Communities Rise is excited to spotlight one of our amazing 2026 Communities of Opportunity Cohort organizations, Porsesh Policy Research Institute. Porsesh Policy Research Institute (Porsesh) is rooted in decolonizing data, with a mission to produce fact-based analysis that informs constructive interventions, programs and solutions. They are focused on fostering Community centered data and research to support communities in designing tailored services and initiatives to better serve the communities’ needs. Through what they have learned in the 2026 Seattle HSD Cohort so far, Porsesh has gained a better understanding of the power of community and communal learning spaces. Currently led by Ehsan Shayegan, Porsesh’s work highlights communities developing and owning their data and stories to better advocate for their own needs and develop their own initiatives.
Communities Rise has had the opportunity to work with Porsesh in a multi faceted way throughout 2026. In March Porsesh became part of the 2026 Seattle HSD Cohort and had the opportunity to participate in a mix of organizational coaching, peer learning spaces and workshops to further develop their skills as non profit leaders. During the 2026 year they have grown in their abilities to recruit board members and strategic planning. Cohort organizations receive one on one capacity building coaching, access to communal resources/learning spaces, and attend workshops to develop their knowledge and skills. “I didn’t realize how powerful it is to be a platform for community to come together and experience this community power, being together, learning from each other,” Ehsan said.
In September, Porsesh stepped further into the spirit of community power and shared learning as they hosted a “Data for Impact” workshop. During this workshop they showed attendees accessible and thoughtful ways to integrate storytelling into their data collection processes in addition to simple methods and tools to refine data collection processes overall.
Porsesh has had the opportunity to work with Alex Dorros as their capacity building coach. In their coaching sessions, Porsesh is able to better prioritize their work towards their long term goals and receive resources that helped keep them on track, which Ehsan stated “It’s been amazing, very clarifying” while reflecting on his coaching experience.
Porsesh is one of our beloved cohort organizations representing south King County and sponsored by the King County Communities Of Opportunity. They’re also soon to be a participant in some of our exciting upcoming pilot programs! They’re looking forward to new board development projects and applying their learning to pursue new funding opportunities.
Now more than ever in these unfolding times Porsesh is continuing to support their community with their ethical research practices, making sure that communities are the owners of their stories and empowering them with the ability to use their data in the ways the collective determines is beneficial. All of their research projects and programs foster the power of community collectiveness, including decolonization practices and ethical data ownership practices that set the framework for the communities they serve to flourish. You can find Porsesh Policy Research Institute at https://porsesh.us/ or find them through their current programming.
