Designing Spaces for Deeper Impact & Inspired Action
You’ve invested time and energy into your work. Lasting impact calls for creativity and space to hold complexity and care. That’s where I come in.
Hi, I’m Jess Solomon, MSOD (she/her). I’m on a deeply personal mission to help changemakers design spaces that are soulful, energizing, and strong enough to hold complexity and tension. For 15+ years, I’ve supported visionaries in arts, philanthropy, and social impact to align their work with their values, adopt generative practices, and build systems that reflect the future we want. I design offsite retreats, facilitate high-stakes meetings, and guide teams through strategy with creativity and care.
While deeply committed to creating meaningful change, I approach the work with curiosity and joy. I believe in engaging with others with the same sensitivity, accountability, and collaborative spirit that we aspire to embody in the communities we’re building.
Let’s explore creating something that matters.
Practice Areas
Integrating collective wisdom, creativity, and culture into how we address challenges, shape solutions, and build.
Experience Design
Gatherings that are soulful, engaging, and sticky (lasting impact). Whether it’s a convening, community event, or panel discussion, I design for connection, holding complexity, and leaving people feeling energized and inspired.
Offsite Retreats
Space for deep thinking, connection, and strategic clarity, away from daily demands. My approach is participatory, iterative and evidence based. I draw on a variety of theoretical frameworks and cultural practices to help teams strengthen trust, and move forward with intention—whether it’s a one-day reset or a multi-day transformation.
My work often involves designing and facilitating processes related to change management, strategic planning, team dynamics, executive transitions, and culture.
Healing-Centered Coaching
Space for Black women leaders to be affirmed, supported, and strategic about what’s next. A space to navigate transitions, move through stuckness, and reconnect with power and purpose. My coaching supports you in uncovering the stories shaping your work, interrupting patterns that no longer serve you, and imagining new ways of being that are sustainable and nourishing.
Culture Rules Everything (Around Me)
A container for musings, resources, and art.
The Adjacent Possible is just beyond what exists - the next horizon of what could be.
New ideas, connections, and pathways emerge when we push the edges of what’s already within reach. Possibility unfolds in layers—each step forward revealing doors that weren’t visible before.
This blog is where I share what I’ve learned—and what I’m still learning— as a facilitator, cultural worker, coach, organizational development practitioner, partner, auntie, bonus parent, neighbor, caregiver and so on. Expect reflections, resources, and art—ideas in motion, shaped by experience and curiosity.
Impact
“Jess brought a sense of joy and ease to complex and sometimes difficult questions, and as a result, we were able to untangle the knots and strengthen new muscles together. ”
— Ill Weaver, Co-Founder, Detroit Narrative Agency
“Your presence and facilitation was critical in ensuring our virtual team’s annual in person retreat was a success. You led the way with conviction, humor and a realness that grounded our team. You had to take in the context & complexity of our organization and the objectives that our Co-CEO’s wanted to achieve and you did it with what looked like such ease. Even in the midst of tension and discomfort, you navigated us through and brought to the surface what needed to be heard.”
- Steph Hsu, Director of Strategic Operations, Common Future
“Incredible facilitation and thought leadership! Jessica and Art in Praxis are developing emerging projects that are shifting the philanthropic landscape.”
— Alicia Gill, Executive Director, Emergent Fund
“Jess Solomon’s facilitation of our leadership retreat was transformative for Baltimore Public Media. Her guidance helped us gain crucial clarity and alignment as we plan for the future. The exercises revealed important areas where we can grow and improve as a team. Her thoughtful recommendations have already given us a clear path forward, and her impact on our leadership team was deeply appreciated.”
— Craig N. Swagler, President & General Manager Baltimore Public Media
“Just wow. Our collective was blown away by how in such a short period of time, our understanding of each other deepened and our shared histories and vision became super clear. Using music, storytelling, visioning, and inquiry, Jess led us into a new scope of big and scary work together, without leaving us feeling overwhelmed or uncertain. Jess brought tools, frameworks, love, and joy that was just unmatched.”
— Blair Franklin, Rooted Collective
