Redesigning how
government works —
and who it works for.

Policy Strategy

Narrative Change

Democratic Redesign

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Hi, I'm Niketa.

I've spent my career studying the failures of democracy — and working to redesign the systems that produce them.

Whether I was in classrooms, courtrooms, or city halls, I've seen the impacts of a government that was never designed to serve all of us. The harm of this reality is felt deepest in the hopelessness it generates — the civic trauma that accumulates over generations, teaching us not to trust a system that will let us down.

But that past doesn't have to be our future.

My work is about reclaiming government as a tool to fulfill our duty of care. By redesigning how we govern — and what we fight for — we can build a democracy worthy of our belief.

To get there, our governance must be responsive, accountable, and engaging to earn public trust. Our economy has to be reconfigured — designed to prioritize our health, care for our most vulnerable, and leave a thriving planet for future generations.

We deserve a future that allows us to live into our own humanity.
Let's build it.

Media & Speaking

Press & Public Voice

Select examples of public speaking, writing, and media interviews.

Video & Talks

What is Civic Trauma?

Discussion with Chicago Department Leaders · Equity Trainings

Civic Practice and Civic Systems Organizing

The Future is Not What it Used to Be · ArtsLink Assembly 2023

Navigating Change: How do the Stories We Tell Shape What's Possible?

Public Narrative · 2021

Original Writing

Voting for Racial Justice Means Demanding More in the Chicago Election

Op-Ed · Chicago Reporter · 2019

Civic Love, not Civic Engagement

Essay · Changing the Frame · UIC Institute for Research on Race & Public Policy

Interviews

City releases its first racial equity report

WBEZ · 2023

The First 100: Covid-19 Took Black Lives First. It Didn't Have To.

ProPublica · 2020

Stakeholders Weigh In on Lightfoot's First 100 Days

WBEZ Morning Shift · 2019

Chicago mayor's 'pandemic budget' passes, but with the most opposition in 30 years

Injustice Watch · 2020

Speaking Bio Resume

Niketa Brar

Civic Strategist · Democracy Reformer

I'm a civic strategist working to change our political future. I've spent the last two decades studying the ways our democracy has failed us — and designing experiments that prove we can build a future rooted in care, dignity, and self-determination for all.

I've spent my career moving people from disillusionment to practicing collective power — and reclaiming government as a tool to care for all of us. This work has brought me into partnership with movement organizers, government leaders, philanthropic partners, civil rights attorneys, and academic researchers. Beyond the many hats I've worn, I've always been a bridger — someone leaders trust to help them build bold policy ideas, and the coalitions necessary to win.

Whether I'm building policy, public process, organizations, or coalitions, I'm clear-eyed about who I'm building for: all of us. In a nation where power has been hoarded by the few, my approach centers communities who have learned not to trust a system that wasn't built for them. My work aims not just to engage people differently — but to build the policies, governing practices, and civic systems that shift how power works.

We have yet to see a democracy that effectively serves a multiracial nation. But by weaving together new governing practices, policies, and narratives, we can open a pathway to a new future — recognizing our shared struggles, rooting ourselves in solidarity, and daring enough to build the democracy we deserve.

Governance

Let's build policy — together.

I believe building policy together can change us. Done well, it can be an act of political healing.

We've never experienced a democracy designed for us to solve problems together. But what if governing was a collective exercise — one that can bring us closer to one another?

As a facilitator and adviser on collaborative governance practices, I've seen how building policy together can connect us to each other's needs, rooting us in a duty of care for each other and our shared future.

Collaborative Governance Can Look Like:

Collective Policy Agendas

How do we bridge needs and build solidarity?

In the 2019 Vote Equity Project, I co-designed a process where 2000+ residents built one policy agenda, defining the narrative of the municipal election.

Community Budgeting

How do we build budgets that reflect our values?

In the People's Budget Chicago, my team engaged neighborhood budgeting circles to envision safe and thriving communities — and build a city budget for it.

Shared Problem Solving

How do we solve problems in partnership with constituents and government leaders?

For this toolkit, I joined collaborative governance experts to reflect on national best practices and offer guidance to an emerging field.

Racial Equity Impact Assessments

How do we redesign harmful policies?

This case study shares how a small group of us committed to stirring up good trouble — and ended up redesigning low-income housing in Chicago.

Policy

Architecting a future rooted in care.

Throughout my career, I've worked to reconcile the aspiration of a nation founded on the promise of self-determination — with a nation never designed to deliver it.

For fourteen years I've advised government leaders on the economic architecture of a more just society — redesigning Community Development Block Grant formulas for equitable investment, building municipal investment strategies that leverage public pension funds for broader social benefit, and supporting cities to adopt growth models that address racial wealth gaps while paying dividends to our environment.

Now, I'm working to build models for the economy we need — an Economy of Care. I support policymakers seeking to leverage public dollars and public jobs to further the duty of care: for our health and well-being, our communities, and our planet.

Selected Publications

2024

Building the Way Forward — Policy Guidebook

Racial wealth equity & climate sustainability strategies for city governments

2023

Chicago for the People — Mayoral Transition Report

Economic Vitality and Equity · Pgs. 33–48

2019

Lightfoot Transition Committees — Mayoral Transition Report

Education · Pgs. 44–53

2018

Our Equitable Future: A Response to the Cost of Segregation

Pgs. 16–18

2017–20

Racial Equity Impact Assessment Reports

MegaTIF Developments (2020) · Logan Square Infrastructure (2018) · National Teachers Academy (2017)

Narrative

It is our duty to expand not just what's possible — but what's expected.

In 2017, I left my job knowing that I would not be able to shift the culture of Chicago city government working within one sector. So I built something different: an organizing approach to culture change, seeding ideas across the civic ecosystem and aligning narratives to build public demand for reform.

Within five years, that strategy built a public demand answered by Chicago's first Office of Equity and Racial Justice, a citywide budgeting process rooted in equity, and a field-leading collaborative governance approach. None of that was possible without narrative organizing.

Narrative is how movements make new ideas feel inevitable. It's the work of shifting what people believe is possible — and changing what they're willing to accept. I train and advise grassroots campaigns, government leaders, and political organizations in how to build narrative organizing that drives social change.

Media ↓

Current Work

Public Projects

Reparative Democracy Design Lab

Convening a learning exchange of Midwest-based democracy practitioners exploring forms of democratic engagement that rebuild civic trust. In partnership with the Othering and Belonging Institute. Learn more.

Civic Trust Index

Building a strategy framework and diagnostic tool for practitioners working to address root causes of civic disillusionment and activate wider civic participation in their communities. Currently in development. Interested in piloting? I'd love to hear from you.

From Chicago, With Love.

Writing across each of Chicago's 77 neighborhoods, reflecting on community and the emergence of a new democracy. See selected essays.

Equity Advisory Council

Supporting local implementation of government improvement efforts stewarded by the body that tracks and supports transformation across Chicago's 37 city departments and agencies. This work keeps me rooted and accountable to how public servants are experiencing this time, and where additional support is needed for our field.