Experience
For leaders whose work depends on people who don't yet agree.
The contexts below are different. The leadership challenges are the same.
Over more than three decades, this work has taken place inside some of the most complex and high-stakes environments in government, public safety, emergency management, public health, and corporate leadership. The common thread is not the sector or the specific issue. It is the leadership challenge: people who must work together to move something important forward are not yet moving together. The engagements below represent that challenge across very different contexts. Each one is different in substance. The structure of the problem is the same.
Representative Engagements
Opioid Crisis Coalition; Washington, DC
Built a public-private, cross-sector coalition of 150+ organizations in response to one of the most complex U.S. public health crises and continue to support more than eight years later as leadership changed, and the crisis itself evolved. Unified stakeholders from public health, public safety, criminal justice, treatment, hospitals, community, and faith sectors under a single citywide strategic plan that adapted through three iterations. Sustain coordination thorough monthly working groups and quarterly summits.
AI Adoption and Leadership Alignment; PE-Backed Professional Services Firm
A private equity-backed firm was seeking help accelerating AI adoption. Our initial conversations revealed a more fundamental challenge: the leadership team did not share a common direction, common priorities, or agreement on what the business needed to become.
Worked with the executive team to establish the shared strategic foundation that impactful and sustainable AI adoption requires. Once leaders were operating from common priorities and a shared framework, the AI adoption work that followed was focused and leaders were aligned on ROI and success measures. The lesson: AI adoption is a change management challenge. Getting leaders aligned first is not a detour. It is a part of the work.
Public-Private Crisis Response Collaboration; All Hazards Consortium
Design and facilitate collaboration constructs and working sessions with state and industry operations leaders to solve real-world disaster problems faster, safer, and more effectively. The core work includes breaking down the barriers of trust and competing interests that prevent public and private sectors from optimal coordination. Most recently supported the 2026 Public-Private Innovation Summit where federal, state, and industry leaders convened to build collaborative strategies for national critical infrastructure security.
Global Resilience Planning; Rockefeller Foundation
Designed and facilitated a one week multi-nation convening of Chief Resilience Officers and international finance experts to develop global funding mechanisms for extreme heat impacts on vulnerable populations. The work required aligning leaders from different nations and disciplines around a problem that crossed climate resilience, economic policy, geopolitics, and national security simultaneously. Produced a shared framework for funding and coordination across national boundaries.
Executive Visioning and Strategic Planning; Major Urban Police Department
A new Police Chief needed to establish shared direction under intense public scrutiny, with an executive team that was not aligned on top priorities or department vision. Worked with the Chief and full executive team to create a shared 10-year vision, four strategic priorities with 18-month outcome commitments, and senior leadership ownership at every level. Built the accountability infrastructure that kept the work moving beyond the planning session and cascaded direction across the broader leadership. The Chief's assessment: more progress in the first six months than the department had achieved in the previous six years.
Citywide Transformation Coalition; Jacksonville, FL
Convened government, business, academia, nonprofits, and faith community leaders to address escalating hate crimes and deep inequities in health, education, and economic opportunity. The leaders brought vastly different perspectives, priorities, and definitions of success. Built the governance, the shared commitments, and the accountability structures that moved a fractured conversation into a collective impact model, operating with working groups delivering on shared goals, with the coalition committed to the common goal of providing opportunities for all residents to thrive and feel a sense of belonging.
The sectors vary. The challenge does not: people who must work together are not yet working together.
“Jonathan brings empathy, energy, and execution to every interaction. He’s masterful at balancing tough conversations with respect, humor, and openness.”
“Jonathan combines a principled approach with tactical clarity. Meetings don’t just result in more meetings. They result in focused strategies, immediate action, and lasting impact.”