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Advisory Committee
Researcher

Katrina Gamble

Founder and CEO
Sojourn Strategies

Katrina L. Gamble is a political science professor turned social impact strategist.  She is a campaign strategist that brings the rigor of an academician and the thoughtfulness of an organizer grounded in nearly a decade of community-centered work. She’s helped clients win election modernization reforms in more than a half dozen states. Katrina also assisted in the development of the first ever national prosecutor accountability hub — bringing together leaders from across the country committed to transforming the U.S. criminal justice system— that laid the groundwork to elect a number of progressive prosecutors from Philadelphia to St. Louis. Prior to founding Sojourn Strategies, Katrina was the Political Director for a national social justice organization where she supported more than a dozen state based organizations to turnout hundreds of thousands of voters.

She also envisioned and launched the organization’s Voting Rights & Democracy Program that under her leadership won Rights Restoration in Maryland – restoring voting rights to nearly 40,000 formerly incarcerated individuals. Before moving into the social advocacy space, Katrina was an assistant Political Science Professor at Brown University where she conducted research and taught classes on congressional politics, social movements, and race and ethnic politics in the United States. Her work can be found in top peer-reviewed journals and books.

She is a proud Smithie, earning her BA in Government from Smith College. She also holds a PhD and MA in Political Science from Emory University.

Resources from

Katrina Gamble

Related resources
AZ Latino Values Research
ACE led this research to support its organizing efforts. It is using the findings as it trains organizers and canvassers to reach eligible voters across Arizona. The findings will help organizers build a strong sense of community among Latino voters and ensure that outreach is done in meaningful ways.
2024 Black Values Media Briefing
POWER Interfaith in PA, New Georgia Project, and Detroit Action Education Fund released a national study of the Black electorate which, for the first time, analyzes segments or values clusters of the Black community.
Black Values Research 2024
In 2024, HIT Strategies and Sojourn Strategies launched a follow-up survey to validate the 2022 Black values research to inform 2024 civic engagement programs.
Narrative, Agency & Belonging
This plenary's discussion from the 2023 DPI Annual Convening was about the role that narrative, agency and belonging play in the work to build and sustain powerful political movements and how those insights can translate into impact.
Understanding Values Clusters In The Black Electorate - DPI Digest
This newsletter highlights research that builds on our work over the past three years to understand the Black electorate and connect that learning to multiracial organizing and programs.
Black Political Literature Review 2020
Black politics in the United States, in the context of racial unrest and revolutionary demands, is a fraught yet fertile scholarly field. Unpacking the contours of how Black people conceptualize their relationship to the state, to society, and to one another is critical both because of the substantive need to...
Belonging, Community & Impact: What it means to build a Political Home
Sojourn Strategies conducted listening sessions to better understand how people engage with and participate in political homes, where individuals can build community with others who have shared values to impact change, in California, Louisiana, and Wisconsin.
Black Values National Survey and Cluster Analysis Briefing
In this video, The DPI Fund, HIT Strategies, and Sojourn Strategist discuss the Black Values National Survey designed to understand the various values and political identities that drive Black civic engagement.
Black Narrative Workshop
Last fall, the DPI Fund hosted a workshop on Black narrative and messaging. Presenters included Katrina Gamble from Sojourn Strategies, Janay Cody, and Terrance Woodbury of HIT Strategies.
The Power of Political Homes
Over the next year, the DPI community will embark on a multi-state, multi-researcher project that examines how participants in organizing groups define a “political home” and what they seek when joining one. The research will also explore the meaning and value associated with the idea of a “political home” among...
Political Homes - DPI Digest
This newsletter highlights key takeaways from the Belonging, Community & Impact: What it Means to Build a Political Home Report. What drives people to affiliate with power-building groups? Researchers collaborated with VOTE (LA), PICO California, and Voces de la Frontera (WI) to discern key factors.
Past Speaking Events
Sep 4, 2024
2024 Black Values Media Briefing
description

On Wednesday, September 4, 2024, POWER Interfaith in PA, New Georgia Project, and Detroit Action Education Fund released a national study of the Black electorate which, for the first time, analyzes segments or values clusters of the Black community. Katrina Gamble, PhD, Founder and CEO of Sojourn Strategies, and Terrance Woodbury, Chief Executive Officer and Founding Partner of HIT Strategies, conducted the research. The research was not conducted in support of any candidate.

REsource Report
Oct 5, 2023
One Size Does Not Fit All: The Power of Listening, Values, and Emotion
description

For too long, the traditional political industry has seen Black, Latinx, AAPI, and Native people as political objects rather than political agents. This translates into a lack of curiosity about the values and political identities that make up these diverse and complex communities. In these breakout workshops, we shared recent DPI research and learning that explores the core values and interests that drive civic engagement in communities of color.

REsource Report
Jul 21, 2022
Concurrent Sessions
Building Political Agency: The Latest from Our Narrative Research
description

DPI has prioritized understanding narrative frameworks that connect uniquely with Black, Latinx and AAPI communities through research shaped by and for organizers. In this session, we shared what we learned about narratives that can be used to craft effective organizing content that can be applied in multiple contexts including digital content.

REsource Report
Oct 21, 2021
Concurrent Sessions
The Power of Political Homes
description

We know from political science that individuals do not make decisions about their democratic participation in isolation but in community with their families, neighbors, and values-based institutions. These are “political homes”—spaces of belonging and powerbuilding in their communities. In this session, we will hear from researchers and organizers about how they have come together to develop learning agendas to understand “political and social homes” and their role as containers for collective action. Over the next year, the DPI community will embark on a multi-state, multi-researcher project that examines how participants in organizing groups define a “political home” and what they seek when joining one. The research will also explore the meaning and value associated with the idea of a “political home” among unaffiliated potential members and how organizations can meet the interests of those seeking a political home.

Join us to explore more research and innovation projects housed in the DPI Research Library.