Organizing is an art and a discipline

In our work, leadership development is not simply a set of skills or learned behaviors. Rather it is a dynamic process of becoming. This process of becoming goes beyond the mere learning of organizing skills and extends into other areas of a person’s life. As people become leaders, they are transformed; they become bigger people. Their lives become a more true reflection of their human dignity. - Jim Keddy

Black and white vintage photograph of a family group posing outdoors with eight children and two adults, surrounded by plants and flowers, with a small altar or shrine in the center.

A vintage black-and-white photograph of a man in military or formal attire, holding a striped hat, with torn and aged paper.

Jose’s family roots from San Juan de la Montaña, Jalisco and Aguascalientes, Mexico

A chalkboard with large text reading 'Nephesh Organizing,' and smaller text below reading 'A consulting practice to support the art and science of grassroots organizing & power building.' There are also handwritten words and arrows on the upper right side of the chalkboard, including 'Power,' 'Community,' 'Leadership,' 'Values,' and 'Qud Pro Qud.'

Nephesh Organizing provides technical and strategic support for organizations and individuals that want to build grassroots, leader-led political power to influence policy.

Black and white portrait of a smiling man wearing glasses.

Through Nephesh Organizing, I seek to partner with organizations and individuals committed to improving society, grounded in values that call for building power and cultivating new leadership. I also love supporting individuals who are looking to deepen their personal leadership formation and refine the mindsets and practices of community organizing in their work.

Organizing is not a skill acquired overnight. It demands time, training, mentoring, reflection, and discipline before one truly begins to think like an organizer. And, as with any rigorous profession, mastery comes gradually—through practice, persistence, mentorship, and growth—until one develops into a professional of the craft.

My calling lies in helping people and organizations make this odyssey: Moving beyond staff-driven advocacy toward grassroots, leader-led movements. In doing so, we become not only more effective at transforming civic society, but also more powerful in shaping and uplifting the lives and capacities of people themselves over the long run.

- Jose N. Arenas

About Nephesh & Jose Arenas

I draw on decades of grassroots organizing experience and deep connections to national networks of power-building organizations, all focused on cultivating local leadership to drive the work. I have helped shape organizations and coalitions that honor the best traditions of old-school community organizing while equipping them with the most relevant tools for building power today: issue expertise, communications, research, policy, legislation, and political strategy.