About Me
Hi, I'm Marisa Stubbs.
Having led inside and alongside mission-driven organizations, I’ve learned that we need more than passion and commitment to take care of both the mission and the team who make the mission happen.
With 25 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and management, fundraising, communications, program design, and strategic planning — much of it grounded in small, community-rooted organizations serving young people in Washington, DC — I know first-hand the dangers of setting yourself on fire to keep others warm.
That’s why I now partner with social impact leaders and teams to build spaces where people and purpose flourish together.
I lead from a place of
ethic, empathy, praxis, and joy.
My work lives at the intersection of wellness, strategy, and structure, with offerings that include nonprofit management, organizational culture, strategic planning, and leadership coaching for executives and teams.
Before launching my consultancy, I directed a
capacity-building initiative for Black-led, Black-centered social justice nonprofits in the DMV and Baltimore;
led a consulting team in strategic planning; and
co-designed well-being offerings at a boutique consulting firm in Washington, DC.
I'm also the founder and former Executive Director/Executive Chef of Food For Life, a culinary training social enterprise for DC youth. That role shapes my coaching practice today: I especially enjoy supporting women founders and Executive Directors who are navigating growth and transition from liberation, clarity, and joy.
I hold a B.A. in French from DePauw University and a Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate from Georgetown University.
Outside of work, you’ll find me keeping my chef skills sharp, my people close, my plants alive, and my hammock at the ready.
