Inventive approaches require an inventive team. We’re a group of strategists, facilitators, architects, data scientists and programmers, writers, researchers, and designers who have experience working with nonprofits, government agencies, foundations, museums and cultural institutions, large companies, startups, and higher education institutions.
Madge combines broad experience, an ability to manage complex projects, and a personal commitment to fostering inclusivity and collaboration through design and strategy processes. Trained as an architect and with extensive experience in project management, she embodies a rare balance of vision and pragmatism and is equally comfortable designing a new approach as she is in reimagining the current one. As the leader of our interpretive planning practice, Madge has led planning processes for cultural sites around the country, including August Wilson House, Menokin, Dix Park, Mississippi Museum of Art, and Washington Park Arboretum.
Master of Architecture, Columbia University
An experienced facilitator of 1,600+ retreats and sessions, Robert uses facilitation and planning techniques to help nonprofits, local governments, and philanthropies make collaborative, strategic decisions. He was formerly a Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, at Harvard's Kennedy School, where he worked with U.S. cities to incorporate data and design across city governments, and at the Richard King Mellon Foundation, where he helped to launch the nation's premier accelerator for creative businesses. For the past eight years he has served as a senior advisor to Director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, a national leader in the use of data to improve human services. He is also a certified end-of-life doula, work that grounds his systems-level perspective in the most personal of human experiences.
Master of Strategic Design and Management, Parsons School of Design at The New School and Master of Public Management, Carnegie Mellon University
Nic's leadership of Brocade's Data Science and Analytics practice is focused on building better systems within education and human services. As a member of the survivor community, he is particularly motivated by the reality that systems and institutions meant to protect, uplift, and otherwise serve young people are under-performing and, in many cases, failing to meet their needs. A former Obama Foundation Scholar, he applies emerging practices in artificial intelligence and machine learning to support and improve the delivery of social services. He has created crisis-management programs in Pennsylvania’s lowest performing public schools and used advanced analytics to support the delivery of individualized and ethical mental healthcare.
Master of Business Administration and Master of Computer Science, University of Chicago
A renowned writer, facilitator, conflict management specialist, STEAM educator, and crafter of museum exhibits, Toni brings a range of experiences and skills to the Brocade team. She shaped the Cultural Expressions exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, for which she won an American Alliance of Museums award, and has contributed to exhibits at the National Civil Rights Museum and the Museum at the Gateway Arch – work which The Washington Post noted "grapples with fundamental questions."
Bachelor of Arts, Clark University
Hannah is a social researcher who brings experience with grounded engagement and contextual analysis to Brocade. Drawing on her doctoral research in the Rustbelt, she has worked with journalists, filmmakers, innovation labs, and foundations, advocating for nuanced approaches to community, work and infrastructure. Hannah also has a decade of experience collaborating on resource-building projects, including initiatives that have expanded public transportation, increased access to fresh food, and created spaces for art and education.
Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Chicago
A graphic designer, illustrator, and educator, Adele has nearly a decade of experience in brand identity and publication. They have served as adjunct faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of the Arts, program manager at the renowned Storefront for Community Design, and creative director at a micro-mobility startup. Adele's work centers around stewardship, collaboration, and social activism with the belief that good design makes for healthier communities.
Master of Fine Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University
Have a complicated problem and need someone who can get you to a new place?
Intractable problems require inventive approaches.
