How Shared Purpose Takes Shape Across a City

What does it take for a large, multi-partner initiative to move with clarity, alignment, and care, especially when the work itself is centered on safety, healing, and trust?

When I began supporting WhenLoveWorks Dynamically® and the Loveleader NYC initiative, the

work was not just about launching a program. It was about helping a complex collaboration find shared language, internal alignment, and a communication rhythm that could actually hold the weight of what the work was addressing.

The initiative brought together the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, United Way of New York, facilitators, ambassadors, and community-based organizations across the city. There was deep commitment across the board, and there was also a lot of movement, a lot of voices, and a lot of responsibility. In environments like that, clarity is not a nice-to-have. It is what allows people to work with trust, confidence, and consistency.

Much of my role centered on listening and translating. Listening to how the team talked about the work, where language felt unclear, where expectations lived in conversation but not yet in structure, and where communication could either support the mission or quietly create friction. From there, the focus became building internal communication systems and narrative alignment so that everyone involved, from leadership to ambassadors to community partners, could move with the same understanding of purpose, process, and voice.

The development of the Love Leader Ambassador Program made that especially visible. Ambassadors were not simply recruiting participants or identifying sites. They were representing the heart of the program in their own communities. Supporting them meant ensuring they had clear messaging, shared language, and a strong sense of what they were carrying forward, not just logistically, but in terms of meaning, trust, and responsibility.

Over time, what emerged was the difference that intentional internal communications and narrative clarity make. When teams are aligned around why the work exists and how it is being carried, decisions become steadier. Partnerships feel more grounded. The story being told externally reflects the truth of what is happening internally.

That experience continues to shape how I approach communications and narrative strategy. Before anything goes public, the internal story has to be clear. Before a message is shared, the people carrying it need to feel aligned and supported. Narrative is not only what an organization publishes. It is what its people understand, repeat, and stand on together.

For a closer look at the data behind this work, including participation, engagement, and program outcomes, you can view the full in-depth case study here.