The Groundwater Approach

Our name, our work, is rooted in the “Groundwater” metaphor, a simple tale of dying fish that goes like this:

If you have a lake in front of your house and one fish is floating belly-up dead, it makes sense to analyze the fish. But if you come out to that same lake and half the fish are floating belly-up dead, what should you do? This time you’ve got to analyze the lake. Now... picture five lakes around your house, and in each and every lake half the fish are floating belly-up dead! What is it time to do? We say it’s time to analyze the groundwater.


The Groundwater metaphor is designed to help practitioners at all levels internalize the reality that we live in a racially structured society, and that that is what causes racial inequity. In other words, we have a “groundwater” problem, and we need “groundwater” solutions. Starting from there, we begin to unlock transformative change.

Download the full report

  • “I have never worked with anyone who can do what you all have done. Usually, people can do either strategy, budgeting, and supply chain analysis or they can do racial equity work and win the trust and respect of our staff and grassroots partners. You did both, and you did it beautifully.”

    — EXECUTIVE, INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION

  • “The work changed everything for us - personally and organizationally. I always had a sense that the problem was bigger than what we were dealing with, but I could never get my finger on it. Now I can see and and say it with clarity - we have a Groundwater problem and we need to do Groundwater work. My only lament is that I didn’t get here sooner.”

    — NON-PROFIT BOARD LEADER, FORMER WALL STREET EXECUTIVE

  • "The groundwater approach and historical context allows participants to move beyond personal bigotry and bias to understand institutional and structural racism – what it is, how we got here, and why. Often people want to jump into the solutions and talk about how we fix it but this process deliberately, and rightfully so, steps back to ensure participants fully understand the issues and challenges."

    — PARTNER, MANAGEMENT CONSULTING FIRM (MBB)

Click here to hear from leaders who have been transformed by their Groundwater experience.