Meeting Meryanne Loum-Martin, the only Black female hotelier in Morocco and the visionary behind Jnane Tamsna, offered a powerful window into what it means to build spaces where culture, story, and belonging are held with intention. This piece reflects on her leadership, the vision behind The Diaspora Salon, and what it means to convene the global African diaspora in rooms designed for dialogue, narrative exchange, and cultural stewardship across borders.

What happens in a community when those in positions of responsibility go quiet? How do people make meaning when answers are delayed, language is careful, or acknowledgment is absent? This reflection explores how silence is interpreted, how communities listen for tone and intent, and why narrative presence shapes trust in moments of uncertainty. It centers the responsibility of leaders and institutions to offer context, care, and orientation, not perfect certainty, so people f

Inside every organization are people carrying insight that never makes it into official talking points. They hold lived experience, hard-won lessons, and close-up views of how programs, policies, and strategies are actually felt on the ground. When communication is limited to formal updates and polished summaries, the story can flatten and feel distant. But when residents, practitioners, funders, and leaders are invited to share what they are seeing and learning, the narrativ

Being in Morocco made clear how story functions as infrastructure, how authorship shapes power, and how narrative becomes the foundation for dignity, identity, and community voice. Through time spent in community and in conversation, this piece explores what it means to steward story with care and to recognize whose voices are centered when culture, history, and belonging are carried across borders.

Every strong program must be understood by people who are listening for very different reasons and making very different decisions based on what they hear. While the facts of the work may remain the same, the questions, priorities, and stakes shift from room to room. This is where framing becomes essential, not just sharing information, but helping each audience understand what the work means for them, their role, and the change they are trying to advance.

I spoke alongside storytellers and community leaders from around the world in a gathering centered on the theme of unmasking. I shared my perspective on the narratives we inherit and the truths that live inside community. For me, unmasking is about getting beneath the surface of what people have been told about themselves, their neighborhoods, and their histories. It is about creating space for community voice to rise with honesty, dignity, and power.

What communities often register first is not what is said, but whether anyone is truly paying attention. This reflection looks at listening as a practice of care, alignment, and shared authorship, and how the space held before speaking can either strengthen trust or quietly erode it.

During my time in Turks and Caicos, I had the opportunity to sit with Antwon H.F. Walkin, AIAS, President of the Turks & Caicos Islands Society of Young Leaders (TCISYL). What began as a conversation quickly opened into something much larger. It was clear that this was not simply an organization creating space for young people to participate, but a movement positioning youth as active architects of national progress.

Being in community at Woodlawn United’s annual Woodlawn Saturday Supper revealed how narrative functions as infrastructure, why authorship matters, and what it means to tell the story of a place with care. Listening to how residents, leaders, and partners carry both the history and the future of their neighborhood, this piece explores how community voice, trust, and place-based storytelling shape belonging, perception, and how a place is understood and valued.

Every public story is shaped by who gets to name what’s happening and how it will be understood. This piece explores how framing becomes an act of power, how community experience is often translated instead of trusted, and what it takes to practice narrative leadership rooted in accountability and voice.

Spending time with a long-standing fruit market owner in Placencia, Belize revealed how local business, generational ownership, and everyday leadership sustain community life. This piece looks at how small businesses become anchors of trust and continuity, and why centering the voices of long-time community builders is essential to telling more honest stories about place, prosperity, and development.

Spending time with young leaders showed me how trust and belonging create the conditions for people to find their voice and grow into who they are becoming. This piece reflects on how leadership takes root when youth are seen, supported, and given space to be heard, and how community, care, and affirmation shape confidence, identity, and the ability to imagine a future with possibility.

When tension or change enters a community, language quietly shapes who feels included, who feels translated, and who feels pushed to the margins of the story. This reflection explores how framing, tone, and narrative choices can either build understanding or create distance, and why narrative integrity requires more than clarity. It calls for proximity, listening, and a willingness to let meaning be formed with the people most affected, not just about them.

What happens when an organization’s mission, message, and presence finally move in sync? This story traces the process of shaping a cohesive narrative for Templo Calvario, strengthening its visibility, and creating a communications strategy that supports both growth and community connection.

What does it take for a citywide initiative to move with clarity, care, and a shared sense of purpose, especially when multiple organizations, leaders, and communities are all carrying pieces of the same story? This work is about more than programs and participation. It is about creating the internal alignment that allows a mission to be communicated with consistency, integrity, and trust, so that everyone involved understands not only what is being done, but why it matters a

Hunger is often discussed in numbers and systems, but behind every data point is a family navigating uncertainty and a community doing what it can to hold one another together. This piece reflects on how strategic storytelling at Feeding America helped shape understanding, preserve dignity, and invite people into a shared responsibility, showing how the way a story is told can influence not just awareness, but action.

In a close-knit town, caregivers are not an abstract audience. They are neighbors, family members, and familiar faces, and the communications needed to reflect that reality with care and intention. The “Nominate a Caregiver” initiative invited the community to speak for themselves, allowing real stories and gratitude to shape the campaign and turning recognition into something shared rather than scripted.

I remember one of the first moments it really clicked for me what Love INC was carrying. It wasn’t in a meeting room or on a slide deck, but in the way people spoke about the families they walked alongside, the volunteers who kept showing up, and the responsibility of holding hope with care and dignity. What became clear was that this work wasn’t only about programs or services, it was about stewarding a story that needed to be shared with clarity, consistency, and deep respe