I facilitate strategic transformations of social enterprises improving human quality of life.

The key principles that define my approach

Scaling trust > growth at all costs

1

Strategy is about making a set of decisions that work cohesively to deliver an outcome. One of my core beliefs is that an organization only survives as long as it maintains the trust of its stakeholders. So, in my work, I do not design for growth at all costs, especially not at the expense of trust. I design experiences around stakeholder needs and the tenets of trust, building client loyalty along the way.

In doing this, I also clarify the trade-offs being made to ensure the alignment of stakeholders and the alignment of vision and execution.

Purpose + people > process

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An organization can have the best process in the world and get nowhere without a clear purpose and the ability to bring people along. So, while many change efforts start with process, I start by working toward extreme clarity of purpose and meaningfully engaging stakeholders of all types in cross-functional and integrated organization design.

Don’t get me wrong. There is a process, but it is iterative and adapts to the need. The purpose and what we learn from the organization’s people influence the course of action, and my approach enables all stakeholders to feel a sense of ownership.

Experimentation > ego

3

The pace of change in an organization’s external environment is fast, so an organization that wants to be resilient needs to adapt quickly. Whereas ego blocks an organization’s ability to identify and monetize opportunities, experimentation unlocks opportunities and converts them to revenue.

No matter a person’s title, they cannot predict the future with absolute certainty, so I relieve everyone of that burden. Instead, we engage in futuring and experimentation together, and the collaborative effort is what yields the best results.

As a former teacher, I also know how to make the work approachable for people new to strategic transformation and not practiced with working cross-functionally.

The whole > sum of its parts

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Everything and everyone exists within context. In organizations, like in any other system, a change in one area affects other aspects of the organization. If you fix something in a vacuum, it breaks something elsewhere.

I take a holistic approach—combining systems thinking, service design, futuring, and essentialism—that embraces the context and full scope of complexities.

I also balance the need for defined areas of ownership and responsibility with the reality that silos create friction that hinders an organization’s potential.

And my methods have gotten results

Reinventing a high-touch social enterprise into a scalable business

1

1

path to scale existing capabilities

39%

revenue increase from improvements to existing services

Redesigning and scaling a startup social impact consulting firm

2

10x

revenue growth in two years

2x

team size growth in two years

Redesigning a bottleneck service into a hybrid, human + AI service

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87%

reduction in labor input

=

maintained the quality of deliverables

  • Collaborating with Alaina is inspiring. She has an uncanny ability to listen deeply, find the human truth in every challenge, and turn it into a solution that feels both innovative and practical.

    Martha Vega, Education Leader

  • Alaina has an uncommon ability to see through the business challenges and use customer insights to create a focused solution based on the existing strengths of the company.

    Eli Gerson, Business Strategy & Innovation Manager

  • What Alaina does might as well be magic. Her ability to seamlessly integrate different functions of a business into a unified whole is sorcery. Her magic extends to working with clients and colleagues—listening to their problems (both what is said and unsaid), analyzing present and future needs, and generating breakthrough ideas that drive their business.

    Dr. Obi Amachi, Organizational Psychologist & Executive Coach

  • Alaina is an extremely skilled guide. She takes seemingly disconnected ideas and information and creates clarity for the path forward. She leads with empathy and is skilled at bringing the genius present in others to the forefront.

    Kelly Haywood, Entrepreneur

  • I was incredibly fortunate to work under Alaina... Her mentorship changed the way I serve others and helped me understand the difference we can make when we lead with purpose, compassion, and high expectations.

    Leti Bocanegra, Operations Leader