Untangling what gets in the way of your social impact work
I'm Jessi Pérez, a bilingual facilitator, coach, and fractional leader with more than 15 years in social impact, including roles at the Gates Foundation, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Latino Policy Forum, and Instituto del Progreso Latino.
Now I partner with mission-driven organizations of every kind, from foundations and nonprofits to values-led businesses, designing the retreats, trainings, and leadership support they actually need, with an equity and inclusion lens on every part of the work. I'm based in Chicago and travel for in-person work, or we can meet virtually.
ICF Associate Certified Coach • IDI Qualified Administrator • MBA, Ducere Global Business School (December 2026) • Bilingual: English and Spanish
Sound Familiar?
The things I hear most often from mission-driven teams:
● Strategic plans that live in a Google Drive folder nobody opens
● An ED also doing the jobs of a COO and a chief of staff
● Board meetings that are 90% updates and 10% decisions
● Systems built for a team of five, now running a team of thirty
● Retreats that feel amazing on Friday and are forgotten by Monday
● Equity commitments that never made it into the budget
● Grantee convenings where the funders do most of the talking
● Great program staff promoted to manager, with no support to lead
If any of that hit close to home, that's exactly the work I do.
Who I work with
Foundations and funders
Building programs, cohorts, and learning spaces for grantees and partners.
Nonprofits and community organizations
That need extra leadership capacity, a strong plan, or a reset on how the team works together.
Mission-driven businesses
Social enterprises, cooperatives, and values-led companies growing their operations without losing sight of why they exist.
Leaders inside them
Who want a thinking partner for the hard parts of the job.
Services
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Description text goes herePart-time Operations, Chief of Staff, and DEI leadership for organizations that need senior capacity without a full-time hire.
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Workflows, tools, hiring processes, and policies built with your team, then handed off so they last.
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Strategic planning, board and staff retreats, convenings, and communities of practice, designed and run start to finish.
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Workshops on nearly any topic, cohort-based leadership programs, and IDI assessments and debriefs.
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One-on-one, small group, and employer-sponsored coaching for current and emerging leaders.
Looking for coaching for yourself? Personal Coaching →