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Catalyst Coaching & Transformation

We Couldn't Change Their Hearts, or Minds. Issue 22.

Published 4 months ago • 4 min read

But We Damn Sure Can Change Their Seats.

Dear Reader,

The Catalyst Perspective

I cried when I read the headline. The bill passed.

Not because I was shocked, but because I know what’s coming.

People will die. Families will suffer.

Not in a vague, abstract way but in real, measurable terms:

  • Fewer hospital beds.
  • Closed clinics.
  • Reduced suicide prevention resources for veterans.
  • Gutted public education funding; stripping hope from our kids.

And when basic human needs aren’t met, crime rises.

Hunger.

Desperation.

Rage.

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These aren’t individual failings. They’re systemic consequences of political decisions.

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This is what White supremacy looks like in practice.
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This is what happens when wealth and hate hold hands on the House and Senate floors.

They used racism as a weapon…….again.

They sold fear to working-class White voters. Told them that DEI was their enemy. That Black folks were their enemy. That immigrants were their enemy.

And now?

An immigrant from South Africa helped pull the strings on the whole damn thing.

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They were bamboozled.

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Lied to.

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Weaponized.

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But while they were busy punching down, the rich were cashing in.

This bill doesn’t discriminate; poverty will.

And it will hit first and hardest in communities that were already underfunded, over-policed, and politically abandoned: rural White families, low-income Black neighborhoods, undocumented communities, and exhausted frontline workers.

This is why campaign finance reform is not optional.
This is why public leadership must be rooted in values, not in power grabs.

And this is why we must stay in this fight.

We couldn’t change their hearts.
We couldn’t change their minds.
​But we damn sure can change their seats.

If this truth-telling moves you, fuel the fire with a vanilla chai, my go-to while writing bold content for leaders like you.

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Support My Work

We are not in ordinary times.​
And I don’t write to inspire; I write to disrupt. To remind you that power unused is... Read more
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The Power Move: Strategy + Perspective

Reframe. Realign. Respond.

We need more women in office.

We need you.

Because this fight isn’t about performative politics. It’s about who survives and who doesn’t.

So what’s the move?

We lead with the SCALE™ Framework:

  • S = Strengths-Based Leadership: You know your community better than any poll. Use your experience as data.
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  • C = Confidence & Cognitive Reframing: Don’t let their dysfunction shrink your vision. Your leadership is the response.
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  • A = Aligned Values & Boundary Negotiation: No more over-functioning. Say no to what drains you or pulls you off mission. Say yes to what builds capacity and honors your principles.
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  • L = Leadership Longevity: This is a marathon. Protect your energy. Lead for the long haul.
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  • E = Ecosystem Building: You are not alone. Connect. Mobilize. Strategize.

This kind of leadership costs energy, time, and truth.
​If you believe in the work, fuel it.

The Leadership Catalyst Spark: Resource + Call to Action

THIS ISSUE'S FREE RESOURCE​
🎁 "5 Strategic Questions Every Woman in Public Leadership Should Be Asking Right Now"

The stakes are high. The systems are crumbling. That’s exactly why your strategy must be intentional.
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📄 Download this short, reflection tool created for women in government leadership and rooted in the SCALE™ Framework. Use it to:

  • Clarify what your community needs and what you need to keep going.
  • Refocus your priorities.
  • Identify capacity drains.

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Ally in Action: A Note for the Men on This List

Because the work of liberation is yours, too.

If you identify as a man, especially a White man; understand this:
you have not been the primary target of this legislation, but you hold disproportionate influence in dismantling what’s behind it.

Disinformation. Racism. Greed.
You’ve seen it. You’ve benefited from it. Now it’s time to act against it.

Start by listening.
Start by calling it out in your circles.
Start by refusing to be used again.

And if this message holds you accountable in all the right ways, support this work and share it with your network.
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Take Action Today
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  • Call your U.S. Representative and both U.S. Senators. Let them know you’re watching, how this legislation harms people, and that this vote will be remembered.
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  • Post your truth. Name what’s happening. Be bold.
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  • Support mutual aid networks and local organizations impacted by this legislation. Food banks. Schools. Non-Profits.
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  • Speak. Share. Organize. Show up for the people who will be hit hardest.

Support This Work

This newsletter is independent. Unbossed. Unbought.

If this work sharpens your strategy, deepens your purpose, or reminds you what you're fighting for; power this movement.

Every contribution powers the leadership of women refusing to shrink, bend, or break inside broken systems.

Help Grow the Movement

Forward this to three people in your circle.
Encourage them to subscribe:

We are not powerless. But we are on a deadline.

Final Thoughts

Maya Angelou said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”

Trump showed us.
Congress showed us.

Now it’s time to show them who we are.

We are disrupters.
We are overcomers.
We turn grief into strategy and rage into vision.

It’s time to get to work.

In partnership and purpose,

Chasity Wells-Armstrong
Founder, Catalyst Coaching & Transformation

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Former Mayor | Village Manager | City Councilor | School Board Member
Strategic Leadership Partner to Visionary Teams in Government

Creator of the SCALE™ Framework for Public Sector Leadership

Everything I share, from assessments to workshops is grounded in the SCALE™ Framework I created for women in government leadership. It’s rooted in lived experiences and inspired by what is possible when women are supported.

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2 Plaza Drive, PO Box 5555, Woodridge, IL 60517
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The Leadership Catalyst is where municipal power and women’s leadership collide. I expose how staff culture builds or breaks public trust, and why women leaders must set the standard for their teams and their communities. This is unapologetic strategy, rooted in SCALE™, for leaders who refuse to carry the weight of broken systems alone. Subscribe and join a community that’s rewriting the rules of government leadership.

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