FAQ

Small, nimble, and ready to jump into large or late projects. We focus on USA and Pacific NW cultures, back every solution with marketplace data, and translate complex concepts into plain language. 

Our cross-sector experience opens doors — we've worked across business, government, nonprofits, education, and community organizations, and we know how to move between them.

We're candid when it matters and diplomatic when it counts.

USA-facing leaders in all sectors:

• Executive directors and boards
• Small business owners
• Corporate executives and teams
• Government agency managers and prime contractors
• Members of professional associations

Most are small to mid-size organizations with big goals and real constraints.

FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION

• Stronger team performance and service delivery
• Less conflict, more alignment
• Better ability to attract and keep talented people, customers, funders, and community partners

FOR YOU AS A LEADER

• More confidence navigating difficult conversations
• Fewer communication mishaps — and faster recovery when they happen
• Clearer strategies for reaching audiences you haven't cracked yet

Yes. If you want more privacy or a different pace, ask me about one-on-one coaching — with me and/or Zena Associates Ron Higgs, Adrianne Guerrero, and Tina Krall.

Clients rely on my ability to read complex situations, navigate thorny conflicts, and translate what's happening into practical next steps. 

I use proven tools to help people understand themselves and others — so teams can work together more effectively.

Credentials include degrees in journalism and sociology, plus certifications in facilitation, mediation, adaptive leadership, and coaching. My writing portfolio covers most forms of business communication — grants, reports, marketing collateral, audits, and more.

Find NAICS and Commodity Codes at GOVERNMENT READY.

There's a real difference between how individuals communicate and how leaders communicate. 

Everyone uses the first. Only leaders, managers, and supervisors need to master the second — and it requires a different skill set, especially in today's workplace.

Closing that gap is my core expertise.

Yes and no. DEI has gotten a complicated reputation — partly because it's been vaguely defined, poorly understood, and maligned for a variety of reasons. 

Here's how I think about it:

Culture is operational. It shapes how people work, communicate, and decide. Reaching more people — employees, customers, donors, partners — requires understanding what matters to them at work. That's not ideology. That's strategy.

Like you, I work with a wide range of people with different cultures, ages, genders, perspectives, and experiences, etc. It's a skill I've learned over many years.  

Diversity is simply a reality of today's global marketplace. Equity is a real, aspirational, or mandated goal for some of my clients. 

But, all of them want to be more Inclusive to compete and grow. 

Call it what you want. I help you do it effectively.

There's a big difference between personal and organizational communication. Everyone uses the first but only leaders, mangers, and supervisors need to develop the second. This requires different information, and usually includes cultural knowledge, to be effective in today's workplace. Closing this gap is our expertise.