Impactful Engagement with DBI

Starting the year off right

Back in January, I sat down with my sister Tiffany Francies, Executive Director of Delta Bay Impact, for a conversation about her vision for the organization in the coming year — the challenges she hoped to address and the opportunities she wanted to pursue. That conversation became the foundation of a partnership, working together to rebuild DBI's reporting system and produce materials to better showcase the impactful work DBI was doing in Contra Costa schools.

Laying the Foundation

We started by reviewing DBI's existing website, identifying opportunities for more compelling content, improved structure, and greater clarity. Photography emerged as a natural tool for capturing and communicating real impact, so we planned a shoot around DBI's upcoming Black History Month program. While we prepared, we continued iterating on the architecture, content, and visual language of the new site. We knew we'd want to honor DBI's brand voice — its bold color scheme and sharp, forward-looking visual identity — while expanding what the site could do. The goal was to showcase the full range of DBI's services to Contra Costa youth: in-school activities, community events, and partnerships with the many organizations they work alongside. We also wanted to create clear pathways for engagement, inviting visitors of every kind to find their way into DBI's mission. With that direction set, I got to work — sketching wireframes, evaluating tools, and mapping out the technical path forward.

Black History Month — Into the Field

February came, and with it the day of the Black History Month program. I headed out to Contra Costa County and spent the day with DBI, traveling to Riverview Middle School and Meadow Homes Elementary School to photograph their assembly programs. It turned out to be the most clarifying point of the engagement for me. Getting to interact directly with the kids DBI supports made the stakes of this work real — the opportunity to make a genuine impact (pun absolutely intended) on lives in some of our most vulnerable communities.

The energy those kids brought as they presented on influential African American figures was a joy to be around and to capture. What came through in the photos was strength, confidence, and courage — and those became the values I wanted to carry into the web experience.

The Work Behind the Work

Back in Davis, I reviewed over 300 photos from five assemblies. Some students took naturally to the camera; others were more reserved — but that contrast produced some of the most dynamic and interesting shots of the day. From that session, I curated a set of 15 to 20 strong images, which combined with archival photos Tiffany provided gave us a rich visual library to work with. Over the next couple of weeks, I worked closely with Tiffany to finalize content, apply photography across the pages, and push through the remaining UI component development and third-party integrations as we moved toward delivery.

Delivery, and What Comes Next

As the site neared completion, one more in-person visit remained: headshots for the DBI team. I headed back out to Antioch, photographed the team, and stayed to sit in on their staff meeting. It was an intimate look at what makes DBI tick — a room full of people genuinely passionate about the children in their community and committed to growing the organization's reach. We closed the meeting by presenting the new website to the team. I hope it serves as another vessel for the meaningful work DBI does every day, and I look forward to continuing this partnership as the organization grows.