The Ripple Effect Team
We are a group of strategic thinkers, a diverse team that has come together with a common purpose. We are passionate about improving lives, protecting the planet and making the world a more just place. We partner with social entrepreneurs and innovative businesses to provide the tools and expertise to define on target messaging, build brands and tell that unique story to the world.
Cari Class
Cari is passionate about using her time and talents to create a better, more just world. Since 2007 she has been chapter leader of the giving circle Dining for Women working with programs that create a better life for women and girls living in extreme poverty in developing nations. It has been exhilarating for her to witness the synergies experienced by groups of people coming together locally to support communities globally.
At the same time, she became painfully aware of the challenges and obstacles faced by many nonprofit organizations. She observed the relationship between how successfully an organization could convey its story, passion and mission in a compelling, engaging way and the direct correlation to its fundraising results.
In twenty-five years of running Design Source Creative, an award-winning brand strategy and design communications firm she saw how the skills and expertise she developed could be utilized to help both nonprofit organizations and business entrepreneurs reach their fullest potential.
Cari has identified the areas of greatest need for the organizations she strives to serve which include board development, fundraising and strategy coupled with the implementation of programs such as communications, PR, web design and print collateral to deliver a complete package. She built a rock-star team of thought-leaders to deliver campaigns and strategies that create positive change and achieve results. Ripple Effect Group is structured to provide individual services on an as needed basis, or to come in to an organization or business as a cohesive team to deliver a comprehensive plan.
Cari would like to welcome you to Ripple Effect Group!
Susan Geear
“We live in a global marketplace that is ever changing and requires that we hold a worldview that attends to the world’s needs. To do so, leaders and organizations must cultivate the capacity to listen deeply, adapt accordingly and respond thoughtfully. Susan’s lifelong commitment is to forward social justice issues, ensuring that all people have an equal voice and opportunity to engage in the world.
Susan is an internationally acclaimed consultant and social justice advocate, partnering with leaders to support wide-ranging initiatives for personal, professional, organizational and social change. She brings with her extensive experience working with multinational organizations, financial institutions, healthcare professionals, non-profits and NGOs.
Her clientele spans over 32 countries, which has provided her the opportunity to travel and experience the diversity of cultures and traditions of Eastern Africa, Turkey, UAE and the Philippines. This rich cultural awareness supports her ability to bridge global communities by cultivating new pathways towards understanding and compassion, generating strategic partnership and fostering global citizenship.
In blending her extensive training with her professional experience in both private and not-for-profit sectors, Susan’s approach is well grounded and connects clients with their visions and aspirations. Through Organization and Leadership Development, Team Alignment, Board Development, and Strategic Planning, she guides the process of shaping a culture of authenticity, integrity and intentionality. Trust, compassion and optimism and are at the heart of her approach.”
Susan has also dedicated herself as an endurance athlete and has completed numerous marathons, half marathons, and triathlons and is currently training for the Chicago marathon in support of cancer research. She is an avid supporter of local and international causes.
Alison Lueders
To create the sustainable future we want, green businesses and socially conscious organizations like nonprofits must lead the way in showing what to do and how to do it. Business as usual is not an option. The future will be different, and hopefully better, than it is now. But we must act to ensure that it really IS better.
One tool for creating that future is communication — communication that is clear, consistent and compelling. Communication that tells a story, that moves people to action, that helps them understand “why”. The best communication helps build a shared sense of community and invites people to engage. A powerful community can amplify our messages and our actions.
Nonprofits often have wonderful stories to tell, and it’s important to tell them well. You must articulate what you offer, why it matters, and why donors and volunteers should choose you over all the other options out there. It’s hard to cut through the “noise” and get your message through. But when you succeed in finding your authentic voice, people are more likely to find you, engage with you, and spread the word. That’s how communication can truly help you change the world.
Alison Lueders is the Founder and Principal of Great Green Editing, a green business certified at the Platinum level by the Green Business Bureau. She provides website editing services to green businesses and socially conscious organizations. After graduating from Harvard College and the Sloan School at MIT, she pursued a wide-ranging business career, including more than a decade spent creating and maintaining internal websites for a Fortune 500 company. Clients appreciate her intelligence, attention to detail, and ability to express complex information in simple terms.
Sandy Skees
There is one clear truth facing the world — everyone is called to be a pioneer in re-imagining and rebuilding the world. Non-profits, social entrepreneurs, governments and corporations are all looking at systems, models, structures and methodology for ways to change and reinvent the future.
Sandy Skees, a senior sustainability communications strategist, gives established businesses, early stage companies and organizations insight on the intersection of brand, communications and purpose. Founder of Communications4Good, Sandy creates programs that give organizations a way to focus, share, and motivate change in the world — change that values people, respects planetary resources and fosters prosperity. Well versed in designing PR programs that get media attention, she represents companies in the Consumer, Sustainability, Social Innovation, Food/Ag, and Cleantech sectors including clients in CSR software, industrial waste reclamation, venture capital, solar, gaming, energy management, and food education.
Previously a partner at Porter Novelli, she managed the global HP account team in 20 cities/10 countries around the world and served on the Global Citizen Task Force and Pro Bono Initiative. Sandy is on the Advisory Board for Sustainable Life Media, a board member of KUSP Public Radio, founder of Yes& Circle of Change and the 100+ Women Who Care giving circle, and has appeared as a speaker or guest blogger for Sustainable Brands, Sustainable Life Media, Sustainable Minds, West Coast Green, PRSA International Conference, the What’s Next Lecture Series, Dominican University and the California College of the Arts. She spends as much time as she can hiking in forests, sitting on beaches, cooking with others and learning something new every day.