working together
to increase impact
Meet Our Team
Melanie and Liam met at a national philanthropic intermediary in 2017 while working closely together resourcing community organizations in the South, building the infrastructure and capacity of Black- and Latine-led and serving organizations, and launching a national initiative funding work led by and for trans people and Black gay and bisexual men. In January 2021, Liam started a strategic consulting firm and Melanie joined him shortly thereafter, creating i2i Advisors. Combined, we bring nearly 30 years of experience in community-based work, philanthropy, and nonprofits to how we approach grantmaking and have developed a passion and skillset for designing ways to do grantmaking better—to be more racially just and socially responsible.
Our small team of affiliated consultants has incredible experience and expertise and is comprised of people Melanie and Liam have known for years. Kelly Stevens is an expert facilitator and trainer with more than a decade of organizational development experience. Bradley Woodruff is well-versed in information science, IT, and knowledge management.
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Principal ConsultantMelanie is a principal consultant at i2i Advisors with 13 years of experience working in nonprofits and philanthropy. For 8 years, Melanie managed the development, facilitation and evaluation of sexual health education initiatives, youth advocacy, and HIV education, testing and linkage to care programs at a community-based organization in Louisiana. Following that, she spent 4 years managing a collaborative Southern-focused grantmaking initiative that included community grant awards, technical assistance, and leadership development programming. Melanie has experience and expertise in developing curricula for youth and adults using appropriate learning and behavior change theories. She has experience facilitating a wide range of session types and topics including virtual learning spaces, extended engagement leadership development programs, and individual trainings focused on specific health or social topics. Melanie holds a Master of Public Health from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.
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Principal ConsultantLiam is a principal consultant of i2i Advisors and has nearly 15 years working in nonprofit settings with over a decade of that in health philanthropy. He has deep experience with process assessment and modification, program design and implementation, and myriad forms of philanthropic practice, all while overlaying an equity framework. Prior to founding i2i Advisors, he oversaw all grantmaking processes and philanthropic initiatives at a national philanthropic intermediary serving as Director of Grantmaking where he led the strategic direction of the core grant programs, managing over $8 million in grants annually. Liam holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. He previously served as treasurer and president of the board of directors for The Delores Project, a Denver-based organization that provides safe shelter to women, inclusive of transgender women, and nonbinary people.
Affiliated Consultants
Our team works seamlessly together on projects that meet our clients’ needs and align with the experience and expertise of each person on the team.
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Affiliated ConsultantKelly Stevens is an affiliated consultant with i2i Advisors through her firm, Zahara Consulting. Kelly is a seasoned organizational development strategist with a demonstrated history of providing personalized, capacity strengthening services in the areas of racial, gender and social justice, creative problem solving, leadership development, and strategic planning to community-facing organizations across the country. She brings with her over 15 years of experience in both the public and private sectors supporting human centered approaches, innovative visioning, and systems change. Prior to starting Zahara Consulting, Kelly held a leadership role at a national HIV advocacy, grantmaking and capacity building organization alongside Melanie and Liam. Kelly is a certified cultural humility trainer and holds a Master of Science in Organizational Development with a concentration in organizational psychology. She also serves on the board of directors at HIPS, a harm reduction and sex worker advocacy organization in Washington. D.C.
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Affiliated ConsultantBradley is an affiliated consultant with i2i Advisors with experience in knowledge management and data systems. Bradley brings more than a decade of experience working in information management and information science, with a strong IT background that covers server management, database management, and scripting. He has considerable experience with surveying stakeholders around data governance and knowledge management, evaluating established workflows, and developing new organizational processes to address pain points. His most recent work has been in library systems, coordinating data and technical processes for a consortium of 89 academic libraries across Illinois. Bradley holds a Master of Library and Information Science from Wayne State University with an additional certificate in Information Management.