PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT

Steve Patty, Ph.D. spent 16 years in higher education, serving as tenured professor and department chair at Multnomah University and professor and associate director of doctoral programs at the International University of Monaco. He founded Dialogues in Action in 2006 with a desire to support organizations that engage deeply with humans and their communities. With the team from Dialogues in Action, Steve has helped leaders develop people, organizations evaluate and communicate the human impact of their work, and anyone with an aim of leaving the world a better place create the kind of strategy that gets to what matters most. He is an author and conference speaker.  

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Annalise has focused her career on implementing and managing programs with a focus on educational equity and inclusion. Prior to joining the Dialogues in Action team in 2019, she managed several nonprofit education-focused programs, including as the Program Director with Youth Music Project, an AmeriCorps Program Manager with Metropolitan Family Service, and as a SUN Community School Site Manager in outer southeast Portland. In her current role as a Project Impact Coach with DIA, Annalise has supported numerous organizations through the journey of defining, evaluating, and growing the impact of their work in communities. She strives to build meaningful connections into her coaching work and meet the unique needs of each team.

Annalise brings her passion for education into all areas of her life and is a dedicated homeschool mom with her elementary-age kiddo. With a strong background in arts and arts management, she is also active in the Portland theater and arts community. She holds an MA in Educational Leadership from Portland State University and an MFA in theatre from the California Institute of the Arts.

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Erica’s passion for evaluation stems from her academic training in Sociology, where she learned the power of qualitative research methods to uncover the deeper meanings and experiences that profoundly shape our lives. Erica earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from UC San Diego in 2018. Her research explored the growth and development of veterans-focused nonprofit organizations in San Diego.

Erica first engaged with Dialogues in Action as a participant in Project Impact. As a social scientist, she was immediately drawn to Project Impact’s evaluation model because of its foundation in sound research principles. Erica also valued Project Impact’s qualitative approach to observing real impact, in real people, in real time. She later went on to become a Project Impact coach, working with organizations throughout California to develop and discover their impacts.

In this work, Erica brings her years of experience as an award-winning educator to teach her teams proper research design and inspire a sense of excitement and wonder in the research process. She sees her consulting as a kind of teaching experience, with the same possibility for mutual insight and interest that electrifies the best classrooms. She believes that strong evaluation can not only build stronger organizations, but also more motivated leaders and staff.

SENIOR ASSOCIATE

Jessamyn is passionate about creating high-impact organizations where people can thrive. She believes that strong organizations are the key to creating strong individuals, families and communities. 

Her career has focused on designing and managing programs to meet critical community needs in both the nonprofit and public sector. Jessamyn has been a leader in national service and educational organizations serving children and families of all backgrounds. She spent 7 years leading efforts to build systems to support growth with quality for Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc., a national service program focused on early childhood education, and led the turnaround of defunded Head Start programs with Acelero Learning. She also served as the Director of Education for the Pueblo of Tesuque tribal government in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Most recently, Jessamyn served as the AmeriCorps Program Officer with Oregon Volunteers, the state commission for volunteerism and service. In this role, she guided organizations in designing and refining AmeriCorps programs to serve Oregon communities in disaster preparedness, education, health and human services, and environmental stewardship. In 2013, she partnered with Dialogues in Action to bring Project Impact to Oregon AmeriCorps grantees to help them build the evidence base for their programs and demonstrate and deepen their impact on communities. 

Jessamyn holds a Bachelor’s degree from Boston University in Environmental Analysis and Policy and studied in the Master of Science in Organization Development program at Pepperdine University.

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Jennifer Manning is trained as a qualitative researcher and has experience facilitating research projects primarily for the not-for-profit sector in Vancouver, British Columbia and throughout Canada. 

Since emigrating to Canada from her native California in 1998, she has worked and volunteered consistently with multiple not-for-profit, charitable organizations - most notably, for the past 15 years, with the YMCA of Greater Vancouver and the YMCA World Urban Network.  In addition to qualitative research, she has expertise within the domains of:  Communications, Human Resources, Philanthropy and Fundraising, Training, Operations, Community Engagement, and International Relations. 

Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Social Work Degree from California State University, Long Beach in 1996. Her education, training, and early experience as a Social Worker – with a humanist approach and focus on the growth, development, and potential of individuals, organizations, and communities – have dovetailed well with the work of Dialogues in Action and our belief in the value of developing people and our developmental approach to leadership, evaluation, and strategy. 

Jennifer is proud to count herself among the graduates of the very first Project Impact cohort from 2007 and she has been thrilled by the success of Project Impact and other Dialogues in Action courses to build the capacity of those who lead and to deepen the impact of their organizations.

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Sukh is a practicing civic leader that has led multi-sectoral responses to significantly improve outcomes for vulnerable populations. He has 15 years of leadership experience in education and community planning. His work alongside business, government and community received the Premier’s Award for Innovation for developing sustainable approaches to social programming.

Most recently, Sukh has led organizations to scale up their impact by utilizing a developmental approach to achieve higher levels of engagement. These organizations were characterized by purposeful activity and commitment to exceptional experiences for those that it served. Moreover, these organizations demonstrated measurable positive impact that led to exponential increase in funding and partnership opportunities. Sukh took a national lead by establishing pillars for staff professional development and presented key aspects at the US Coalition for Community Education conference. 

He has earned a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology and adopted a solution-focused clinical approach. Sukh also holds Bachelor’s degrees in both Education and Science. His leadership development practices are guided by his educational pedagogy that builds from individual and organizational strengths while concentrating on the adoption of new adaptive approaches.

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Erin is a qualitative social scientist with a passion for engaging community and supporting transformation. Erin holds a doctorate in Earth, Environment and Society from Portland State University, where her research focused on understanding the human dimensions of complex environmental challenges. She has worked on research projects in North America, South Africa, and Australia; and is committed to elevating diverse community voices and advancing knowledge in applied, real-world contexts.

Erin has a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and French from the University of Oregon, and a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of British Columbia. Her breadth of experience spans the disciplines of geography, policy, environmental science, humanities, and design. She has worked designing healing gardens in healthcare settings as a landscape architect in New York City; and has management experience in the nonprofit arts sector and the Oregon wine industry. The common thread woven through Erin’s diverse experiences is the pursuit of deep learning about the connections between people and place. 

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Sara is passionate about fostering growth and development in people of all ages. With over 20 years of experience as a Montessori educator, she has guided children through formative years of learning with a deep commitment to individualized, hands-on education. She has a background in Elementary Education and is a licensed Montessori teacher, with a career dedicated to creating environments where curiosity and confidence can flourish.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Sara has held a variety of administrative roles in both educational and nonprofit settings, including at the college level. In these positions, she has supported teams, coordinated complex projects, and ensured that programs run with efficiency and care. Across all of her work, she brings a dedication to helping individuals and organizations realize their potential.

Sara’s diverse experience reflects her belief that learning and growth are lifelong pursuits. Whether working with young children, supporting higher education, or contributing to community-focused initiatives, she is driven by a genuine care for people and a desire to see them thrive.

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Daisy Dominguez has spent her career working alongside educational and community organizations to strengthen their impact. Her journey includes directing a Family Resource Center in San Francisco, teaching in K-12 schools, and managing educational programs that brought together diverse communities. She earned her MA in International & Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco and her BA in Environment & the Humanities from Texas Tech University.

Today, Daisy provides production coordination and evaluation support for educational, nonprofit, and philanthropic organizations. She helps these organizations manage their workstreams, build meaningful partnerships, and turn evaluation insights into real program improvements. Through coordinating conferences, community events, and partner initiatives, Daisy supports organizations in building authentic relationships with the communities at the center of their work.