Welcome! In addition to serving as a member of the Institute’s first cohort of Fellows and as its first Research Fellow, I am the founding Managing Director of the Institute and currently also serve as acting Public Policy Director. My role encompasses policy, external relations, resource development, operations, and teaching in our Fellows Training and Certification cohorts. I also focus time on research, policy positions, and program development to support the Institute’s mission of advancing healthy, sustainable, and just organizations, communities, and societies.

I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Policy with a focus on interdisciplinary policy analysis, sustainable communities, and international leadership. My doctoral research is focused on nonprofit sector constraints within the free market economy and addressing the crisis of raising capital outside traditional charitable giving models through community-based impact, leadership, and advocacy. Couched in the framework of the Polarities of Democracy theory, my dissertation focuses on proactive community investing and includes a case study of the nexus of community foundation philanthropy and systemic social change including alignment with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. My Bachelor’s degree is from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and I completed my graduate work at the Crane School at SUNY Potsdam.

I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Policy with a focus on interdisciplinary policy analysis, sustainable communities, and international leadership. My doctoral research is focused on nonprofit sector constraints within the free market economy and addressing the crisis of raising capital outside traditional charitable giving models through community-based impact, leadership, and advocacy.  Couched in the framework of the Polarities of Democracy theory, my dissertation focuses on proactive community investing and includes a case study of the Baltimore Community Foundation.  My Bachelor’s degree is from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and I completed my graduate work at the Crane School at SUNY Potsdam.

As a member of the Institute’s first cohort of fellows, I have an interest in the diversity and equality poles of the Polarities of Democracy theory and the theory’s expansion and dissemination as a tool for delving into bi-partisan public policy debates and social justice issues where pluralism and intersectionality are at the forefront.  The social justice issues I am focused on include situational poverty, civil rights (institutional racism, women’s rights), educational access, economic development in minority-majority communities, global social entrepreneurship movements, and attracting capital investment to the social justice sector.

As CEO of Strategic Impact, an independent firm serving the Eastern US with a vision of vibrant, inclusive communities with effective use of social resources, I lead a team working with foundations, civic leaders, organizations, and municipalities to catalyze community investment for the advancement of society and the common good.  I have expertise in community engagement and have worked extensively in both metropolitan and rural communities striving to solve social issues, economic challenges, and improve quality of life.

In tandem with my work for IPD and my role at Strategic Impact, I am an active volunteer and advisor for organizations including my alma mater Sewanee, the Babson Center for Global Commerce, the Center for Democratic Values, and the Alliance for Sustainable Communities.  I have led workshops around the country related to strategic impact and resource development and served as a guest faculty member and advisor for certificate, graduate, and undergraduate level coursework. In 2012, I participated in The White House and Independent Sector’s Initiative for Nonprofit Talent and Leadership.  In 2015, I began research and work on the global movement around social entrepreneurship and the effects of impact hubs on economic development and social justice progress.

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