Dana T. Weekes
The Story Behind My Advocacy Career
I have been fascinated with voice from an early age. As the daughter of Bajan immigrants, I noticed how freely my parents voiced their opinions on politics and policy around our dinner table. But outside of our home, I noticed when my parents grew silent or were silenced.
Since elementary school, my relationship with voice grew into a keen awareness that persisted through college and throughout my career in law and policy. It had morphed into an obligation and responsibility: to amplify the voices of others.
Around 2016, a shift happened. While my intentions to amplify others were well-placed, they were misplaced. I was more concerned about achieving policy wins than how people directly impacted by those wins were engaged in the effort. I felt my advocacy successes had superficial qualities to them.
This “ah-ha” moment made me realize that it was my personal and professional responsibility to build platforms to help people assert their own voices. This changed how I approached developing and sharpening my advocacy craft as a lawyer-lobbyist and how I entered spaces as a person.
Today, Thrive Architects encapsulates this intention.
We serve organizations, communities, and advocates to build sophisticated and strategic platforms to enact the transformational change they are owed and to enter spaces with a strong sense of belonging.
My Career Journey
I am the Founder and Principal of Thrive Architects LLC.
For nearly 15 years, I worked at two global law firms in Washington, DC where I served as a lawyer-lobbyist for higher education institutions, civil rights organizations, research organizations, foundations, Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, and other entities. I achieved great success advancing policy issues on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill and in the Executive Branch.
My advocacy and craft have been recognized by publications and organizations, including The Hill (Top Lobbyists), Chambers USA, Super Lawyers, Legal 500, Professional Women in Advocacy, the Washington Bar Association, and The National Black Lawyers.
At the start of my career, I worked for the Center for Community Change and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation on child welfare and voting rights issues. I was an organizer for a presidential and U.S. House campaign and then worked for a political law firm retained by the Democratic National Committee and state parties.
At the end of 2021, I decided to quit my job and take a year-long sabbatical to focus on rest after waking up one day to find I was separated from my belonging. I had lost my own voice.
I was succeeding in my career but no longer understood the person behind the success. I was beyond burnout. I was lost. This experience was life-changing and led to the launch of Thrive Architects.
I am also a poet who finds a deep sense of belonging and liberation in exploring the interiority of my own voice. My works have been published in journals including Apogee, Rhino Poetry, Obsidian Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora, The Elevation Review, Torch Literary Arts, and A Gathering of the Tribes.
I am a graduate of Wellesley College and the University of Virginia School of Law.