Impact & Experience

My work spans disaster response, housing, and community systems—supporting organizations as they navigate complexity, align resources, and deliver results under pressure.

The examples below reflect how I partner with organizations to connect strategy, funding, and execution in real-world environments. This experience includes work with national nonprofits, federal agencies, and cross-sector partners in high-pressure response and recovery environments.

Designing a Real-Time Disaster Distribution Model During Hurricane Harvey

Context
During Hurricane Harvey, I worked as part of a small leadership team on the ground at the George R. Brown Mega shelter for the American Red Cross, providing safe shelter to over 13k people in Houston, TX, working alongside corporate and community partners.

The Challenge
As donor expectations evolved, there was increasing interest in more direct, visible, and dignified forms of support for disaster survivors. The American Red Cross was exploring how to adapt traditional service delivery models to better align with these expectations—without compromising operational effectiveness in a complex, high-pressure environment.

Approach
I worked directly with Walmart as the field representative in the shelter to stand up a pop-up distribution model, "store", inside a shelter—aligning corporate logistics systems with on-the-ground disaster operations. This required navigating operational constraints, coordinating across teams, and adapting processes in real time to meet survivor needs.

Impact
The model demonstrated how private-sector partnerships can be leveraged to meet evolving expectations around choice, dignity, and visibility in disaster response. It provided a practical example of how large-scale response systems can adapt—informing future approaches to corporate engagement and service delivery.

Aligning Grant Strategy and Disaster Operations During Hurricane Florence

During Hurricane Florence, I served in an executive leadership role with the American Red Cross, supporting large-scale response and early recovery efforts.

The Challenge
Rapidly deploying significant grant and donor funding while balancing compliance requirements, donor expectations, and evolving operational needs in a dynamic disaster environment.

Approach
Worked across operations, finance, and donor engagement teams to align funding strategy with real-time priorities—translating community needs into fundable activities and ensuring requirements could be met without slowing response efforts or distorting priorities.

Impact
Improved alignment between funding and operations, enabling more effective and accountable use of resources during a critical response period and reinforcing the role of integrated funding strategy in disaster operations.

Facilitating Cross-Sector After Action Reviews for Disaster and Public Health Response

Context
Following major disaster and public health responses—including COVID-19 impacts on people experiencing homelessness and large-scale events such as Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Michael, and the Camp Fire—I facilitated After Action Reviews (AARs) with cross-sector partners including U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Emergency Management Agency, American Red Cross, and Healthcare for the Homeless.

The Challenge
Bringing together diverse agencies with different mandates, perspectives, and priorities to reflect on complex responses—while creating space for honest dialogue and actionable learning.

Approach
Designed and facilitated structured, multi-agency AAR processes that balanced data, operational realities, and participant experience. Guided stakeholders through identifying strengths, surfacing gaps, and translating lessons learned into practical recommendations for future coordination and response.

Impact
Strengthened cross-sector alignment and shared understanding, while producing actionable insights to inform future disaster and public health response—particularly for populations experiencing homelessness.

Strengthening Organizational Governance and Board Effectiveness

Context
Nonprofit organization experiencing strong mission alignment but limited structure and follow-through at the board level.

The Challenge
Unclear roles between board and staff, inconsistent engagement, and lack of systems to support accountability.

Approach
Facilitated a governance review, clarified board vs. operational responsibilities, and developed board member expectations, committee structures, and self-assessment tools.

Impact
Improved clarity, stronger engagement, and a more functional governance structure to support long-term sustainability.

If you’re navigating a complex challenge and need support aligning strategy, funding, and execution, I’d welcome a conversation.

Let’s Work Together