Jeannie Smith, MA
I help mission-driven organizations uncover their authentic narrative through ethnographic research—so funders and partners finally see what makes them distinct.
Clearing the Smoke, Revealing the Fire
I've spent 12 years watching talented mission-driven organizations struggle to explain what makes them different.
Not because they lack substance. But because their real story — the fire that drives their work — gets buried beneath marketing jargon, borrowed language, and trying to sound like everyone else.
That gap between what's true and what gets said? That's where I work.
I'm a narrative ethnographer. I help mission-driven organizations discover and articulate their authentic story — so funders, partners, and communities can finally see what you've been doing all along.
How I'm Trained for This Work
I'm an anthropologist before I'm a marketer.
Academic Rigor
I studied English and Anthropology at Syracuse University, then earned my Master's in Anthropology from The New School for Social Research. There, I learned ethnographic research methods that prioritize cultural understanding over external prescription.
Fieldwork in Brazil
I conducted fieldwork in Brazil with grassroots organizations and artists, entering communities as participant-observer. I taught video production in City of God, helping residents document their own stories on their own terms.
Anthropology to Marketing
I didn't pursue marketing. I pursued understanding:
What makes humans connect
How cultures create meaning
Why some narratives move people while others fall flat
A Brief MBA Bout
Later, I explored organizational leadership at Pepperdine. But I realized: business schools teach you to prescribe from the outside. Anthropology teaches you to discover from the inside.
That's the difference.
Organizations don't need another consultant with a framework. They need someone who can enter their culture, understand what's authentically true, and translate that truth so others can finally see it.
That blend of cultural analysis and communication strategy is what makes my work different from traditional brand consulting.
The Fire Beneath the Smoke
Here's what I've learned across 12 years working with mission-driven organizations:
Every organization has fire — authentic work that matters, a specific approach that's genuinely different, cultural truth that drives impact.
Every organization also has smoke — generic nonprofit language, borrowed positioning, jargon that obscures more than it reveals.
Fire: Authentic mission, unique approach
Smoke: Generic jargon, borrowed language
When you sound like everyone else ("we empower communities," "we create transformative change"), you become invisible. Not because your work isn't powerful, but because the smoke hides the fire.
My work is clearing that smoke.
I use ethnographic research — deep stakeholder interviews, participant observation, cultural analysis — to discover what's authentically true about your organization. Then I build narrative architecture that keeps that truth visible.
Not what you should say. What's actually real.
Practice Philosophy Statement
I came to this work by learning to reclaim my own voice after years of being discouraged from asking questions or shaping meaning on my own terms. That experience taught me that clarity (for individuals and organizations alike) begins with honest, thoughtful inquiry.
Every organization has a powerful core, but layers of smoke (jargon, inherited language, performance messaging, and unexamined assumptions) often cloud their communication and strategy. My practice removes that smoke through immersive research, deep questioning, and pattern analysis.
My philosophy is simple: when organizations reclaim their true story, they make better decisions, build stronger relationships, and lead with integrity. Most importantly, the impact they're meant to have becomes unmistakable.
How I've Applied This Work
Over 12 years, I've led narrative and communications strategy for organizations recognized nationally for their impact—including:
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Weill Cornell Medicine
Pepperdine University
Western Governors University
InStride
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Per Scholas
Shared Lane
Mercy Works
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The Hewitt School
Saga Education
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College Solutions
The Fire Framework™
My methodology is grounded in anthropological theory — specifically the emic/etic distinction.
Emic perspective: How you understand yourselves from the inside (your cultural truth)
Etic perspective: How outsiders perceive you (funders, donors, partners)
Most consultants work etically — they prescribe positioning from the outside based on "best practices."
I work emically first — I enter your world, understand your culture, discover what's authentically true. Then I translate that truth so external audiences can understand it.
This isn't branding. This isn't messaging.
This is organizational ethnography applied to narrative clarity.
Why Organizations Hire Me
You hire me when your work is strong but your story isn’t clear.
You know you're doing powerful work. But when you try to communicate it — in grant proposals, on your website, to potential partners — something gets lost.
You sound like everyone else. Generic. Forgettable.
That's not a failure of your work. That's a failure of narrative clarity.
You hire me when:
You're in transition (merger, growth, leadership change) and need to articulate who you are now
You're competing for funding and can't differentiate from similar organizations
Your board and staff describe you differently — you lack internal alignment
You've tried brand consultants and website redesigns, but still sound generic
You know your authentic story exists, but can't quite articulate it
I help you:
Discover what makes you genuinely different (not just "better")
Articulate your value clearly so funders understand why you're worth supporting
Build internal alignment so everyone from board to front-line staff tells the same story
Create narrative foundation that informs all communications going forward
This work comes before brand strategy. Before website redesign. Before your next capital campaign.
Because you can't build effective communications on top of narrative confusion.
You need the foundation first.