^{XEM in Vietnamese means to look at/observe; to examine; to read; to consider; to evaluate; and to predict.}

I finally established a consulting company in 2020 after many years of being a "fixer" and consulting with various organizations. I am most interested in working with businesses, non-profit organizations, higher education institutions, foundations, government entities, and other organizations on transformational institutional change. I want to go beyond checkboxes and icebergs to examine how systems of oppression cause inequities within these organizations and address the policies and practices that allow for these disparities to exist. I want to work with organizations to lead with justice and equity, while also recognizing that some organizations may also need to pay careful detail to diversity and inclusion. 

While I prefer to work with organizations whose philosophies are aligned with JEDI principles, I am happy to engage in work with organizations that are in crisis and don't know where to start. I have entered higher education institutions after student protests and campus turmoil to work with institutional leadership to better understand the experiences of their students, staff, and faculty. In one situation, I was invited to support an organization after a racist encounter involving one of their employees went viral. I engage in meaningful dialogue with students, staff, faculty, and senior leadership about the campus culture and offer concrete recommendations for institutional change. There is countless research supporting the business case for diversity -- I help leaders see how treating members of their organization in fair and equitable ways will improve engagement, retention, and outcomes. I occassionally lead discussions and give presentations on topics related to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion as part of larger organizational change initiatives. Sometimes these conversations and workshops are one-off opportunities that do not lead to systemic change. I recommend organizations look more deeply into the structures within that impede their progress.

I have extensive experience and training working with diverse stakeholders in leading organizational change, strategic planning, and research and evaluation. My work is informed by research on "best practices" and theory to better understand organizational dynamics. I stay up-to-date on the latest literature on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion issues. This provides clients with access to a plethora of knowledge and resources outside of the organization that could support organizational efforts.

I am a trained qualitative research in several methodologies, including phenomenology, ethnography, case study, grounded theory, among others. I enjoy conducting individual interviews, focus groups, and observations. I have worked as an evaluation consultant advising foundations on research grants they have awarded as well as served as a lead qualitative researcher on a grant from the federal government.

I take a collaborative approach to working with organizations and people, both in my work on organizational change and research. I recognized that the individuals I speak with possess more knowledge about institutional dynamics and their lived experiences than I do. I am careful in how I engage their voices during the strategic planning process and research processes to make sure that the overarching themes are shared in a way that is not identifiable to others. As part of conducting rigorous research and taking a trauma-informed approach, I also engage in member checks to ensure that the findings and recommendations reflect participants' experiences. 

If you are interested in working with me or would like to learn more about my work, please do not hesitate to contact me.