About ME
I am a hybrid professional with expertise in human-centered strategy, complex systems, participatory change processes, and inclusive trauma-informed practice. My sweet spot is helping people navigate complexity and transformation in ways that foster collective liberation.
For more than a decade, I've led 60+ mission-driven organizations through transformational changes. Much of my work has focused on issues related to health, sustainability, DEIAJ, and culture. These are some of my favorite publicly-available projects that I’ve worked on:
Research and web design for National Endowment for Financial Education’s Personal Finance Ecosystem
Graphic design for The Bell Policy Center’s Guide to Economic Mobility in Colorado
Data visualization for Rise Above Colorado’s Youth Survey on behavioral health and substance use
Participatory research support for Denver’s Youth Health Assessment
Network map of former members of Converge Denver, a community of multidisciplinary creatives
Graphic facilitation of Tilt West’s roundtable on Development, Displacement and the Arts
I led a team to win bronze in the national Civic Data Challenge in 2013, and I am the co-author and editor of The Authoritative Guide to Designing Infographics. I have spoken at 30+ events and have contributed to 20+ publications.
On a more personal note, I am a devoted Nonviolent Communication practitioner and an unapologetic polymath. You can learn more about me in this feature in VoyageDenver magazine and in this interview on the This is HCD - Human Centered Design Podcast.
You can follow me on Substack, and get my very best content on Patreon.
I look forward to connecting with you!
MY LINEAGES and TEACHERS
I am a big believer that none of us are truly self-made, that we are all influenced by the guidance and support of those who have showed us a way. I also think it’s important that practices are rooted in history, and that you know who “my people” are.
Here is a list of some of my teachers, people I have engaged with through workshops, courses, and/or coaching as well as communities I am fortunate to be a part of. I am incredibly grateful to have been blessed by encountering these gifts.
Leaders in ETHICAL, inclusive and/OR liberatory design:
Design Justice Network, Creative Reaction Lab, Data Feminism Network, Alberto Cairo, Vivianne Castillo, Alba Villamil, Rachael Dietkus, and Trauma Informed Design Group
TRAUMA-RESPONSIVE Nonviolent communication practitioners advancing collective liberation:
Miki Kashtan, Arnina Kashtan, Sarah Peyton, Roxy Manning, Susan Kaplan, and Rocky Mountain Compassionate Communication Network’s Community Based Facilitators Group
TRAUMA-RESPONSIVE Body, mind, and spirit practitioners:
Resmaa Menakem, Karine Bell, Lama Rod Owens, Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Sharon Salzberg, Bayo Akomolafe, Kai Cheng Thom, Ari Felix, Lydia Violet Farshid-Harutoonian & Joanna Macy
my Scope of Practice
I am not a licensed professional, but I do have ethical standards for my practice. (I am committed to Design Justice principles, for example.)
One standard that I have for myself is that I know and can explain what I consider to be my scope of practice:
Contribute in ways that help to cultivate spaces and relations in which people can be and move together, especially during unraveling and reweaving
Sense and seek to integrate various intelligences, about systems at multiple scales
Articulate connections and distinctions, including to support reflection and decision making
Facilitate reflection, including on the frames and lenses through which issues, places, and people are viewed
Inspire and provoke, especially feeling states that may foster compassion for self and others
Invite imagination and offer glimmers, if contextually appropriate
Demonstrate, through my own practice, values which support relationship, including respect, responsibility, and reciprocity
My Commitment to Anti-oppression, Anti-racism, and Nonviolence
Working to nonviolently eliminate the harms of oppression and racism is personal, interpersonal, and political, about both introspection and action. Thereby, my commitment expresses itself in the following ways:
Ongoing, regular practices related to social justice embodiment, including cultural somatics, social mindfulness, and nonviolent communication
Continuous proactive investigation, unlearning, rethinking, and revisioning, including consistent reflection on how white supremacy culture values shows up in work expectations, processes and relationships
Listening to and building meaningful relationships with people from various social locations, and sharing power however possible, including through monthly financial contributions and intentional collaboration/co-design
Engaging in nonviolent communication practices to openly and respectfully discuss power, harm, and impact
Supporting systemic changes by advocating for policies that center the demands of people impacted by systemic oppression whenever and whereever possible
Prioritizing relationships, engagements, and projects that directly support co-liberation