Former Worcester City Councilor candidate founds organization to address systemic oppressions

A former candidate for Worcester’s City Council has launched an organization designed to confront systemic roots of oppression in order to promote collective healing and liberation. The launch of The Reframe Institute was announced Sunday by Jessica Pepple, founder and CEO of the organization, who previously served as the inaugural chief diversity and culture officer at RFK Community Alliance in Lancaster. She was named one of WBJ’s Power 100 in 2024. “The Reframe Institute was born out of years of witnessing how unspoken histories, unresolved harm, and everyday inequities quietly shape people’s lives—especially in schools, workplaces, and communities,” Pepple wrote in an email to WBJ. The Reframe Institute is currently in the process of obtaining its 501(c)(c) status, becoming a designated charitable organization and allowing donors to give tax-deductible contributions. Through historical site visits, workshops, leadership trainings, and youth experiences, The Reframe Institute works to address the Four I's of Oppression: ideological, interpersonal, institutional, and internalized oppression. Pepple ran for an at-large Worcester City Council seat in 2025, and while she wasn’t elected, the listening sessions she held while campaigning helped motivate her to create The Reframe Institute. “People trusted me with their stories, and I could see the cracks everywhere. As a Black woman from the South, I’ve seen it, felt it, and lived it. Those experiences made it clear that we cannot heal what we refuse to name,” said Pepple. “The Institute is my response to that call—a place where truth-telling becomes a tool for healing and where people across identities can lead the way together.” The organization looks to uplift a wide range of marginalized peoples, including Black and Brown communities, Indigenous communities, immigrants and refugees, and LGBTQ+ peoples, while confronting structures of oppression such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. “My hope is that The Reframe Institute becomes a catalyst for generational impact—one that touches individuals, families, institutions, and entire communities. Our work focuses on helping people understand the root causes of inequity and giving them tools to build cultures rooted in dignity, belonging, and justice,” said Pepple. The Reframe Institute completed its first pilot program on Nov. 2, bringing seven participants to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The participants, both BIPOC and non-BIPOC, viewed exhibits including the halls of African Peoples and South American Peoples and the Theodore Roosevelt Hall of Biodiversity. Throughout the trip, Pepple led the pilot group through discussions of privilege, systemic subjugation, representation, and capitalism. Pepple aims for The Reframe Institute to serve as a catalyst for change for those who have felt unheard, unseen, or unsure. “Youth, educators, parents, elders, community leaders, and everyday people trying to make sense of the world around them,” Pepple said. “The Reframe Institute is here to meet people and organizations exactly where they are and walk with them toward something better.” Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.