Ever since I left the law firm where I started my career, many of my friends and family have struggled to understand exactly what I do for a living. My kids are convinced “talking to people and writing emails” is the sum of my job. In reality, post law, I spent ten years at a global branding agency, and I now proudly hold the lengthy title of Chief Strategy Officer & Managing Director of Studio at NationSwell. The through line to my winding path has been my ability to give people useful advice to help them achieve their goals.

And that in essence is what I mean when I say I’m a strategist — specifically, an impact strategist, since I now have the honor of working with leaders on the cutting edge of driving social and environmental impact, through my role at NationSwell.

For those that don’t know, NationSwell is an executive membership community and consultancy serving change-makers who are advancing solutions to meet the world’s most urgent challenges and opportunities — including addressing economic inequality, racial and social justice, climate resilience, workforce development innovation, health equity, and much more. In short, we serve the people in every sector who are trying to make the world better for all of us.

The consultancy offer at NationSwell runs through our Studio — an award-winning team of analysts, advisors, designers, event planners and program managers working in partnership with organizations to help them achieve their specific goals: from defining the impact strategy that guides their non profit partnerships, grant-making and employee engagement, to running Collaboratives of diverse partners to take collective action for change, to engaging audiences and driving support for solutions through creative storytelling.

Perhaps it’s helpful to break down what that work looks like in practice.

Rather than run through all the things we can do, it’s more interesting to focus on what makes us distinctive. At NationSwell Studio we go beyond standard consulting to be our partners’ hands-on champion for impact: blending strategic rigor and creative ambition with unabashed humanity and thoughtful understanding of the issues we’re tackling. We inspire our partners to explore new perspectives on the work and make it possible for them to reach new goals. And we measure our impact not just through effective outcomes, but also through the innovative, equitable processes we use to get those results.

Let me give you a few examples:

  • The NationSwell Studio sits at the heart of an impact ecosystem of members working on intersecting issues, including leaders from and working directly with impacted communities. It can seem easier to come up with solutions that work for institutions first, and assume individual needs. In contrast, we ensure community expertise and original insights inform our strategic work, and we use connections, facilitated events and — where possible — co-working with those communities, to make sure that beneficiaries have a seat at the table to shape how businesses and philanthropies direct funding and support.

    For example, we worked with American Family Insurance to create a blueprint for how they and other companies could act as authentic partners in progress to young climate advocates. As well as conducting an extensive ‘empathy tour’ of interviews, we included several young advocates on our team, planning and facilitating a series of workshops with other climate activists. This collaboration was essential to ensure that those sessions felt sensitive to the participants’ wellbeing and state of mind, were trusted and generative forums for discussion, and that the recommendations on investments, partnerships and capacity-building that followed were co-created by the very people they were intended to serve.

  • While we see common patterns in what our partners need, and constantly leverage the bank of proprietary insights created by our in-house Insights Team, we also like to be in a state of constant listening at NationSwell: absorbing what our community of members are raising in 1:1 meetings and discussions at our 150+ annual events. This allows us to keep our partners on the cutting edge of change by proactively innovating to meet community needs.

    For example, as social, environmental and health multi-crises hit a peak in 2020, it was clear that these challenges could not be solved in silos. So, we drew on our combination of skills across the organization to launch NationSwell Collaboratives — a platform that brings diverse leaders together to drive action together around shared goals. Collaboration isn’t easy, and many feel they lack the capacity to make it work. Our award-winning approach allows partners to bridge gaps and work with ease together, share inspiration and research, and co-create industry-building content and experiences. This year, our Case for Childcare Collaborative launched a microsite that makes the business case to accelerate caregiving support within companies.

  • Dipping in and out of industries is standard for communications agencies; but in the impact space you cannot afford to skim over the surface of an issue. Our Studio holds a unique position, sitting within a wider membership community of experts from all sectors, and acting as an engine of deep issue area expertise that we are constantly building alongside our community partners.

    For example, NationSwell is working with American Pride Rises — an organization dedicated to upholding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and to fighting back against the anti-American attacks on DEI. We have been collaborating their team to create events and materials that reach key audiences across many different platforms. This work is informed by our ongoing NationSwell events and research dedicated to DEI, including NationSwell’s recent report focused on ‘Making Corporate DEI More Durable’.

  • Lastly, the impact sector can get very jargony, very quickly. There is an abundance of annual reports and white papers offering windows into smart initiatives that others have undertaken. However, impact professionals can fall into the trap of talking only to themselves, and losing out on the opportunity to inspire wider circles — like their employees and consumers — to get behind a cause or solution. At NationSwell Studio, we push ourselves to find inventive ways to engage audiences with complex issues, through smart, emotionally resonant storytelling — starting always by establishing a clear understanding of our audience and what we want them to think, feel and do.

    For example, we helped the The Greater Good Science Center bring to life their playbook on bridging differences, creating a series of social videos that explain different techniques in unexpected ways, that were picked up by national media given their relevance to current divides in America. In collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, we created a personal video series shining a light on stories of the community health workers who are often overlooked by traditional health narratives — including Native American communities, rural communities, and formerly incarcerated people. Plus, in the spirit of turning the white paper on its head, we create interactive, multi-format digital experiences to move the sector forward: like the Place-Based Impact in Practice Collaborative digital resource for funders that recently launched, offering one-of-a-kind peer guidance and case studies to drive more equitable philanthropic approaches.

I hope this has given you (and my kids) a useful insight into the work we do at NationSwell Studio. If you are a leader with a mission and a problem to solve, get in touch — we’d love to be your champion.

Our award-winning Studio develops clear strategies, compelling stories, and illuminating Collaboratives that move influential audiences to action while driving impact. Learn more.