Hi friend,

How was your Summer??

I want to imagine it filled with sparkling, sunny getaways; effortless relaxation; and soulful encounters with loved ones and friends.

That said, I know what era we’re in. Our Summers might have been a mix of those lovely things I mentioned, and it might have brought an unexpected curveball or twelve, a heaping dose of vague anxiety, or the weight of not knowing if everything — sorry, anything — will be alright.

That’s life in America these days. And for us, that’s work, too.

In this Letter:

• You’re Invited: Virtual Connect with Re:Brand Coll …

• Something Sweet: a trip that changed everything

• And Just Remember…

September is a major month for me. I don’t know if it’s back-to-school conditioning, some primal human urge to harvest, or just being a September Virgo, but this time of year always makes me want to take stock. 

What’s changed since last year? Who am I now? Where am I headed? With only so much time between the end of the Summer nd the end of the year, September makes me feel like I need to know what’s going to shape my soul’s calendar until winter comes.

And, as of last year, it’s the month Issue Space was born, too. ☺️

Can you believe it’s been a year? Dozens of deep conversations and unfiltered perspectives, new connections and playful polls, and some of the vibe-iest parties for impact pros I’ve been to in a while — to be building such a vibrant new world with all of you is more inspiring, more genuine, and more thought-provoking than I had even imagined.

And my sharing a birthday season with the Space feels like fate. Because I’ve realized — while Issue Space is for and about all of us who seek careers we can morally and socially stand behind, it’s also for and about my own journey as just one of us, trying to find a way in this work while the world seems to fight peace and equity with all its might.

To the impact workforce, Issue Space is an offering. But to me, it’s also a mirror, a diary, a scrapbook, and a heart monitor tracking my relationship with purpose-led work.

And this may come as no surprise — but things have changed.

I started working on Issue Space in 2022. I was in a job I loved (give or take all the normal job things), helping leaders support social causes with sincerity and intention. After six nonstop years in the space since my pivot from the music biz, I had become invested in the people I worked with. Not only the clients I supported or even the populations we served, but the other employees and entrepreneurs who, like me, had found their way to this work.

I wanted to help my fellow impact professionals feel heard in naming the challenges of the space, but uplifted enough to keep going in it – an impact strategist’s theory of change, and an encouraging mother’s mindset before I was even a mother.

A podcast, I thought. That’s what I should make. With a podcast, I knew I could amplify the inspiring stories I got to savor across this sector, without having to sugarcoat the complexities of the work to make it go down smoother.

The vision seemed to fit my gifts. Over the years, whenever I spoke publicly, curated a community space, wrote or designed something from the heart, or facilitated a complex conversation, the feedback was resounding – I had a gift for calling people in. And while most days at work, I used my strategist’s intellect to untangle complexity, I also dreamed in the colors of creative expression and media, as a lifelong maker and an alumna of entertainment. And what do I tell my clients if not to look for an approach to changemaking that aligns with who they already are, authentically?

So, boop! After some time, I premiered the first season of the Issue Space podcast on September 17, 2024. In each episode, I sat in conversation with a small circle of impact pros whose diversity reflects my own social and professional circles. I included speakers across experience levels and ‘influencer’ status, and spoke to everyone with equal candor and respect. I started embodying the bridge I’d wanted to build between impact careerists of all stripes, between our safe spaces to vent and the inspiring stories we could work and live by.

But as I said, things change. 

When I’d started building Issue Space as a podcast, my context for social impact work was drastically different from what it is now. I had a full-time corporate (impact) job with a leadership vantage point. The political stance toward changemaking was open, if mild, and nowhere near as hostile or regressive as it is just a few years later. And I was not yet a parent, confronted every moment with a living, breathing reminder of what’s at stake both hour by hour and generation by generation. 

By the time that first season actually streamed, all of that had changed. I was working independently for the first time in my career; mothering a baby and finding myself somehow even more sensitive, communal, and protective as a person than I was before; and watching with everyone else as America began its tactless transformation into the harsh version that we see so brazenly today. 

And then here came 2025. In a few short months, I lost a year’s worth of consulting work to the destruction of USAID and the pressure applied to powerful for-profits to disavow anything vaguely people-y. For me, this was coming off of the relative quiet of postpartum professional life – I had been working, but not aggressively building a robust pipeline as I might have if I wasn’t also caring for a newborn. So when it came to fall-back work, I had none.

Today, while I haven’t had to shutter a nonprofit program or walk out of a government building with a box of my things, I was – I am – among the countless numbers of us whose visions of a career in social support and positive change suddenly seem much more complicated. I still love what I do and strengthening my clients’ causes, but every day I have to ask myself — how much do I want to keep this work at the center of my professional mission? 

So, yes, I’m taking stock this birthday. And you know where I’m starting? 

Right back at authenticity.

What is my path in purpose-led work without the steadiness, clarity, and cultural ground of past impact eras I’ve known? And how does that new point of view alter who I am and what I bring to Issue Space?

It feels awkward to center my own perspective in an offering designed for others — so much so that in the early days of Issue Space, I avoided it altogether. But the reality is that the more confident I am that I’m offering you what I do best, and the more grounded I am in the fact that we’re all walking the same uncertain road together, the better the Space is going to feel for all of us.

And for all the uncertainty that’s swirled around Issue Space’s first year on Earth, I actually have gained clarity, both about the Space and my role in it.

I’ve relearned some things I’d forgotten, like how instinctual it is for me to seek out collaborators whose unique gifts I can composite with mine to create something that moves people. (This may be a callback to my music industry roots, where complementary collaborations are as natural as breathing. Put a rap verse on that pop song, baby!) This drive pumps me up for partnerships and helps me and the other co-creators who exist across Issue Space and beyond find one another.

I’ve had some new realizations, like the fact that, community-growth goals be damned, there is a tipping point I reach with social media where I just…can’t. It’s sparked a brainstorm about how best to share and connect with you as a community while honoring that some of our options don’t always feel spot-on. And that’s okay. I’m happy with the measured, intentional growth of the Space if it means taking time to explore what will ultimately feel best for this community in time.

I’ve also identified where I’m still working through unresolved tensions, like my desire to keep Issue Space rooted in the reason it started — as a way to uplift, rather than burden, you — in contrast to my constant awareness of just how much is Not Right in our world, and how weird it can feel to suspend engaging with that darkness in the name of bringing you a little light. It’s a tension I’ve explored before, one that’s probably not settling anytime soon.

So this birthday, for all my recapping and reflection, please hear me when I say — thank you. For being open to a new idea about what our sector needs, for listening to the voices I wanted to share with you, for coming to my parties and vibing with my ever-expanding circle of impact friends, and for witnessing my evolution as a person and professional in the push for positive change.

Happy birthday to us. ☺️

In loving community,

✨ If you’re looking to grant us a birthday wish, consider becoming an Issue Space Supporter to power our content, collabs, and community events. ✨

You’re Invited: Virtual Connect with Re:Brand Collective

If you’ve been around Issue Space, you know I’ve been in my IRL event bag, not really dipping a toe into virtual hangs. But this opportunity to bring together two communities I belong to — and believe in — is just too good to pass up…

Enter ✨ Building Community ✨, a virtual moment with yours truly and Cat Canada of Re:Brand Collective (yes, we’re both creators of safe spaces for thoughtful professionals and yes, we’re both named Cat 🥲).

You’re invited to cozy up in this fireside chat about Cat’s and my stories in building intentional career communities, working in social impact and purpose-led business, navigating both landscapes as parents and caretakers, and whatever questions you want to throw into the space as we get to know this new community.

RSVP here to join — I hope to see ya!

Something Sweet

So often, “holding space” in social impact means working through the hard stuff. But we owe it to ourselves to capture the good times, too. The Something Sweet series highlights uplifting moments and memories in impact work shared by members of the Issue Space community.

In this edition, we hear from a communications strategist and consultant reflecting on place and reconnection to their work.

100x More

I had been working with my client for seven years.

I was leading their communications, helping shape their voice in the space, and finally, I was able to take an international trip with them to visit our grantee partners – the heart of our work.

Many of our grantees had just been impacted by the USAID cuts, and it was an extremely heavy moment for all of us. Despite that cloud of uncertainty, I will always remember this trip for the pure, deep human connections we formed with not only our partners, but also the communities they serve.

It was perspective-shifting in every way, getting to visit the special places, people, and work we fund. I had been learning and hearing about them for so long, but being there in person is always different — and a critical reminder to step away from our virtual spaces and immerse ourselves in real life, real community, real dirt, as often and whenever we can.

I came back to the United States feeling 100x more connected there than I did here, and have been processing and exploring what that means for my life now, working in social impact under this administration, while trying to build the life I want – and carrying forward what I learned and felt on that long-overdue trip.

And Just Remember…

Join the Space

💌 Are you on the mailing list to receive this letter? If not, sign up here.

🎧 Hear the Issue Space podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and these streaming platforms. We feature diverse social impact pros on the lived experience of social change work.

🤝 Wanna team up? Brands, organizations, or other entrepreneurs who might connect with our community can send partnership inquiries to [email protected].

🗣️  Have an insight about life in the business of impact or an idea for the Space? We’d love to hear from you! Send a message on Signal at @issuespace.24, or email us at [email protected].