October 2025 
by Elizabeth Waetzig, ETB Co-Director

Rooted in Community, Growing Together

Hi! My name is Elizabeth Waetzig. I serve as the CEO of Change Matrix and the co-director of Expanding the Bench® (ETB). Fall is such a beautiful time of the year where I live in New England. When at my desk, I only have to look out of my window to see the vivid reds, oranges, and yellows of the changing leaves. I have been thinking a lot about trees. I have learned a lot about how they communicate through a network of roots under the earth where we can’t see. I am fascinated by the way in which they can care for each other, sending energy to a member of their tree community that is not thriving.

I think about trees when I reflect on our vision for Expanding the Bench. Ultimately, ETB is made up of interdependent people and groups of people who can gather within a community, communicate through the network, and care for one another. This speaks to me specifically right now as the infrastructure of the country is under attack. It feels like it is the strategy of those in power is to divide us, to break down partnerships, to diminish the voices of communities, and to promote fear among us. While I have valued community and practiced collaboration for my entire life and career, I have never felt more certain about the need for us to join together and act collectively than right now. And I have no illusions about how challenging this might be. Scarcity creates competition which can result in interpersonal tension. Collaboration is hard.

So in thinking about the evaluation ecosystem that is so critical to building knowledge right now (another thing being taken from us), we have individual choices, organizational choices and practice choices. I along with the ETB Team chooses community, compassion, and collective, culturally responsive approaches. As fall transitions to winter, let’s stand together against the elements.