“In all of our education, whether it’s in institutions or not, in homes or streets or wherever, whether it’s scholarly or whether it’s experiential, there is a kind of progression.
We move from DATA to INFORMATION to KNOWLEDGE to WISDOM.” — Toni Morrison
IF YOUR DATA ISN’T PUTTING YOU ON THE ROAD TO WISDOM
HI, I’M DENALI
I'm good at a lot of things, just ok at some others (ask my kids), but there's one thing I do exceptionally well: I'm great at making sense of things that are hard to measure.
I founded Higher Ground Data to put this unusual skill to work, clarifying complex constructs, so human service professionals can measure what matters.
I create tools, frameworks, processes, and workshops that unpack and celebrate the rich and sometimes messy things that make transformative work with people worth doing. I draw inspiration from a wide range of fields from child development to commercial catering (really) and from fifteen years in applied research, policy, and advocacy. I specialize in participatory research, data exploration, mixed-methods and geospatial analysis, and implementation studies. Furthermore, I've partnered with government agencies, nonprofits, researchers, foundations, elected officials, practitioners, community members, families, and, yes, even youth, to understand the natural course of human life and improve the imperfect systems we’ve created to manage ourselves and each other.
My goal is to channel the unique perspective and expertise of everyone at the table into meaningful communication that supports learning and collaborative action in service of a just, caring, and cooperative future for all.
I HOPE YOU’LL JOIN ME
"TELL STORIES FILLED WITH FACTS. MAKE PEOPLE TOUCH and TASTE and KNOW. MAKE PEOPLE FEEL! FEEL FEEL!" - OCTAVIA BUTLER
What We StAnD FOR
WHy HigHeR GrOunD?
I believe that transformational impact requires collective action, aligned efforts, and strong practice that reflects insights from data, research, and lived experience. I believe that data allows people to reflect on their work in new ways and validate and develop ideas about what works and what could work better.
I have built my career by “helping helpers help’, specifically empowering practitioners and communities to tell their own stories and collaboratively drive towards improvement using data and research evidence. I observe, listen, coach analyze, and design to go beyond patterns and trends to understand how and why things happen. And while this pathway to impact starts with data, it is ultimately achieved by creating and sustaining high quality practice and accessible and equitable services in public agencies and human service organizations.