This interactive session explores how community engagement professionals cultivate agency, reciprocity, and advocacy within complex partnerships. Using story-based reflection, participants will examine real-world examples to uncover what strengthens or stalls collaboration. Through structured analysis and dialogue, attendees will identify how power dynamics, clarity of roles, and shared purpose influence decision-making and partnership outcomes. Participants will leave with a replicable reflection framework, adaptable prompts to foster inclusive dialogue, and strategies for aligning actions with community-defined priorities. Grounded in storytelling and practical reflection, this session equips practitioners to move from intention to implementation—building relationships that advance compassion, mutual learning, and equity in community engagement.