Where should we begin?

Emergent strategy starts with the recognition that in complex systems, we rarely have enough information to design the perfect plan from the outset. Instead, I help people listen closely to what is happening now—across people, relationships, data, and the wider landscape—identify where there is real energy or possibility, and develop thoughtful experiments that help us learn our way forward.

This doesn’t mean abandoning rigor or direction. It means pairing clear intention with curiosity, relationship, intelligent risk-taking, and the willingness to adapt as new information emerges.

It depends on the question. I might conduct interviews and field research to understand a changing landscape, map an ecosystem and identify gaps or opportunities, design a stakeholder process, help a funder or movement explore an emerging area of work, or develop and test a pilot before making a larger investment.

Often, my most valuable contribution is synthesis: listening across perspectives, noticing patterns and unseen dynamics, and giving language to something people have been sensing but haven’t yet been able to articulate. From there, the question shifts from What should we do? to something more generative: What is becoming possible now?

I am most energized by people and organizations working on questions that are bigger than any one institution can solve alone—movements, funders, field-builders, entrepreneurs, networks, and mission-driven organizations trying to understand a changing landscape or catalyze something new.

I am especially drawn to work where there is genuine curiosity, a willingness to experiment, and an understanding that relationships are not peripheral to change—they are part of how change happens.

I don’t arrive with a predetermined framework or assume that analysis alone will reveal the answer. I bring research and strategic rigor alongside deep listening, intuition, facilitation, and close attention to the relationships and dynamics shaping a system.

I am less interested in producing a polished plan than in helping people see something they could not see before, strengthen the relationships necessary for action, and test ideas in the real world. Sometimes the most strategic move is not to decide faster, but to listen better, ask a different question, or try something small enough to learn from.

The shape of the work changes with the moment. Sometimes it’s an immersive retreat for a team—moving between conversation, silence, creative practice, and shared reflection so people can step out of their usual roles and encounter one another differently. Sometimes it’s a one- or two-day convening for a field or group of stakeholders, designed to slow the pace, surface what is usually left unsaid, and make room for real exchange, experimentation, and possibility.

Other times, the work is far more intimate: designing and holding a pivotal experience for an individual or family who wants to pause, mark a transition, or honor a moment that deserves attention.

Across these contexts, I work with rhythm, environment, the senses, intuition, experiential education, and relational dynamics—making room for play, curiosity, reflection, and depth. By creating space infused with intention, people can name what they’re living, reshape the story they’re telling about it, and move forward with greater agency and connection.

Absolutely. Not every engagement needs experience design. I am often brought in because a meeting, retreat, convening, or conversation matters enough that someone needs to focus entirely on holding the room.

I bring deep listening, strong communication, and relational attunement to those moments—tracking not only what is being said, but what isn’t; noticing shifts in energy or dynamics; giving language to what is emerging; and knowing when to deepen a conversation, redirect it, introduce play, or simply get out of the way. The goal is not to dominate the room, but to help create the conditions for people to do the work they came to do.

Please visit the contact page, or press the “let’s connect” icon on the top right corner of my homepage. You’ll fill out a very brief intake form and I’ll be in touch within 48 hours to set up a mutually convenient time to speak on zoom or the phone.

I typically create a project fee based on an agreed upon scope and timeline, instead of billing hourly. Depending on the complexity and nature of the work, an hourly rate could range from $400-$1,000.

I approach each engagement collaboratively and am always open to a conversation about fit, including financial realities and constraints. For projects I feel deeply aligned with, I occasionally offer sliding-scale or pro bono work. If you think we may be a good match, I welcome the opportunity to talk.