My Work

Systems that hold.
Communities that move.

A selection of engagements where we helped organizations translate lived experience into policy, digital access into career opportunity, and complex systems into language people can act on.

Focus Civic & Policy Digital Equity Enterprise Tech Facilitation Workforce Dev
Featured Framework
Policy Framework · Thought Leadership
The Bridge Framework
What people actually need during the interim — and how to build it. A policy and practice framework for the gap between one-off programs and the coordinated strategy that actually moves families toward economic security.
Three Layers Outer Bridge · Inner Bridge · Coordination Architecture
Published March 2026
Context Informed by NEC facilitation work
Read the Framework → Download DOCX
Free Resource
Community Guide · 2026
Financial Crisis Literacy Guide
What to actually do when the bills exceed the income. A free, shame-free practical guide for wage workers with side hustles and nonprofit operators doing gig work to survive. Free to share.
Read the Guide → Download Free
Case Studies
Civic Innovation · Policy Facilitation
When Community Voice Becomes Policy
Bridging the gap between lived experience and legislative action for a nationally award-winning civic initiative.
Illinois Policy Institute — Center for Poverty Solutions

Policy work has a translation problem. On one side: legislators disconnected from lived reality. On the other: community leaders who are burned out and rarely heard. I designed and facilitated the cross-sector workshops that brought block club leaders and state lawmakers into the same room — and built the trust infrastructure that made real conversation possible.

Facilitation Design Community Engagement Policy Translation Chicago
Key Outcomes
2025 Pathways to Prosperity Prize — State Policy Network
16 free-market bills drafted & filed with 14 state lawmakers
Op-eds in Crain's Chicago Business & Chicago Tribune
Community leaders leaving sessions energized & taking action
Download Case Study
Digital Equity · Program Design
Building the Bridge
How a free digital literacy initiative became a tech career pipeline — and what happened to the people who walked through it.
i.c.stars Teachers Bureau · New Moms · GECDC · Urban Tech Academy

Most digital literacy programs treat access as the finish line. I built something different: a bridge model that connected where people actually were to where technology could take them — with trust, community, and a clear pathway forward. One participant came to class right after being jumped. He still came. He went on to pitch a startup to funders.

Program Management Curriculum Design Workforce Dev Chicago
Key Outcomes
200+ community members trained over 4 years
$25,000 contract secured with GECDC from free workshop relationship
i.c.moms pilot: 100% sparked interest in tech, 100% grew leadership skills
ABC7 Chicago news coverage · Pfizer-sponsored hackathon
Download Case Study
Enterprise Tech · Agile Transformation
The Infrastructure Nobody Built
How a junior QA analyst built the knowledge systems her peers needed to survive — and learned to end a three-team war by reading what was actually at stake.
ThoughtWorks · Southwest Airlines · Manheim Auto Auction

Developers at ThoughtWorks had coaches, mentors, and documentation. Quality Analysts had almost nothing. She built the knowledge infrastructure herself — then turned it into a shared resource that changed how QAs were supported and paid across the organization. As a Senior QA, she was brought in to untangle a three-team conflict at a Fortune 500 client during a company reorg, and pivoted from teaching methodology to helping teams survive.

Knowledge Systems Agile Transformation QA Strategy Org Change
Key Outcomes
Org-wide QA salary reclassification at ThoughtWorks
PMI Atlanta Project of the Year finalist (Manheim — with Coca-Cola & Home Depot)
Southwest Airlines QA teams unified, both teams retained through reorg
Black Girls CODE & CoderSpace workshops hosted at ThoughtWorks Chicago
Download Case Study

Recognition & Press

2025 Pathways to Prosperity PrizeState Policy Network
ABC7 Chicagoi.c.moms / Pfizer Hackathon Coverage
Crain's Chicago BusinessOp-Ed Feature
Chicago TribuneOp-Ed Feature
IT Brewi.c.stars Program Feature
PMI Atlanta — Project of the Year FinalistManheim / ThoughtWorks
ThoughtWorks Global Case StudyManheim Express

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