When you need to focus on the issue.
STRATEGIC COUNSEL
I work with leaders and organizations that need a new perspective—whether it calls for deep detective work, or zooming out for a birds-eye view.
With a range of creative approaches we get clear on what’s happening and work together to find the best path forward.
We begin with your pain points.
Like concierge medicine, my strategic counsel takes a holistic view. We may begin with an acute situation, but the goal is broader: to support you as an inspired, effective leader over time.
THE APPROACH
How this boutique approach strengthens your leadership and expands your capacity:
SAVES YOU TIME
You’re more free to flex your unique skills on the people and projects that matter, when you have a strategic thought partner.
COVERS YOUR BLIND SPOTS
When you’re in the thick of it, it can be easy to miss the most obvious issues. Avoid costly mistakes and wasted energy by tapping into an external perspective.
EXPANDS YOUR EXPERTISE
Since the work is holistic versus prescriptive, you experience the why—gaining new skills and ways to solve problems on your own.
CREATIVE PRACTICE
Where I Add Value
Organizational Change
For leaders and organizations navigating growth, transition, challenges, or new opportunities.
Change rarely stays contained to one issue. Leadership, structure, culture, strategy, communication, and trust may be jumbled together. I work with you to unpack the challenge, explore what’s possible, and determine together what needs to happen next.
Might Include
Executive Thought Partnership • Organizational Growth + Redesign • Leadership Transitions • Strategic Planning • Decision Framing • Crisis + Change Counsel
Strategic Positioning
When you need to translate your mission into meaning, clarify your unique value, or describe where you’re going.
Good positioning is more than messaging. It requires context and vision, knowing what you do that’s truly unique, and being able to connect that to your audience. I help uncover the through-lines and make it meaningful and relatable.
Might Include
Organizational Positioning • Visual Strategy • Elevator Pitches • Brand + Campaign Direction • Advocacy Frameworks • Presentation Planning • Thought Leadership
Experience Design
When you seek more than minimum engagement—creating signature events, programs, and gatherings that make people feel something.
The best gatherings are designed around more than a date. We design with intention: why people are coming together and what you want them to leave with — a new perspective, a deeper connection, a decision, a feeling.
Might Include
Team Retreats • Workshops + Facilitation • Stakeholder Convenings • Signature Programs + Event concepts • Audience Engagement • Placemaking
How We Work Together
Focused Work
A concentrated session or series around a key issue, decision, or opportunity.
Ongoing Counsel
Sustained thought partnership while you navigate growth, change, or complexity.
Team Engagement
A deeper collaboration with leadership, staff, board members, or stakeholders.
INSPIRED CONNECTIONS
Speaking + Convening
Conversations rooted in creative leadership, growth, nonprofits, organizational change, belonging — and the ideas that surface in between.
When the invitation allows, my work blends lived experience, data, drawings, photography, and inclusive participation.
Together we create space for people to reflect, connect, and engage.
Keynotes • Workshops • Panels • Retreats
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Every engagement begins with a conversation about your situation. From there, we determine if this is a good fit. Next, we discuss scope, format, and timeline. Some engagements are a single concentrated working session. Others are sustained thought partnerships over time—set or ongoing. A few involve full organizational or team work.
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For some leaders, the most valuable thing isn't a single engagement — it's having someone in their corner consistently. A thinking partner who knows their organization, understands the context, and is available when something consequential comes up.
Ongoing counsel works like this: we meet regularly — usually twice a month — and I'm available between sessions for the moments that don't wait for a scheduled call. Call, text, or email me as needed. Over time I become familiar with your team, your challenges, your patterns, and your goals. The work compounds.
It's more affordable than bringing on a senior executive — a COO, a Chief of Staff, a VP of Strategy — because I'm not in-house. You get the strategic capacity without the overhead.
A senior executive at this level typically costs $100k+ annually. Ongoing counsel is a fraction of that investment.This kind of engagement typically runs on a monthly retainer basis. It's the work I find most meaningful, and the relationships tend to last.
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Like concierge medicine, my approach is holistic and relational — we begin with your specific situation and provide immediate relief. In doing so, we may uncover larger, more systemic issues. The goal isn't to hand you a lengthy report to without tools to act on it. It's to support you as an effective, inspired leader over time.
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Yes to both. I speak, facilitate, and show up for conversations wherever ideas are worth exploring — conferences, panels, workshops, podcasts, and gatherings of all kinds. To inquire about an appearance or interview, reach out through the Connect page.
FAQs
About the work
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Leaders and organizations navigating growth, transition, reinvention, or a consequential decision. Nonprofits, creative businesses, purpose-driven companies, and individuals — particularly those whose work is more complex than their current structure or staff can hold.
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The best way to find out is a conversation. The first chat is complimentary —a chance to share what you're navigating and determine whether we're a good match. No charge, no obligation.
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Nearly every leader benefits from a trusted thought partner. Most clients come in without a clear sense of what they need — just a situation that feels too sticky to navigate alone. You don't need to have it figured out before reaching out.
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Engagements are scoped and priced based on the desired outcomes and the scope of the issue you're working on — not an hourly rate. The value of this kind of counsel is measured in the results you achieve.
Focused single-session or short-series work, ongoing retainer partnerships, and deeper organizational engagements each have different shapes and investment levels.
Pricing is discussed once we've established we're a good fit — and that first conversation is complimentary. With a clear sense of the situation, we can talk approach and budget.
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Both. Based in San Diego and available for in-person work locally, and globally, as well as virtual engagements anywhere.
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Use the Connect page to send a brief note about what you're going through. You don't need to have it figured out — a general sense of the situation is enough to start.
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Full credentials, press, and speaking history are on the Media page.
Working together