About Us
About Pathways to Pacha
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Pathways to Pacha is grounded in the understanding that meaningful transformation happens through relationships, not checklists. We invite the past, present, and future—and Indigenous worldviews—into the same space to inform how organizations think, decide, and act.
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Pacha reflects an Andean Indigenous conception of space and time where past, present, and future are interconnected, and where decisions carry responsibility beyond the immediate moment.
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Our work bridges this relational worldview with over a decade of experience in the public sector innovation space. We combine established innovation methodologies—including human-centered design, systems thinking, and participatory approaches—with Indigenous-informed perspectives to support organizations navigating complex transformation, governance, and cultural change.
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Our work integrates:
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Systems, futures, legacy, and pattern thinking
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Organizational transformation, behaviour, and culture
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Innovation, engagement, and co-design practices
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Relational approaches informed by Indigenous knowledge systems from across the Americas
The Pathways to Pacha Framework
From Extraction to Relationship
The Pathways to Pacha framework supports organizations in shifting from extractive to relational ways of working—reshaping how they exercise power, make decisions, engage people, and design systems, policies, and services.
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Where this shift shows up
This shift becomes visible in how organizations:
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Make decisions under complexity
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Engage employees, communities, and partners
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Design policies and services
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Build trust, legitimacy, and accountability
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Navigate transformation, including AI and emerging technologies
Core principles
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Relational accountability over performative compliance
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Participation as a source of intelligence, not risk
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Context-specific approaches over one-size-fits-all solutions
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Responsibility to people, place, and future generations
How it is applied
This framework is applied through innovation, design, and facilitation practices—combining human-centered design, systems thinking, and participatory approaches with Indigenous-informed and decolonial perspectives—to support real-world transformation across governance, culture, and complex systems.
We work carefully and respectfully, supporting organizations to change how they operate—not simply what they say.
How We Work
How We Work
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We approach transformation with an understanding that organizations are shaped by both their histories and their future responsibilities. Rather than treating change as isolated or linear, we examine the patterns, relationships, behaviours, and systems that influence how organizations operate over time.
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Our work combines systems thinking, innovation practices, organizational behaviour, and co-design approaches with relational perspectives informed by Indigenous knowledge systems, particularly those connected to the lands and regions where we are working. We apply these approaches to governance, engagement, decision-making, operations, and organizational culture.
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This creates the conditions for transformation that is more adaptive, accountable, and sustainable—supporting organizations to move beyond surface change toward deeper shifts in how they think, relate, and operate.
Past
Present
Diverse Indigenous
Knowledge Systems
Future
Services
1. Engagement & Facilitation
We design and lead structured engagement and facilitation processes that bring diverse perspectives into decision-making and system design.
When this is needed:
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Navigating complex or high-stakes issues
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Designing policy, programs, or services
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Rebuilding trust across teams, communities, or partners
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Aligning diverse stakeholders with different perspectives
What we do:
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Design and facilitate engagement processes (small groups to large-scale)
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Lead co-design and participatory design sessions
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Create spaces for dialogue, sense-making, and alignment
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Integrate lived experience and multiple knowledge systems into decision-making
What changes:
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Decisions are more informed, inclusive, and grounded
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Increased trust, legitimacy, and buy-in
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Reduced resistance and stronger alignment across stakeholders
2. Talks & Learning
We deliver talks, workshops, and learning experiences that help organizations think differently about systems, leadership, governance, and transformation in complex environments.
When this is needed
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Leadership development and organizational learning
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Culture change and transformation initiatives
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Introducing systems thinking, relational approaches, or Indigenous-informed perspectives
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Navigating complexity, uncertainty, and emerging challenges such as AI adoption
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Conferences, executive sessions, and team development
What we do
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Keynotes and speaking engagements
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Interactive workshops and facilitated learning sessions
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Executive briefings and strategic conversations
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Custom learning experiences tailored to organizational context and challenges
What changes
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Expanded thinking and new perspectives
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Greater understanding of complexity and systems dynamics
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Stronger alignment around leadership, values, and direction
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Increased readiness for transformation and change
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More reflective, adaptive, and relational ways of working
​3. Advisory & Strategy
We support organizations in redesigning outdated systems, strengthening decision-making, and navigating transformation in ways that move beyond performative change toward more relational and decolonized approaches to governance and operations.
When this is needed
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Organizational transformation or culture change
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Programs, policies, or processes that are no longer working effectively
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Governance and decision-making challenges
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AI adoption and responsible implementation
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Complex, cross-functional, or system-wide initiatives
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Siloed structures, misalignment, or low trust across teams
What we do
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Provide strategic advisory on transformation and change
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Support governance and decision-making redesign
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Conduct systems, cultural, and organizational analysis
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Facilitate cross-functional alignment and sense-making
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Design transformation pathways and implementation approaches
What changes
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Clearer direction, accountability, and decision-making structures
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More adaptive, relational, and responsive ways of operating
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Stronger alignment across teams, leadership, and stakeholders
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Increased trust, legitimacy, and organizational coherence
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Greater capacity to navigate complexity, uncertainty, and change
Meet the Founder
Valeria Sosa Centeno
Founder, Pathways to Pacha
About Me
I am drawn to complex problems, especially the ones that resist simple solutions.
For over two decades, I have worked across the public and private sectors supporting organizational improvement, innovation, and transformation, with more than a decade of experience working in the innovation space within the public sector. My work has included organizational design, large-scale engagement, systems transformation, Indigenous innovation, responsible AI experimentation and implementation, and complex change initiatives involving diverse internal and external stakeholders.
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Working inside institutions has given me a deep understanding of how change actually unfolds: where it gets stuck, what creates resistance, and what allows transformation to take root. I have extensive experience designing and facilitating engagements across teams, leadership tables, communities, and cross-functional environments, helping organizations navigate complexity while building trust, alignment, and shared understanding.
My work sits at the intersection of human-centred design, systems thinking, Indigenous worldviews, governance, and futures thinking, with a particular focus on how organizations can evolve while incorporating diverse ways of knowing to strengthen decision-making, service delivery, organizational culture, and long-term sustainability.
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My approach combines rigour with relationship. I draw on evidence-based innovation and design methodologies while grounding my work in respect for the human and ecological systems in which organizations operate. I see systems not as static structures, but as living environments capable of learning, adapting, and remembering why they exist in the first place.
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My Identity Story
My identity is shaped by both the South and the North. I was born into a South American family and raised in Canada, carrying the perspectives, tensions, and richness of both worlds. That experience has deeply influenced how I understand systems, relationships, belonging, and responsibility.
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Growing up between cultures gave me an early awareness that there are many ways of seeing and organizing the world. I became interested not only in the differences between societies, but in the assumptions that shape how people relate to community, leadership, land, time, and one another.
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Language has also been an important bridge in my life. English, French, and Spanish each carry different ways of expressing thought, emotion, and relationship. Alongside this, I have always felt a strong connection to Indigenous and ancestral ways of knowing that emphasize interdependence, reciprocity, and responsibility to both people and place.
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My relationship to ancestry is not rooted in a single narrative or identity, but in a deeper awareness that we are shaped by those who came before us, by the histories we inherit, and by the responsibilities we carry forward. That understanding continues to influence both how I move through the world personally and how I approach transformation within organizations and systems.
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The Story of Pathways to Pacha
Pathways to Pacha emerged from a longstanding interest in people and systems: how they are shaped, how they resist change, and how transformation becomes possible.
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The word Pacha, rooted in Quechua, reflects an understanding of space-time in which past, present, and future exist in relationship with one another. It carries the idea that decisions are never isolated to the present moment, but are in a constant interaction with past and future generations, communities, and living systems. This understanding has deeply influenced how I approach organizational transformation, governance, and change.
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The name is also personal. It echoes my father’s nickname for me, Pachakutin, and reflects the connection I have long felt between ancestral ways of knowing and modern organizational challenges. Pathways to Pacha was created from the belief that organizations do not transform through process alone, but through relationships, trust, accountability, and the ability to rethink inherited assumptions about power, leadership, and success.
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The spiral at the centre of the logo reflects this philosophy. It represents growth, learning, and evolution, recognizing that transformation is rarely linear. The surrounding figures represent dialogue across time, perspectives, and knowledge systems—creating the conditions for more relational, adaptive, and sustainable ways of operating.
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Pathways to Pacha brings together innovation practice, systems thinking, Indigenous-informed perspectives, and deep engagement approaches to help organizations navigate complexity, redesign systems, and build cultures capable of adapting and learning over time.
At its core, the work is about helping organizations move beyond performative change toward deeper transformation in how they think, relate, decide, and operate.
CONTACT ME
Let’s Start a Conversation
If your organization is navigating transformation, complexity, or change and looking for more relational, adaptive, and effective ways of working, we’d love to connect.
vsc.sosa@gmail.com | LinkedIn | Virtual • Canada • Argentina • Costa Rica
Transformation begins with relationship.