In Conversation With Ember Collaborators

 You can learn a lot about an organization by listening to the people who work alongside it. To round off this mini-series exploring how Ember brings its’ values to life. We’re chatting with Ember collaborators. These reflections from Aish, Nicole, Kim and Olivia offer a glimpse into how Ember’s values show up day to day, in real conversations and in work.  

Aishwarya Jayaprakash

Aish is an Ember Advisor who moves between project management, client engagement, data collection, and sense-making. 

As an Ember Advisor, Aish is a data-wizard. “I work a lot with data, but it’s really about making connections,” she explains. “It’s about going up to the strategic level and then coming back down, having conversations again to validate what we’re hearing.” The work is rarely linear. It involves reflecting on what’s emerging, adjusting along the way, and collaborating to build something that feels genuinely useful for clients. 

When Aish thinks about what best captures what working with Ember feels like, she doesn’t point to a single project. Instead, she talks about patterns she’s seen repeat themselves across different organizations. “We work with people who come in with very different levels of engagement,” she says. “Some are excited to be part of change, others feel like initiatives are just happening to them.” What stays with her is how those dynamics shift over time. “I’ve seen people walk into sessions with their arms crossed and reluctant to participate, and then slowly become more open, more engaged, actually participating in the process.” That transformation is meaningful. “It’s about meeting people where they’re at, reframing expectations, and creating space for honest reflection without rushing or forcing a methodology.” 

That ability to adapt is something Aish believes Ember will only continue to harness. “We try to approach everything with curiosity; asking questions, challenging assumptions respectfully, and being willing to sit with uncertainty,” she shares. Just as important is staying open to change internally. “We actively try to stay open and learn from collaborators.” For her, the Ember value that grounds all of this is Take care of self, take care of others. “That care shows up in how we design engagements, how we hold difficult conversations, and how we build trust,” she says.  

Nicole Stibbe

Nicole, founder and CEO of Soulwork Alliance, is an Ember collaborative partner, brought in whenever projects require a deep equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) lens.  

For Nicole, her work with Ember is rooted in partnership and shared purpose. “Any project where workplace culture is the focus, but the underlying foundation is EDI, really captures what this work feels like,” she explains. What stands out most is how intentionally Ember approaches that intersection. “That marriage between workplace culture and inclusion and belonging is always so important,” Nicole says. “Together, we bring that strength and lens to every project we work on.” 

Across projects, it’s the way the team works together that stays with her. “We spend time deeply understanding what the organizational issues actually are, and then figuring out the best approach to address them,” she explains. That process requires honesty and trust. “We aren’t afraid to have deep discussions. We challenge each other, we listen respectfully to different perspectives, and we bring all of our unique lenses together to shape the best strategy for the client.” Importantly, that includes conversations a lot of organizations avoid. “We don’t shy away from tough discussions about power and privilege and how those dynamics show up with the clients we work with.” 

As Ember continues to grow, protecting that authenticity feels essential. “The real, honest conversations are what matter most,” Nicole says. For her, that also means staying grounded in values — both Ember’s and her own. “It’s important that the projects we take on align with our values, and that we’re working with clients who genuinely want to improve workplace culture and belonging.” Not as a checkbox, she emphasizes, but as meaningful, lasting change. “This work only matters if organizations take action to carry it forward rather than caring about how the work looks on paper.” 

Kim Slade

Kim is a former Ember collaborator whose work spanned many roles; facilitating focus groups, contributing to writing, supporting website design, and desktop publishing.  

For Kim, “There’s so many moments that stick with me about the work I do with Ember.” She talks about sitting in rooms full of strangers, guiding conversations about culture, and noticing the moment when something changes in them. “There’s a moment when people suddenly feel safe to share their stories.” Those moments are what anchor the work. “We get to stand in their experience, validate it, and bring their perspective to leadership to help address culture challenges within the organization.” 

That responsibility is also what makes the work feel hopeful. “There are moments when it feels like we can actually help make change happen,” Kim says, “or even impact someone’s day-to-day experience.” The trust involved isn’t taken lightly. “It might seem a little naïve to some, but to me, it’s about the trust people put in us to help tell their story, in a safe way.” That trust doesn’t come from having the right answer right away. It’s built slowly, through careful listening and a willingness to sit with complexity instead of rushing to conclusions. 

That same approach shows up in how Ember works internally. “We listen, we talk, and we share our points of view,” Kim notes. Differences aren’t rushed past or brushed over. “There are moments when we don’t agree, and we stop, recognize the difference, and sometimes sit in the discomfort of it.” That openness creates psychological safety and a sense of belonging. It’s also why the Ember value We create waves of change shows up so clearly in her work. “Those waves don’t start loudly,” she says. “They start in moments of listening and when someone trusts you to hold their story and help it move forward.” 

Olivia Stibbe

Olivia is an Ember communication specialist/writer 

After spending the past couple of months talking with Ember clients and collaborators for this mini-series, I’ve found myself reflecting not just on Ember, but on what actually shapes healthy cultures more broadly. Across very different conversations, the same things kept coming up: it’s imperative to create space for people to express themselves, stay with hard conversations instead of rushing past them, and taking responsibility when you’re invited into that space. But none of this works without trust. And if these conversations reminded me of anything, it’s that trust is built slowly, through care, curiosity, and actually following through. 

What’s stayed with me most is how clearly the work Ember does pushes back on the idea that culture change is something you deliver to people. Instead, it’s something you build with them. The moments that felt most meaningful both to Ember clients and collaborators were about co-designing the way forward and staying present when things got uncomfortable. If you're thinking about culture in your own organization, start by paying attention to where people feel safe, where they hesitate, and what’s might be left unsaid.