What we offer

Narrative design for complexity, clarity, and real alignment.

We work with people and organizations trying to make sense of a complex moment and speak into it without losing the thread. Sometimes that means sharpening a message. Sometimes it means reconsidering or rebuilding the narrative beneath it. Sometimes it's about helping a team communicate across difference without sliding into chaos. Always, it's about clarity, alignment, and deeper meaning.

The offerings below are starting points, not packages. Everything is shaped to your context.

Narrative Strategy & Positioning

  • When your language doesn’t quite match the work anymore or when the work is changing, and the words haven’t caught up.

    This is where we map the meaning beneath your messaging. We look at how your organization is understood (or misunderstood), what beliefs are doing the heavy lifting, and what kind of worldview you’re inviting others into. Then we build a narrative spine that holds it all together.

    This can look like:

    • A full narrative strategy for a new initiative or public shift

    • A values-to-voice alignment process

    • Clarifying the throughline across teams, audiences, or moments of change

    • Helping people inside your org say what you're actually about

Comms Audits & Message Calibration

  • For when the words are technically fine but still not landing.

    We’ll take a close look at your public-facing materials—website, pitch decks, donor language, talking points—and surface where things feel off, where you're undercutting your own values, or where clarity wants to emerge. You’ll get feedback that’s both strategic and specific, plus support refining it all into something that actually resonates.

    This can include:

    • Detailed narrative review of communications materials

    • Messaging clean-up with a focus on values, tone, and coherence

    • Building internal language guidance so everyone’s not reinventing the wheel

    • Giving your comms lead something besides vibes and urgency to work from

Narrative Risk & Resilience Strategy

  • When you're communicating in a climate that feels… a little radioactive.

    We help organizations spot the places where their message could be co-opted, distorted, or quietly diluted, and then design responses that hold firm without fueling the fire. This is values-driven narrative design for organizations under pressure, for teams walking a tightrope, and for people who want to stay aligned without going silent. We’ve honed this approach in places like Central Asia, South Caucasus, Haiti, Guatemala, and Guinea. It works in nearly any volatile context, including the United States.

    This work might involve:

    • Mapping narrative vulnerabilities and opposition tactics

    • Developing values-aligned responses to anticipated risks

    • Scenario planning for public pushback or politicized attention

    • Staying clear and steady when the stakes are high

Workshops & Learning Spaces

  • Because sometimes the message isn’t the problem, the team just needs shared language.

    We design custom workshops and learning experiences to help teams build fluency in narrative strategy, values-based communication, and long-view messaging. These are context-rich, collaborative, and designed to leave your team smarter, calmer, and more aligned.

    Possible topics include:

    • Hope-Based Communications

    • Narrative mapping and deep frame development

    • Messaging across coalitions

    • Co-creating language with community stakeholders

    • “We know what we mean, but we don’t know how to say it” sessions

    Available virtually or in person, always with room for nuance and snacks.

Development Communications

  • For when the narrative you need to tell funders actually deserves more than a list of outputs.

    I support nonprofits, networks, and movement groups in crafting fundraising language that’s clear, compelling, and still rooted in your values. No high-polish sales pitch required—just narrative alignment, strategic resonance, and the kind of messaging that feels like it belongs to the work.

    Support can include:

    • Narrative and framing strategy for major funding campaigns

    • Grant language development and coaching

    • Donor communications strategy that doesn’t flatten your story or tokenize your community

    • Messaging that connects values, impact, and complexity