Mission
To help institutions and ecosystems design and align systems that work, advancing just, effective, and durable solutions to complex societal challenges.
Values
Centering Community Expertise & Equity
We ground systems work in justice and equity, centering the expertise of the people closest to complex challenges.
Strategy that Holds in Practice
We design strategies, systems, and structures that work in the real world.
Shared Power Through Partnership
We align institutions, communities, and leaders to move collective strategies forward.
Accountability for System Change
Our work focuses on durable change, policies, structures, and partnerships that strengthen institutions and create more just outcomes over time.
Who We Are
Melissa Young
Co Managing Partner Ecosystem Strategy & External Positioning
Ecosystem Strategy • Systems Alignment • Policy & Partnerships
Melissa is an ecosystem strategist and cross-systems leader who designs and advances large-scale solutions to complex societal challenges. She specializes in aligning institutions, partners, and resources to deliver measurable, durable impact across policy and systems.
With over two decades of experience in public policy, partnership, and systems change, Melissa has led high-impact initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels, shaping legislative, regulatory, and implementation strategies that improve outcomes for people and communities.
Melissa brings a distinct ability to see across systems, identify emerging pressures and opportunities, and translate complexity into actionable design. She consistently bridges government, philanthropy, and community stakeholders, to move from strategy to execution. She has designed and implemented evidence-informed frameworks that strengthen accountability, improve alignment, and enable partners to deliver results at scale. Her leadership consistently focuses on translating complex systems challenges into actionable strategies that drive durable outcomes.
She holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago and is a PhD candidate in Sociology at Loyola University Chicago. Her research focuses on the institutional and network conditions that enable effective, equitable systems change, and sustained impact.
Dr.Traci Rivera
Co-Managing Partner of Enterprise Architecture & Internal Coherence
Strategy • Systems Architecture • Execution • Practice Design
Dr. Rivera is an enterprise architect who translates strategy into sustained, executable approaches in complex, multi-stakeholder environments. She designs governance, authority, and operational frameworks that enable strategy to move from ambition to sustained practice, within organizations and across the systems and partnerships required to carry it forward.
She specializes in where implementation fractures: unclear roles, misaligned infrastructure, behavioral and cultural resistance, and structural risks. By diagnosing these challenges and building clear decision pathways, milestone plans, and risk mitigation strategies, she creates the conditions for initiatives to move forward and scale effectively, codifying this work into practical frameworks that help organizations and systems translate strategy into real-world execution.
With over 20 years of experience across healthcare administration, nonprofit leadership, and cross-sector work, and holds an Ed.D. in Organizational Change and Administration, Dr. Rivera has led organizational stabilization, governance transitions, and multi-agency initiatives. Drawing on her research on advancing equity and redistributing power, she shapes how organizations operate, make decisions, and sustain meaningful change. She brings deep insight into how authority structures and system dynamics influence outcomes, particularly in high-pressure environments.
Kara Cataldo
Researcher and Analytical Economist
Kara is an applied researcher and analytical economist who supports the design and execution of strategy through data, analysis, and structured inquiry. Her work focuses on strengthening how systems are understood through evidence and insight, contributing to informed decision-making across complex public and cross-sector environments.
At The Intersect, she contributes to research, system diagnostics, and project coordination across initiatives involving workforce systems, public benefits access, and cross-agency efforts. She supports the development of insights that help translate strategy into actionable direction.
Kara brings a structured, analytical approach to complex challenges, combining econometric training with a focus on identifying patterns, gaps, and opportunities that inform strategy.
She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of New Hampshire.