People lover. Community builder. Possibility seer.
Building the world we deserve happens through the relationships we cultivate, the experiences we create, the way we give, and the stories we tell. Each of us can play a role in this work; my passion is nurturing groups that thrive, creating more belonging, and inviting us into sharing our resources more equitably.
Let’s do this — together.
Specialties
Facilitation +
Experience Design
I design and facilitate conversations, cohort experiences, and trainings that build relationships, generate ideas, and allow for collaborative decision-making. I also specialize in creating interactive and engaging virtual experiences.
Message Development + Value Articulation
I take what you know in your head and heart, and craft language that helps you communicate it effectively. I can help you develop a mission and vision for new initiatives; articulate your organization’s values and approach; and document your knowledge and offerings.
Giving + Resource Organizing
I work with individuals and organizations to foreground our civic identities, and transform how we give. I can help you realize new possibilities for your grantmaking, including community-forward practices for organizing and sharing resources.
Got something else in mind? I’m available to discuss other interesting projects that will build a more just world.
Experience
I’ve worked in the nonprofit sector for two decades leading program development, trainings, strategy and organizing. Since 2018, I’ve partnered with clients focused on civic engagement, social movements and philanthropy to grow their leadership, support communities, and guide them through change.
Previously, I served as the founding executive director of Amplifier, a global network of 125+ giving circles. I spent eight years as a Schusterman Fellow and am currently a member of Tzedek (Justice) Lab. For a deeper dive, connect with me on LinkedIn.
Featured Project
Our pilot cohort, 2022-2023
Mario Lugay and I co-lead and co-facilitate the Social Justice Giving Circle Project, organizing people drawn to giving circles and collective action to find our place in world-shaping work.
Alongside collaborators Seiji Carpenter, Lijia Gong, and Philanthropy Together, we launched the project in 2020 by surveying self-identified “social justice giving circles,” and hosted “Justice, Giving & Politics” Part 1 and Part 2, as well as a presentation at the WeGive Summit. We also interviewed social justice movement leaders about how middle class folks and giving circles can best support movements.
Today, we are based at Justice Funders, and facilitate a transformative cohort experience focused on cultivating and celebrating our civic identities, and seeing the possibilities that emerge when we make money the floor (and not the ceiling) of how we engage with movements.
Additional Projects
Organizing Fundraisers & Movement-Builders
Mario Lugay and I lead Movement Commons Culture & Collective Action Lab, a body of work housed within Justice Funders. We partner with movement and philanthropic leaders to design, pilot, and scale cross-organizational & cross-sector collective action interventions that advance social movements. Currently, our work is focused on development staff and resource organizers, the unsung shapers of movement culture.
Movement-building Resources
Dayenu is building a movement of American Jews confronting the climate crisis. I worked with their team and a group of grassroots leaders to create their first resources for Dayenu Circles: local groups taking action on climate solutions. The resources introduce Dayenu’s values of justice, equity and inclusion and provide new leaders with step-by-step guidance to launch Dayenu Circles.
Multi-year DEI Process
The Schusterman Fellowship invests in rising executive-level Jewish leaders from across the globe. As proud Fellowship alums, Gamal Palmer and I have guided the Fellowship’s professional team through a multi-year DEI process, revamping everything from the application + selection process to retreat experiences. We’ve supported the Fellowship team on their individual DEI journeys, and built accountability mechanisms to ensure the work continues.
State Lawmaker Gatherings
The States Project is helping state lawmakers achieve goals for the common good. I guided their team to design and execute a new series of two-day gatherings for curated groups of lawmakers from across the country. These “Fellows Salons” convened state legislators to brainstorm and share solutions to key challenges, develop a supportive and collegial network, and kick off a year-long Fellowship journey to deepen their skills and legislative work.
Racial Equity Report
The Jewish Social Justice Roundtable—a convener of 70+ organizations in the sector—hired me to interview white staff at organizations undertaking internal racial equity processes, and write an analysis that helped form the foundation of their Racial Equity Report. Throughout the process, I worked collaboratively with the project's Advisory Board, pivoting where necessary to ensure accountability and a commitment to equity.
Collaborative Process Design
Jewish Theological Seminary’s Kekst Graduate School engaged me to create a multi-month collaborative process through which faculty, administrators, external experts and funders could co-design a new Certificate Program in Jewish Ethics & Social Justice. I designed and facilitated a series of virtual and in-person meetings, conducted interviews with target markets, created and conducted a market survey, and synthesized key insights into a final report.
What clients say
“I cannot recommend Joelle highly enough as a tip-top strategist. She is smart, insightful and collaborative. And she works really fast! I would hire Joelle again and again.”
-Allison Fine, Network of Elected Women
“Joelle worked with us from start to finish to help us articulate our vision and then bring it into reality. She brought expertise and new ideas to the team, supported us to plan and produce a meaningful and productive convening, and provided us with tools to continue building on her work.”
-Lauren Popper Ellis, Future Now
“It was a pleasure working with Joelle. She made this process so easy, and her writing was top-notch. The whole thing felt seamless. We will definitely be in touch with future projects as they come up.”
-Phil Aroneanu, Dayenu
“Joelle expertly made everyone feel heard, adapted to an iterative process, and thoughtfully ensured that all meetings were efficient and productive. As a result, everyone who participated spoke about how much they enjoyed the planning process. I highly recommend Joelle – she goes above and beyond to provide excellent results.”
-Anna Serviansky, Jewish Theological Seminary
“Joelle is sheer brilliance – she is by far one of the most thoughtful, clear-minded and organized professionals I've had the pleasure of working with to date. She brings her passion for learning and years of experience in writing, leadership, project management and striving to be an outstanding human to all that she does. In addition, Joelle is committed to her clients feeling that she is both working and walking with you to the project's finish line.”
-Gamal Palmer, Conscious Builders
“Not only did Joelle do a great job and deliver exactly what we asked for; she made the process easy and productive. She listened carefully, prompted and nudged at the right points, and helped us stretch ourselves. It isn’t always easy for an outside consultant to come into an organization and really understand the language and culture, but Joelle did, and we hope to invite her back in to help us again.”
-Clare Goldwater,
M2: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education