Consensus Organizing Center

1999-present



		1999	Mike Eichler establishes The Consensus Organizing Center at SDSU. The Step-Up program launches at Hoover High School with a $227,000 grant from Alliance Healthcare Foundation, inspiring and empowering underserved high school students to pursue a college education.

The Price Community Builders program begins giving newly-graduated SDSU social work students the opportunity to work in City Heights and receive scholarships to pursue Master’s of Social Work degrees.	2001

		2003	Fostering Community Connection (now called Rise Up) begins with a $356,000 grant from California Endowment to assist newly-emancipated foster youth obtain a college degree and successfully transition into adulthood.

SDSU President Steven Webber supports Step-Up for three years with $75,000 from the President’s Leadership Fund.	2006

		2007	Executive Director Mike Eichler publishes his book, Consensus Organizing: Building Communities of Mutual Self-Interest, which becomes the seminal text on Consensus Organizing. Rise Up receives support from The Alex Smith Foundation to work with former foster youth at SDSU. Rise Up receives $322,000 from the Andrus Family Fund to incorporate the Transitions Framework into programming.



MSW and law students at California Western School of Law begin to work together on Consensus Organizing projects as part of the course, Community Organizing & Problem Solving. The Hervey Family Fund at Price Charities begins supporting former Step Up alumni with yearly college scholarships.	2008

		2009	First Step-Up alumnus graduates from SDSU with her Master’s of Social Work degree and returns to her community of City Heights to be a school counselor. The Legal Path program exposes high school students to the legal profession and gives them the opportunity to take Political Science 102 at SDSU. The Step-Up program gets a boost with $95,000 of support from Congresswoman Susan Davis.



The Ernest and Betty Singer Scholarship is established to support students enrolled in the Community Development/Administration track of the Masters of Social Work program at SDSU and seed their initial work in community practice. A.I.M. for Law launches first class.	2010

		2011	First A.I.M. for Law graduate starts law school. College Access Foundation of California provides college scholarships to support the Rise Up and Step Up alumni.

SDSU students practice Consensus Organizing in Costa Rica as part of The Costa Rican Organizing Project, a new study abroad course at SDSU.	2012

Former Assistant Director Jessica Robinson takes the lead and becomes the second Executive Director in Consensus Organizing Center history.
		2015	Former Senior Program Manager, Jennifer Cosio, takes lead and becomes the third Executive Director in the COC history.