“More people read Cosmo than the American Journal of Sociology.”

At 23, I entered a Ph.D. program. I aced quantitative sociology courses, lead stats labs for my peers, and fell in love with research on sex and gender. Though, I remember telling one of my professors, “More people read Cosmo than the American Journal of Sociology.”

I meant it then and I mean it now. Data matters. So does reaching people where they actually are.

By 25, I had my Master’s degree, published research, and a choice: Stay in the Ivory Tower? Or, be a practitioner and truly build something new in the world? I chose the latter. I traveled, learned languages, and kissed new lips. And, I gained two decades of experience.

I’m a sexual health educator, healthy relationships advocate, and performing artist. The Washington Post called me a gifted storyteller. Harvard, SXSW, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre have put me in front of their audiences. Land O’Lakes, Newsweek, Planned Parenthood put me on their team.

Relationships make the world go round, and I deeply understand how human relationships actually work. That’s not something AI can beat.

The trust dynamics, the communication failures, and gaps between what people say they value and how they actually behave? I bring that knowledge and lived experience to organizations, stages, and the page.

That’s the basis upon which I built FUNKY BROWN CHICK, Inc., an intersectional sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) consultancy. Experience has taught us that the most impactful interventions happen when rigorous evidence meets accessible storytelling.

I’m building something bigger than myself. For over 20 years, my team and I have helped more than 100 NGOs, nonprofits, foundations, and mission-aligned organizations translate their work into stories that move donors, funders, policymakers, and the public. And we’ve got the stats, data infrastructure, and facts to prove it’s working.

The organizations we’ve supported collectively manage over US$655 million in programming budgets. We moved 900,000+ people in a single campaign. We deliver 4X fundraising return on investment. Our clients’ newsletters open at 60–77% — against a 15–25% sector average.

We work across nine intersecting areas of social impact: arts and culture for social change, civic engagement and voting rights, climate justice, food justice, healthcare access, human rights, immigration justice, income and employment equity, and anti-racism / justice.

Our approach: Data without stories doesn’t move people. Stories without data don’t move capital. So, we do both.

We’re transatlantic to the core. My firm and team are based in U.S, and I’m in Portugal. An American citizen and Portuguese resident, I’m fluent in Dutch and English, with working proficiencies in Portuguese and French. My former U.S. Department of State posting was at the American Embassy in The Hague.

“Three Acts of Justice”, the white paper I coauthored via a partnership with Harvard University, provides a community and rights-based reproductive justice framework. Conceived, written, and published two years before the threats we saw on the horizon materialized, we equipped artists, advocates, policymakers, and others with the needed tools to fight back. And we gave a heads up that the EU should prepare itself against anti-democratic forces that were taking hold in the U.S.

We align our work such that it directly advances the UN’s Sustainability Goals, and priorities of the EU’s Gender Equality Strategy 2026–2030, Anti-Racism Strategy 2026–2030, and the LGBTIQ+ Equality Strategy 2026–2030.

Because rights-based change requires both policy alignment and community trust. Because challenges aren’t confined to silos or borders, and neither are we.

A more just, joyful, and interconnected world? I’m not waiting for it. I’m actively building it together with the next generation of leaders on my team, across the EU, UN, the WHO European Region, and beyond. Get in touch. Let’s build something together.