floor.

Chester County OIC

Work Enclave program

A five-week paid program that helps people build skills and connect with local employers through work experience and professional development.

$800Kprogrammatic grant secured with support from the program's results

  • Program design
  • Resource development
  • Partnerships
  • Workforce
Situation
The program was designed to help people build skills and connect with local employment through paid work experience and professional development.
What I did
Developed and piloted the five-week program, recruited participants, coordinated program relationships, and built the tracking and implementation processes.
Result
50 participants recruited. 60 percent identified as candidates for local jobs with benefits. Those results supported securing an $800,000 programmatic grant.
Role
Consultant
A tenor in a tuxedo sings while holding hands with a smiling guest in the front row, the full room of seated and standing guests watching, at Tastes of Coatesville.

The Alliance for Health Equity

Tastes of Coatesville

I brought The Alliance for Health Equity's signature fundraiser back home to Coatesville and led it from concept to the final ask: the program, the donor invitations, the artists, the production, and hosting the evening itself.

$50,000raised in one evening with about 100 guests, including roughly half of the Alliance's board

  • Fundraising strategy
  • Donor cultivation
  • Talent curation
  • Event production
Situation
The Alliance's long-running Taste of Coatesville had most recently run as Taste of Chesco. The event needed its Coatesville identity back, and a reason for donors to feel connected to the community the Alliance serves.
What I did
As Senior Director for Strategic Relationships, I shaped the concept, program, and fundraising strategy; cultivated current and prospective donors; drew on more than 20 years of relationships to bring in the artists and the chef; produced the evening; and hosted it, carrying the Alliance's mission and the ask to the room.
The program
Opera tenor Richard Troxell, a Coatesville native and longtime friend. Michelin-trained chef Isaac Dickinson, also from Coatesville. A collaborative artwork guests made with visual artist shanina dionna. Live floral design by Gail McAdams of The Stem's End. Singer-songwriters Haily Watson and Nile Gay. Strings from Allegro Event Music.
The evening
"An Elegant Evening Under the Stars." Cocktails on the lawn, then indoors for dinner, performances, the Alliance's story, and the ask.
Result
$50,000 for the Alliance's general operations. Current donors deepened their support, and new guests met the Alliance for the first time.
Where and when
Brooklawn Farm in Kennett Square, home of Nancy and Crosby Wood. October 18, 2025.

The most meaningful fundraising experiences are not simply about asking people to give. They're about creating spaces where people feel connected to something larger than themselves.

What I took from the evening
  • A chef in whites plates dozens of small tasting cups at a long kitchen counter.
  • A pianist at a keyboard accompanies the tenor in a parlor full of seated guests.
  • A cellist and a violinist play beside a staircase decorated with branches and dried flowers.
  • A florist builds a large arrangement of hydrangeas and dark foliage on a mantel.
  • A smiling artist stands beside an easel and paint table, ready for guests to add to the artwork.
  • A singer in a black dress and shawl performs in a sitting room, guests listening from the doorway.
Wm. Chester Ruth Legacy Project board members around a U-shaped table under a chandelier at the Hamilton Club, with flip charts of sticky notes and a screen at the front of the room.

Wm. Chester Ruth Legacy Project

From momentum to the next chapter

A volunteer board honoring inventor William Chester Ruth had more goals than capacity. I measured where the board stood, facilitated its strategic retreat, and turned the result into the three-year plan the board now governs by.

46 to 4goals from the 2023 plan, focused into four strategic priorities for 2026–2029

  • Board retreat
  • Strategic planning
  • Governance
  • Measurement
Situation
The board had real momentum: signature events, education programs, and short films that carry Ruth's story. It was also stretched thin, with no staff and a long list of goals from its 2023 retreat that many members couldn't see the status of.
What I did
Designed a survey that asked every board member to rate each of the 46 goals, and wrote the progress report. Facilitated the board's strategic retreat, moving from grounding and reality to vision, focus, execution, and commitment. Wrote the 2026–2029 strategic plan and the board presentation that asked for decisions.
The plan
Four priorities: governance and capacity building; awareness, storytelling, and public presence; education and youth impact; and resource development. A quarterly dashboard so every member knows where the work stands, a cap of six to eight active projects, and a succession plan for board officers.
Where and when
Retreat at the Hamilton Club, Lancaster, March 28, 2026

Today is not about adding more to your plate. It's about deciding what actually belongs on it.

From the opening of the board retreat
Implementation roadmap for the William Chester Ruth Legacy Project. Year 1, foundation and structure: codify the story platform, expand board recruitment, build grant readiness, formalize the education model, establish a board dashboard. Year 2, scale and partnerships. Year 3, stability and institutionalization.
Families doing yoga together on colorful mats under tall evergreens at Sundays in the Park in Coatesville.

Coatesville Parks and Recreation Commission

People. Programs. Parks.

As commission chair, I helped build a free, year-round calendar of programs and events in Coatesville's parks, and wrote a strategic plan framework for the City's parks system. Every activity is free, welcoming, and built around families.

Year-roundfree programs, community events, and a completed Palmer Park renovation

  • Community programming
  • Civic partnerships
  • Park planning
  • Youth opportunity
Situation
Parks and public spaces can build healthy relationships across a community. The commission set out to make activities free, welcoming, and family-centered, and to connect residents with local providers and their parks.
What I did
As Chair, I supported the commission's community programming and wrote its proposal, People. Programs. Parks. The framework covers a master-planning process, commissioner portfolios, a coordinated program calendar and summer opportunities network, youth and resident engagement, park inventory and stewardship tools, a weighted park prioritization scorecard, partnership and funding pathways, measures, and a 30/60/90-day action agenda.
Result
A free, year-round program and event framework linking local instructors and providers with public spaces; a calendar of community events; the completed Palmer Park renovation; and a strategic plan framework for City consideration.

Weekly

Sundays in the Park: inclusive theatre and storytelling, family yoga, family crafts, and fitness for adults and families at every skill level.

Monthly

Clean and Safe park cleanups with the United States Air Force, OIC Enclave, and 2nd Century. Community gardening with Penn State Master Gardeners. Informal music with local community drummers.

Summer

Free youth intramural sports with Brandywine YMCA and Coatesville Youth Initiative. A free lunch program with drawing, painting, and park beautification with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Bridge Town Toons.

Community event calendar

  • FebruaryAnnual Pancake BreakfastBIPOC literacy awareness and culturally diverse books for Black History Month
  • AprilEarth DayGiving back to nature through earth-friendly practices
  • FallAutumn FestPumpkins, costumes, candy, and art in the park
  • DecemberLight the NightThe Pavilion of Trees, Coatesville's community tree lighting

Parks and capital projects

  • Palmer Park renovation, completed
  • National Fitness Campaign outdoor fitness center at Victor Abdala Park, announced as planned and funded
  • Ash Park, funding secured for renovation phases
Ajené in a Coatesville Area Branch NAACP Juneteenth shirt at the Freedom Celebration, balloons in red, black, and green behind him.

Coatesville Area Branch NAACP

Coatesville Juneteenth Freedom Celebration

As chair of the branch's Juneteenth Committee, I helped launch and lead the city's first Juneteenth Freedom Celebration: a joyful, intergenerational day honoring freedom, health, and heritage.

3connected experiences in one shared celebration: a basketball tournament, a Freedom Parade, and a Community Fair

  • Community organizing
  • Coalition building
  • Health equity
  • Event leadership
Situation
Coatesville needed a joyful, intergenerational way to honor Juneteenth, make Black history visible in the life of the city, and bring residents together around freedom, health, and heritage.
What I did
Built the day around three connected experiences: a father and son and father and daughter basketball tournament, a Freedom Parade, and an afternoon Community Fair and Health Equity Celebration. The parade route passed African American historic places, with history displays and markers honoring the legacy of the Coatesville Elks Parade.
Result
Residents connected with health and wellness resources alongside local schools, churches, civic organizations, and community groups, with sports, parade participation, cultural performance, music, and food in one celebration.
When
year of the first celebration
Ajené presenting at the lectern to a full room of professionals during an Arts + Business Council Designing Leadership session, program slides on the screens.

Arts + Business Council for Greater Philadelphia

Business on Board and leadership programs

I led Business on Board and supported Designing Leadership and Digital Drawing Board, giving nonprofit and business leaders practical ways to learn from one another and build stronger leadership relationships.

1,500+alumni kept engaged across the network

  • Leadership development
  • Board engagement
  • Curriculum
  • Sponsor relations
Situation
Nonprofit and business leaders benefit from practical ways to learn from one another and build stronger leadership relationships.
What I did
Designed curriculum, worked with facilitators, recruited participants, delivered content, and supported alumni engagement, sponsor and foundation relationships, and program communications.
Result
Maintained engagement with a network of more than 1,500 alumni.
The full company of Coatesville Cultural Society's The Gospel at Colonus on stage at First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, with Ajené at the lectern.

Coatesville Cultural Society

Community theatre and arts education

For decades the Cultural Society has given people in Coatesville and nearby communities a place in theatre, storytelling, learning, and cultural exchange. I've produced, performed, and taught there, from one-person shows to large casts.

40+productions, with casts as large as 75 and budgets above $100,000

  • Production
  • Youth education
  • Storytelling
  • Facilitation
What I did
Production management, acting and playwriting classes, youth outreach, summer and after-school programs, Coatesville Children's Theatre, community workshops, and school assemblies. I have performed in and helped create productions from one-person work to large casts.
Result
More than 40 productions, casts as large as 75, budgets above $100,000, and hundreds of assembly programs across dozens of schools.
Press
Broad Street Review, May 22, 2018, on the Cultural Society's production of The Gospel at Colonus