Circles USA Joins EmPath at Disrupting Poverty 2026 in Boston
- 12 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Circles USA’s Executive Director, Kamatara, joined national allies and peer orgs in March for the 2026 Disrupting Poverty Conference at Boston University, hosted by Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath). The conference—geared to EMPath’s mission of building a learning network for practitioners and professionals working to promote economic mobility in their own communities—drew hundreds of nonprofit, philanthropy, government, and academic leaders to Boston for four days of impactful learning, networking, and change.
Disrupting Poverty began with two days of public content and concluded with two more featuring exclusive programming for members of EMPath's global learning network, the Economic Mobility Exchange™. The convening, aptly themed Rise Together, offered keynotes and panels with distinguished speakers, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities. Conference speakers included leaders from Circles USA, MDRC, Jobs for the Future, Harvard University, Methodist Healthcare Ministries, and more.
“Organizations in the national anti-poverty arena have really turned a corner,” Kamatara reports. “We’re no longer combative and competitive. Instead, groups like EMPath and Circles are building collective power to help our networks access greater resources and collective action. Our collaboration is an important form of social capital…it gives our people hope to be part of a rising movement to end poverty.”
"Our collaboration is an important form of social capital…it gives our people hope to be part of a rising movement to end poverty."
EMPath and Circles USA are partners in Beyond the Cliff (BtC), the recently launched Cliff Effect coalition. Kamatara connected with Dr. Jennifer Lowe, EMPath’s Vice President of Knowledge and Partnerships, at BtC’s Hill Day last October in Washington, DC. When a seat opened up at the Circles Salon, Kamatara knew that Dr. Lowe was a “must-have” for this dynamic first-time event—where Dr. Lowe did, she recalls, contribute crucial expertise in dialogue and community building.
“After that,” Kamatara continues, “Jen and I met quite a few times online to understand more deeply what our organizations do to foster economic mobility and how to collaborate. At first blush, that seems like a pretty normal progress; but what makes this very special to me is that EMPath could be considered our competition. However, that is just a scarcity mindset. So instead, we asked: How can we learn from one another? In what ways can Circles and EMPath offer joint advocacy to remove the barriers that keep people in poverty, to amplify the voices of our participants across the nation, and to consider how our two models might work together in a local community? Circles as an organization firmly believes that anti-poverty organizations can and should work together.”
"Circles as an organization firmly believes that anti-poverty organizations can and should work together."
Much like our local chapters build social capital in their own communities, Circles USA leadership has cultivated relationships with key cross-sector partners over time. One such opportunity arose from Kamatara’s partnership with Lynette Fields, Executive Director of Poverty Solutions Group (lead organization for Circles Central Florida and longtime local and national Circles advocate). In October of 2024, Kamatara was invited—through Lynette’s longtime relationship with Emerge Solutions, which supports Getting Ahead and Bridges programming—to offer a breakout session at Emerge’s Together We Thrive conference. This presentation reconnected Circles with Think Tank, Employer Resource Network USA, and (of course) Emerge Solutions… all of whom were instrumental to CUSA’s 2025 National Leadership Conference, where Lynette and Dan Jennings of Emerge presented a breakout session on how chapters can work productively with other local anti-poverty initiatives.
To underscore coalition-building as the heart of Beyond the Cliff and the Circles Salon, Kamatara’s breakout session at the Disrupting Poverty conference addressed building social capital for economic mobility. This session explored the three kinds of relationships necessary for people to leave poverty behind permanently and also the social capital our service organizations need to truly support their clients. The room, she shares, “was overflowing with people…so much so that I’ve been asked to lead an encore virtual workshop for EMPath’s national community of practice. There’s social capital in action!”
So what’s next in the national anti-poverty arena for Circles USA?
Kamatara will attend and present at the state convention for Minnesota Community Action in late April. She will also present to the direct service providers of the American Public Human Services Association in August, discussing social capital and co-presenting on the Cliff Effect with partner org Leap Fund’s Executive Director Shoshana Marder. Later in 2026, Circles chapters will continue to partner with ThinkTank for their annual At the Table event. In October, Circles USA staff will share more on social capital, the Cliff Effect, and the Trauma of Money at Emerge Solutions’ latest Together We Thrive conference.
CUSA is preparing a joint webinar with EMPath and Family Promise to explore voting and nonpartisan civic engagement in 2026, Kamatara says, “so we can reach as many people as possible with clear information and the power to engage in the democratic process.”
She adds: “What year would be complete without a visit to Washington DC…and at least one more well-placed and powerful Circles Salon? Stay tuned!”
Circles USA offers heartfelt appreciation to our partner organizations who expand our resources and reach to do our work more effectively.
Building Community to End Poverty for 25+ Years
