From Questioning to Building
In May 2021, I left my full-time leadership role at a global nonprofit organization without a roadmap. I’d spent two decades working inside and alongside public, nonprofit, and philanthropic ecosystems trying to make them work better and have greater impact, and I knew it wasn’t enough. I had a hunch that the next chapters in the work for justice and equity would require something more interconnected.
Something more agile.
Something more accountable.
Something more deeply aligned across sectors and grounded in lived experience.
The hunch became the blueprint. And eventually the blueprint became The Intersect.
What is The Intersect?
The Intersect is a social impact consulting and action firm. We partner with public, nonprofit, philanthropic and private sector organizations that are working at the forefront of equity, justice and, systems change.
Our work is grounded in the belief that organizational health, systems and policy readiness, and strategic clarity are essential for meaningful and sustainable impact.
We work across sectors, across disciplines and across geographies; often stepping in when an initiative is at the ideation stage or gaining momentum, but internal alignment, infrastructure, or strategy is still catching up.
What We Do
Our recent work includes:
- Supporting community-informed, data-driven public safety initiatives
- Catalyzing worker-and stakeholder-led coalitions
- Advising foundations through strategic pivots and community-centered planning
- Strengthening leadership teams during transitions
- Designing system-change strategies that connect policy, narrative, and implementation
But we don’t just deliver a plan; we help build the conditions that make change possible.
Because we’re ecosystem aligned and systems aware, we see around corners, so that the next curveball isn’t a strike, it’s an opportunity.
How We Work: Our Values in Practice
At The Intersect, how we do the work is as important as what we deliver. Our values shape how we partner, how we plan, and how we push for meaningful change.
We’re known for:
- Centering authentic voices: honoring lived experience, frontline wisdom, and those closest to the work
- Co-creation: designing with our partners, not for them
- Tailored excellence: not copy and pasting strategies or tactics: we build structure that fits the context
- Balanced disruption: holding tension with care while naming what needs to shift
- Evidence-driven decisions: integrating applied research and data into strategy
- Intersectional mindsets: never siloed, always seeing connections across systems
- Unified partnership: we don’t drop in and out; we build alongside
- Navigators of change: helping teams move through complexity with clarity and courage
Who We Are
We’re a growing team with deep experience in organizational change, systems change and public policy, research, and equity strategy.
- Melissa Young, Founder & CEO is the engine of vision and momentum behind The Intersect. With more than two decades at the nexus of public systems, philanthropy and movement strategy, she charts bold direction, opens doors, and forges the partnerships that fuel our work.
- Dr. Traci Rivera, Chief Strategy Officer is the connective tissue between vision and implementation; across both internal structure and external strategy. She helps organizations and coalitions move from intention to execution by aligning leadership, infrastructure and systems to sustain equity-centered outcomes.
- Joseph Skehan, Project Coordinator is the steady pulse of our operations. He ensures our team, timelines and workflows stay in sync; bringing rhythm and reliability to fast moving cross-sector practice.
Together, we build more than just deliverables; we cultivate clarity. We’re partners in building infrastructure and long-term impact for equity-driven change.
What’s Next
Later this year, we’ll share our frameworks, the ones we’ve been using behind the scenes to help coalitions, organizations, and funders move from intention to action.
These frameworks reflect everything we’ve learned:
That equity must be embedded in structure, not just strategy
That clarity creates safety, and momentum
That north star goals require ecosystem aligned strategies and tactics
And that no single organization will get there alone
We look forward to sharing more soon.
The Intersect was built for what comes next.
Let’s build it together.