History of PLE Institute

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The People with Lived Experience Institute was envisioned and birthed by Dr. B. Malaika Rumala, an interdisciplinary expert in technology, health, and science in Spring 2020 as a result of a myriad of inequities that she and other People with Lived Experiences encountered in a number of systems including but not limited to racism, injustices (such as environmental injustices), discrimination of all forms, and technology harms in processes and outcomes.  Dr. Rumala wanted an institute for People with Lived Experience to feel empowered and safe to lead as the source of solutions for systems transformation away from the traditional hierarchical and inequitable mental models that required vetting of voice and vetting of expertise.  Dr. Rumala believes that People with Lived experiences have expertise by virtue of living through inequities and having the solutions to transform change.  The first People with Lived Experience Institute Conference and resource training materials were launched in December 2020 to benefit individuals and organizations.  Dr. Rumala also engaged colleagues, Shemekka Ebony Stewart-Isaacs and Yolanda Roary, who were part of the originally formed PLE Leaders team to be part of this innovative People with Lived Experience Institute.  The vision for PLE Institute is growing and it can be accomplished due to the grassroots efforts of the multitudes who have solutions for systems transformation.  Further information about priority initiatives for PLE Institute can be found in the PLE Institute publication.  

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Background of PLE Institute

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The People with Lived Experience Institute is an umbrella to bring together local, national, and global leadership partners to share best practices and solutions for addressing inequities. The People with Lived Experience (PLE) Leadership team have a passion for addressing the root causes of inequities in communities.  The PLE Leadership team conducted listening sessions with communities impacted by inequities and the several themes arose as needs for authentically engaging people with lived experience in a sustainable way (Rumala, B.B., Coleman, S.E., Roary, Y. et.al. Engaging People with Lived Experience of Inequities: Assessment and Resource Guide (2020).  The themes that arose are voice, value, equity, power dynamics, ownership, resources, process, co-design, and co-leadership and these areas form the core of tailored services for individuals and organizations to achieve better and sustainable results by engaging people with lived experience of inequities.