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 strategy and design processes. She embodies a rare balance of vision and pragmatism. As the leader of Brocade’s strategic planning practice, Bemiss recently completed strategic planning processes for the Legal Aid Justice Center and the Mississippi Museum of Art. In addition to managing strategic planning, Bemiss is an adept project manager, recently completing a multi-year project management engagement for the American Civil War Museum, in Richmond.
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 has held appointments 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.
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. His strategy and data science work has included creating crisis-management programs in Pennsylvania’s lowest performing public schools and using advanced analytics to support the delivery of individualized and ethical mental healthcare. Nic is a 2024-2025 Obama Foundation Scholar, focused on applying emerging practices in artificial intelligence and machine learning to support and improve the delivery of social services.
Bachelor of Arts, Carnegie Mellon University
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. ABD in Anthropology, University of Chicago
Kelsey has a wide range of experience working with both nonprofits and philanthropies. As a Program Assistant at the Ford Foundation in the Office of the President, she worked on special projects and pioneered a disability inclusion initiative that transformed into a national collaborative. She has also served as a Senior Program Officer at the New York Women's Foundation, where she managed the NYC Fund for Girls and Women of Color, and as Senior Director of Business Development at Possibility Labs, where she supported the development of a California-based housing acquisition fund.
Master of Nonprofit Leadership, University of Pennsylvania
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Ruth brings over a decade of experience helping organizations grow and operate more effectively. With a background spanning international development, consulting, entrepreneurship, and digital media, she finds creative ways to improve systems and build strong partnerships. She’s managed multi-million dollar USAID-funded projects in Africa, created growth strategies for private companies, and built a brand from the ground up through Fudena, a fast casual West African restaurant that sourced from Black-owned farms and supported local Philadelphia causes.
Master of Business Administration, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Nick is a Technical Fellow at Brocade, where he develops elegant technical solutions to our client's most complex problems. He has worked as a Senior Software Engineer at Google on the Search team, as an Engineering Manager at Better (a financial services company), and most recently as Head of Engineering at Join (enterprise software used by nearly half of the country's largest construction/contracting firms).
Jocelyn is a seasoned nonprofit leader and strategist with two decades of cross-
sector experience in philanthropy, higher education, and youth and community services. She has advanced training in participatory and liberatory research methods, participant- and client-centered facilitation, and program design. She is the former Executive Director of Strong Women, Strong Girls, a multi-generational mentorship organization, and served as Senior Program Officer at the McCune Foundation, where she oversaw capacity-building grants for 75+ organizations in the foundation's culture, education, and civic and human services portfolios.
Ph.D. in Social Work, Tulane University and MSc in Urban Geography, London School of Economics
A writer, public historian, archivist, and genealogist, Alonna Carter-Donaldson has a deep passion for African-American history and genealogy. She is a former Burke Fellow at The Frick Pittsburgh, where she assisted in re-imagining interpretive tours, and a former scholar for Western PA Disability History and Action Consortium, where she documented the stories of BIPOC members of the region's disability community.
Master of Public History, Duquense University and Master of Professional Writing, Chatham University
Collin is a Data Scientist with a deep background in research and education. He is concurrently pursuing a PhD in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department at Harvard University, where he uses distributed systems to deploy large scale statistical models. His recent research employs Bayesian statistics, MCMC, MAP estimation (maximum a posteriori fitting), and Gaussian processes. Before joining both Brocade and Harvard, Collin served as a public charter school teacher in Boston, MA. Outside of work, he volunteers with the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture and Harvard-MIT Science Research Mentorship Program to mentor aspiring astrophysicists and lead outreach at local secondary schools.
PhD Candidate, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University
Haiyue is a talented data analytics professional equally skilled in both statistical modeling and infrastructure design and development (a rare combination). She has built CI/CD pipelines, and developed database schemas and SQL queries on Snowflake for data extraction, for a major consumer packaged goods company. She has also built machine learning models that predict financial distress for one of the largest financial institutions in Asia.
Master of Applied Data Science, 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
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