Communicating in a Time of Narrative Change
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Shake up your nonprofit’s narrative to be more equitable while being authentic
In a time where there is an abundance of messages, taglines, mantras, and visuals that inspire and ignite feeling and action, how do communication professionals balance the desire to inform, educate, and share critical information about your organization?
- What are the stories that are embedded in what you are communicating?
- What narrative do these stories create?
- What is the setting, the characters?
- As the chief narrator, whose point of view is being centered in these stories?
- Are you in the business of narrative change in your organization?
- And, if so, what is the impetus for and goal of the narrative change?
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Melissa Johnson Hewitt, MSW, CPDC
Principal
Melissa Johnson Hewitt, Founder and Principal of Forward Movement Consulting, has over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Melissa has a strong network of relationship and brings passion and commitment to FMC’s consulting and coaching practice. With a clear focus on organizations that support and serve communities of color, Melissa brings a thoughtful approach and grounded analysis to her work. A trained social worker, Melissa values openness, transparency, flexibility, and inclusivity.
Melissa began her career working as a social worker providing counseling and support to Latino families in North Carolina through Catholic Social Services. From there she transitioned into capacity building for nonprofits across the state of North Carolina at the NC Center for Nonprofits. She soon made the transition into philanthropy working with community foundations in the state and later transitioning to the national level. For more than the next 12 years, Melissa worked to organize, support, and advocate for philanthropic leaders and organizations to lead and invest their resources through a racial equity lens. She held previous positions at Foundation for the Carolinas, Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity, National Committee on Responsive Philanthropy, Neighborhood Funders Group. Prior to founding Forward Movement Consulting, Melissa leveraged her philanthropic networks and knowledge to raise money for NAACP and Community Change.
Melissa holds a B.A. in English and Sociology from Wake Forest University and an MSW from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a concentration on community practice and community development. She is a certified professional diversity coach through CoachDiversity Institute and a member of the International Coach Federation. She is a former board chair of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy, former board member of Funding Exchange and the Black Philanthropic Alliance, and currently serves on the Board of Advisors of UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work.
A proud North Carolina native, she resides in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her beloved husband Damon, and their three children – Aminah, Avery, and Desmond.
