Photo credit: Jessica Lofton-Williams

Meet Rosemary, one of the Coaches for the LeadersTrust, and hear what trust and accompaniment mean to her. Rosemary’s journey from opening a USDA-inspected slaughterhouse to supporting nonprofit leaders is rooted in deep trust and authentic connection. 

Maria: Rosemary, I’m so excited to connect with you today! Tell me a little bit about who you are, your history and what’s moving you right now. 

Rosemary: My passion for social justice started early. At 15, I challenged my high school administration and launched a Gay-Straight Alliance (now Gender and Sexuality Alliances—love the rebrand!). It was the late ’90s, and organizing taught me alot about courage and social change.

I studied women’s, Africana, and Latino studies at Antioch College, then earned an MPA from NYU’s Wagner School to deepen my nonprofit expertise. Now, I help strengthen organizations by getting underneath the hood of the organization, supporting the leaders doing extraordinary work. 

I also identify as a queer Latina with white and heterosexual privilege. I move through the world in a way that is not very clear to many people. And I have to name those privileged identities in order to be authentic. 

I’m currently launching a USDA inspected slaughterhouse and meat processing facility in Southeast Michigan in collaboration with my business and life partner. I come from a farmer lineage on both sides of my family. It’s in my DNA, but it’s also been incredibly humbling and complex. The journey t has helped me become a better coach!

Ultimately, I think I’m driven by my values and love for family and community. I want to create a world in which my children, all children, can live as their full authentic selves. 

Maria: Amazing. Excited to hear more about the meat processing business. So, what brought you to the LeadersTrust?

Rosemary: As soon as I came into contact with the LeadersTrust, I thought this is certainly where I want to be, because this is the crux of support for BIPOC social justice warriors on the ground doing challenging work across the country. It was exactly what I wanted to do.

I saw how you put the trust in LeadersTrust. It’s very liberatory and very intentional. From the gatherings you host where we make time and space to connect and build relationships to how you invest in the community of coaches. All of those were signs to me that this was not just talking, but also walking the talk. I love the process of accompaniment. It is a gift to do this work with others. 

Maria: At the LeadersTrust we talk a lot about the magic of accompaniment. What does accompaniment mean to you? 

Rosemary: To me, accompaniment means that we don’t have to do it alone. There’s an African proverb that says …If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. 

And so when we have people working alongside us, we are able to accomplish so much more than we would alone. And I think that that’s the huge value of the LeadersTrust and the accompaniment process to be able to support leaders on their journey towards justice. 

Maria: Can you share a little bit about your own experience of being accompanied? How has that happened in your own career trajectory?

Rosemary: As I mentioned earlier, I’m currently launching a USDA inspected slaughterhouse and meat processing facility in Southeast Michigan. Buying land, building a new building, creating a whole new infrastructure. It’s been a huge learning curve and it’s been a difficult, but beautiful journey. It’s now a multi-million dollar project! 

I think initially we went into it bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Like, yeah, we’re going to start a slaughterhouse, and this shouldn’t be hard! Over the past 10 years we have certainly learned a lot regarding the challenges of launching a new and complicated business like this. 

Thanks to grant funding, I’ve been able to bring on 20+ expert partners—feasibility analysts, facility designers, civil engineers, attorneys, and food‑safety planners. I don’t have to be the expert in everything. 

What started as professional contracts has grown into community: shared meals, brainstorming sessions, and genuine belief in our vision.

This journey proves that the right values-aligned team coupled with loving support changes everything—and that’s exactly the approach I bring to the leaders I support at the LeadersTrust.

Maria: That’s so beautiful! What would you say is at the heart of accompaniment? 

Rosemary: Trust is at the heart of accompaniment. It gives us all permission to take risks, to make mistakes, and grow together. Knowing we won’t fall alone changes everything.

When someone trusts me in that role, I hold it as sacred.

Looking back, trust and accompaniment helped me see my skills beyond internalized oppression. Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have believed I’d be leading a multi-million dollar project to start a meat processing facility, but here I am—doing it for my community, my family, and the environment.

Maria: These are powerful experiences and insights you’re describing. How does this show up when you are accompanying movement leaders?

Rosemary: It allows me to connect deeply with those who’ve faced immense challenges due to systemic oppression. It’s through this connection that I can embody empathy for leaders fighting against intersecting injustices, offering a space where they can be seen and heard.

Looking back, I often needed someone to give me permission. Permission to pause, to start over, to cancel or pivot. Now, as a coach, I get to offer that same permission to others: the freedom to pause, to breathe, to reimagine.

It’s really invigorating to be that sounding board, helping leaders see what they’re capable of, uncover solutions they hadn’t noticed, and tap into their full potential. 

Maria: I wonder, how much do the leaders you work with know your story?

Rosemary: Yes, I often share my meat processing journey—it’s part of who I am and encourages others to share their own stories. The LeadersTrust invested in us as coaches too. Early on, I partnered with a coach who taught me the value of conscious relationships, starting with sharing your own story and values. As coaches, we model this depth first.

Maria: Building trust and connecting on a human level seems essential to lean into strategy. Can you share an example of strategic work you’ve done?

Rosemary: Last year, my colleague and I facilitated a two-day retreat for an organization in LA. We started with music, personal storytelling, and connection. Then we centered the conversation on a capital campaign. Because of our intentional relationship and trust building at the start of the retreat, we were able to generate a  transformative experience for all participants – ourselves included!

Today, they have a building in escrow—it’s incredible how quickly it materialized. We encouraged them with, “Yes, you can,” and supported them with our own experience running capital campaigns. It’s about modeling what’s possible and showing we’re never alone in this work.

Maria: It truly is. Wow, I love this example. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in this work that you’d want others to carry forward?

Rosemary: I’d want us to fully embrace that everyone has a role in this ecosystem. It’s about balancing our shared humanity with our unique contributions. 

We can’t do everything, nor should we try. It’s about staying upright, leaning into what’s possible, and moving forward together—even in these uncertain times, especially in these uncertain times.