I’m a social designer, researcher and strategist creating human-centered processes for maximizing social impact, as well as helping organizations understand and solve complex problems.
With over 20 years of experience in program planning and assessment, user-centered design, leadership development, communications, writing and research, I help organizations and networks create innovative solutions to large-scale problems, as well as implement strategies to more seamlessly integrate their business and social goals. I’ve worked with business, philanthropic, and nonprofit leaders, as well as academics, activists, and community members to connect them across silos and generate new approaches to seemingly unchangeable patterns.
My work involves deep people-centered research, paired with idea generation and training that focuses on identifying the root causes of problems and the key leverage points we can use to solve them.
Most recently, I created the idea behind Leap Fund – a financial solution that helps workers across the country that turn down income they have earned out of fear of hitting the benefits cliff (when they stand to lose public benefits worth much more than a raise). Consisting of a calculator that can predict these cliffs by household and a financial tool for deferring income, Leap Fund was developed and incubated at Blue Ridge Labs @ Robin Hood, and is currently being piloted by my co-founder in New York.
Before Leap Fund, I worked with the Building Movement Project, where I led a number of initiatives, including how to develop the next generation of leadership, engage clients in social change, and build a systems approach to service work. Prior to Building Movement, I was with the Ms. Foundation for Women, where I provided funding, technical assistance, and networking opportunities to nonprofits across the country. Before that, I ran an IDA Program out of the Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition, a low-income housing developer in Redwood City, California.
All these varied experiences have shaped my approach to problem-solving and meaning-making, and honed my ability to bring together groups and individuals across different sectors, backgrounds, and ideologies to create real change that makes a difference in the lives of those they serve.
Currently, I advise on Leap Fund and consult for the Building Movement Project, where I am helping to develop a race equity assessment for nonprofit organizations figuring out how to build more equitable, responsive workplaces.
I hold an MFA in Design for Social Innovation from the School of Visual Arts, and a BA awarded with honors in Urban Studies with a focus in architecture from Stanford University.