Transformation

We are creating an equitable and sustainable world and a future in which all can thrive. 

Inclusion

We believe that the best decisions engage all stakeholders, particularly those excluded in the past. 

Integrity

We live up to our commitments. We are rigorous, responsible, dependable, and accountable. 

Core Team

Mer Joyce, MA

Management + Synthesis

She/Her

Mer (pronounced “mair”) is the founder and principal of Do Big Good. She provides primary project leadership, carries out analysis of stakeholder input, and writes reports for clients. She has worked for over a decade at the intersection of research, policy, innovation, and social change. Mer was New Media Operations Manager on President Obama’s 2008 campaign, co-wrote and led the creation of the 2010 book Digital Activism Decoded, and designed and managed a first-of-its-kind digital activism data set as a Graduate Research Fellow of the National Science Foundation. Mer has collaborated with nonprofits, foundations, think tanks, and firms in North America, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, including the Open Government Partnership, Microsoft, and Google VR. She undertook graduate studies in Public Policy and Communication at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the University of Washington and undergraduate studies in History and Africana Studies at Vassar College and the University of Ghana, respectively. Having lived in Ghana, Morocco, Chile, and India, Mer now lives in Seattle, where she enjoys biking, superhero movies, and intentional communities.

Kayla Cody-Lushozi, MSW

Engagement + Equity

She/Her

Kayla is an advisor in social and racial justice who also manages community outreach for Do Big Good. Her early curiosities surrounding racism and education in her public schools, ignited her journey as a social justice researcher. She brought this passion into her studies at Hamilton College, where she majored in Africana Studies and Psychology, conducting major research on implicit and explicit racism as factors in the misplacement of Black students into special education classrooms. Kayla was awarded Hamilton College’s Bristol Fellowship, which funded her qualitative ground research on mental health care policy and services for Black communities within Brasil, South Afrika, Ghana, Jamaica, and England. Kayla completed her Master of Social Work at the University of Washington and her most recent projects include food justice research with the City of Seattle and King County Public Health, as well as thesis research that centers intersectionality and social determinants of health. James Baldwin novels and discovering new Afrikan Diasporic music bring her joy! Kayla lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

Sheena Brown, MSW

Facilitation + Understanding

She/Her/They/Them

Sheena is lead facilitator for stakeholder listening sessions, workshops, and one-on-one interviews. She is also an advisor in social justice and human rights and approaches her work with a lens that is trauma-informed and culturally humble. Her intention is to hold space for those she serves. Sheena’s passion for this work stems from her early experiences with racism, classism, and weightism and is reinforced by her continued amazement at the phenomenon of human resiliency. At the University of Washington, Sheena completed her Master of Social Work and Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Sciences with minors in Education, Learning and Society and Disability Studies with a special focus on Southeast Asian Studies. She was also awarded the Northwest Leaders of Behavioral Health Fellowship and Leadership Education in Neurodevelopment and Related Disabilities Post-Graduate Fellowship. Sheena has collaborated on projects with the Community Literacy Program and Inclusive Dance to improve self-efficacy in the BI-POC youth and disability communities through access and representation. She has worked for half a decade facilitating therapeutic interventions for survivors of various traumas in school and medical settings. She enjoys reading, being with her cats, and traveling to new places that feed her soul.

Kathryn Shroyer, PhD

Methods + Creativity

She/Her

Kathryn advises on the participatory design methods we use in our projects. She is a design researcher who engages novices in participatory experiences that inspire creativity through empowerment. Kathryn was a Graduate Research Fellow of the National Science Foundation and has been an instructor at the Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching at the University of Washington (UW). Previously, Kathryn directed engineering outreach at MIT Sea Grant, where she developed a wide range of curricula engaging students and instructors in prototyping and engineering design thinking. She has also collaborated with the Office of Naval Research, the Women’s Technology Program, NEOSEC, and the Massachusetts Marine Educators. Kathryn received degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Music from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and has a PhD in Human Centered Design and Engineering from UW.

Dr. Sara Iacozza

She/Her

Sara is a data scientist integrating statistics, cognitive psychology, and science communication techniques. She has just completed a PhD in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Language at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in the Netherlands, where she investigated how memory for new information is influenced by the social identity of the interlocutors. Sara is also co-founder and co-organizer of two local chapters of RLadies, a global organization that promotes gender and ethnic diversity in statistics. She also volunteered as local event manager for the festival Pint of Science. Sara loves data, jazz, sci-fi movies and team sports. She currently lives in Bari, Italy.

SaAra Kamal

She/Her

is an antiracist educator whose pursuit of liberation stems from her own lived experiences as a multiracial woman of color who grew up in and navigated predominantly white spaces and the harms of racism, sexism, and classism. As a facilitator, she has deep experience working with BIPOC educators, BIPOC leaders, and white leaders as they unpack the ways their racialized and intersecting identities and has a particular skill in creating spaces that center BIPOC voices, needs, and experiences through a lens of healing from racial trauma. Saara completed her Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and most recently served as the Program Manager for the Martinez Fellowship, which serves BIPOC early career educators across Washington State.

heather Krause

She/Her/They/Them

Heather, PStat is a data scientist working at the intersection of equity and ethics. She attacks the largest questions facing societies today, working with civic, social sector organizations, governments, and data journalists. Her pursuit of clarity and realism pushed her beyond pure analysis to mastering the entire data ecosystem including ground-breaking work in data sourcing, methodology, and visualization. She is the founder of We All Count, a project for equity in data that engages teams across the globe to embed a lens of ethics and equity into their data products. She has worked with a range of partners including: Women and Gender Equality Canada, UNHCR, CARE, the Syrian Refugee Resettlement Secretariat, Round Rock Board, and MasterCard.

Elizabeth Heideman

She/Her

Elizabeth is a human rights researcher and passionate advocate for global justice and disability inclusion. She received an MA in Human Rights from University College London (UCL), where she focused on international disability rights, refugee rights, and the rights of children and youth. Her previous work has included researching the right to education for Save the Children, supporting inclusive democracy and governance projects at the National Democratic Institute, and building the capacity of youth activists with disabilities in East Africa for Humanity & Inclusion. She also currently serves as a research consultant on business and human rights. Elizabeth is an avid tea drinker and ardent lover of Burmese food.

Business Model

We are a social enterprise that creates public and private value to achieve our mission according to our business model, visualized at right.

We are 100% woman-owned LLC and have been certified as a WBE and DBE by the Washington State Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises. Documentation is available upon request.