Leadership and change PARTNERS
From executive transitions and shifting team dynamics to hybrid work and AI Adoption & Enablement, Caravann helps organizations navigate change with clarity, alignment, and a path forward.
We work with Directors, Chief Development, Financial, and Learning Officers
at organizations with approximately 40 to 2,500 employees.
Trusted by leaders
Whether you are implementing a strategy, navigating a leadership transition, introducing AI, or helping a team work differently, we connect the organizational challenge to a practical path forward.
Organizations our team has worked with: Visa, Intuit, Apple, The World Bank, UCSF, Disney, Hilton, Ford, UC Berkeley, San Francisco County Transportation Authority, Berkeley Lab, Autodesk, UC Santa Cruz, Omidyar Network, Public Health Institute, Solidigm.
The team behind the work
Caravann brings together 13 specialists in strategy, culture, change, facilitation, research and visual storytelling. You meet the people who will run your engagement before anything is signed.
Meet all 13 specialists
Co-Founder and Principal
A senior strategist and program leader with more than 15 years of experience, he has guided cross-functional teams across product management and organizational change.
Strategy, culture and DEI
Kia Afcari (he/him) is passionate about helping people and organizations succeed. He has over twenty years of experience helping leaders, teams, and organizations with collaborative change.
AI and technology strategy
Rama Atiya is a technology executive and advisor who helps organizations turn AI, digital strategy, and governance into measurable business results.
Wellbeing research
Having led the world’s largest Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) on the Science of Happiness (with over 800,000 participants worldwide), Emiliana is well-versed in what can help companies and organizations grow well-being and pro-social behaviors in the workplace.
Organization development
Additionally, Terrell works as a facilitator for the Stanford Graduate School of Business Interpersonal Dynamics course and adjunct faculty with the University of San Francisco’s MSOD program.
Executive coaching
Drawing from brain-based neuro-leadership, the enneagram, and gold-standard coaching methodologies, Brenda helps leaders from myriad industries chart a path forward and take action.
Emotional intelligence
One of DB's groundbreaking literary contributions to the Emotional Intelligence field is the comprehensive EI Interactive Playbook.
Executive Coaching + Comms
She has helped organizations as varied as Visa, VMware, and UCSF with manager enablement, employee engagement, and change management.
Workplace wellbeing
Crystal Fulwood is passionate about co-creating healthy workplaces. With over a decade of experience as a Wellbeing Consultant, she has a strong background in change management, communications, strategic planning, employee experience, wellbeing, mental health, and trauma-informed practices.
Organizational psychology
Her fervor lies in partnering with leaders and those on the leadership journey to cultivate workplaces that enrich our quality of life and facilitate the realization of human potential. Debra is deeply committed to helping leaders grasp the intersectionality of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the context of combating burnout.
Executive coaching
Rahul Khatod is an executive coach and leadership facilitator who partners with senior leaders and teams to build cultures of collective ownership. He helps leaders move from being the constant problem-solver to building teams that take shared responsibility for outcomes.
Organization development
Sarah Lightfoot, M.A., partners with leaders of business, government, and social enterprise to elevate organizational performance. She specializes in strategic planning, team development and training, and nonprofit board of director governance design.
Graphic facilitation
Trent Wakenight is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator. He blends traditional facilitation with proven visual methods to engage audiences to reach desired outcomes. He has been doing this work since 2002.
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Client results
Leaders and retreat participants share their experiences of working with us.
We emerged with a sound strategic plan that reflected a real diversity of perspectives across our organization and gave us a clearer path forward.
Caravann was an invaluable partner to us during a period of significant change and financial uncertainty. They brought creativity, adaptability, and a genuine willingness to meet us where we were, becoming one of our strongest allies as we navigated some very difficult decisions.
They helped us embrace the idea that you should never waste a good crisis; using a tumultuous period as an opportunity to listen deeply, challenge assumptions, and build something stronger. We emerged with a sound strategic plan that reflected a real diversity of perspectives across our organization and gave us a clearer path forward.
I would enthusiastically recommend Caravann to any leader looking for a thoughtful, creative, and trusted partner in navigating complexity and change.
From participants in Caravann leadership retreats.
Joy and trust increased immensely from my perspective. The exercises were unique, mostly simple to follow and offered a wide variety of approaches to keep them interesting. Having this fun shared experiences strengthens bonds and trust. It really was the best I’ve experienced.
The energy the Caravann team brought to the room was unparalleled to any retreat I've been to before. There was clear and palpable intention placed in every activity. My favorite activity was the "day in my life" drawing.
I've participated in several culture-building and defining work with other organizations. Working with Caravann was the first time I didn't leave feeling like I had to change who I am to fit in with the teaching and learning methods. I felt welcome at every step, which I greatly appreciate.
The Caravann team leads with empathy, humility, and compassion when helping teams work through difficult conversations. Their methods and trainings are approachable, and created a safe environment for our team to stop, assess, and start working towards a new shared goal.
Learn more about our client engagements in recent work.
Recent work
UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences
In 2024 to 2025, IGHS faced a destabilizing moment.
Strategic planning amid global funding disruption.
In 2024 to 2025, IGHS faced a destabilizing moment. Shifts in U.S. federal funding priorities and reductions from major global health funders created uncertainty across programs, partnerships, and staffing. Leadership needed to clarify direction quickly without losing the Institute’s global credibility, academic rigor, or mission-driven identity.
Caravann partnered with IGHS leadership to design and facilitate a multi-phase strategic planning process grounded in reality, not wishful thinking. We synthesized insights from a comprehensive needs assessment, conducted deep stakeholder listening across faculty, staff, and partners, and helped leadership name the hard tradeoffs ahead. Rather than producing a static strategy deck, we focused on:
IGHS emerged with a shared strategic narrative, sharper prioritization, and a practical roadmap to guide decisions during volatility. Leadership gained alignment on what to protect, what to evolve, and what to stop, creating a foundation for sustainable growth, clearer partnerships, and more confident fundraising conversations.
Read the case Read the IGHS Strategic Plan 2025 to 2030UC Berkeley Development and Alumni Relations
UC Berkeley DAR was navigating increasing complexity.
Strengthening strategy and execution alignment in advancement.
UC Berkeley DAR was navigating increasing complexity: ambitious fundraising goals, evolving donor expectations, and cross-unit coordination challenges. Leaders recognized that while strategy existed, execution was uneven, and teams needed clearer alignment to move faster and more cohesively.
Caravann worked with DAR leaders to bridge the gap between strategic intent and day-to-day execution. We focused on making priorities explicit, roles clearer, and decision-making more consistent across teams. Our work emphasized:
DAR teams gained greater clarity on priorities and expectations, reducing friction and duplication. Leaders reported stronger alignment across functions and improved confidence that day-to-day work was meaningfully advancing Berkeley's long-term advancement goals.
Read the case Talk about a similar engagementLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The team emerged with a clear Journey Map for the next two years that aligns strategy with the key enablers of culture and DEIB, and the organization reports improved employee engagement, a more positive culture, and clarity about how to succeed together.
LEAD Atlanta
An Inclusive Leadership Summit for a cohort of approximately 60 Atlanta leaders.
The Caravann Navigation System™
Five checkpoints for navigating change together. They are not stages to complete in order. They work together, and each can strengthen or undermine the others.
Engagement paths
Bring us the problem, decision, or initiative your team needs to move forward.
Fastest starting point
1day
One defined problem, decision, initiative, or team reset. Leave with clear next steps.
Ready in 3 weeks
Targets one checkpoint.
Starting at $9,950
Caravann designs and leads custom offsites that turn complex challenges into clear decisions, stronger alignment, and practical action.
We can support venue sourcing, catering coordination, and other retreat logistics.
Full page: the Focused WorkshopTime and scope
90days
A focused 90-day engagement that helps leaders diagnose what is getting in the way, align around what matters most, and leave with a Caravann Clarity Map showing where to focus and what to do next.
Diagnoses all five checkpoints.
A focused 90-day engagement that helps leaders diagnose what is getting in the way, align around what matters most, and leave with a Caravann Clarity Map showing where to focus and what to do next.
Teams that know something is stuck but do not yet have a shared diagnosis of what is getting in the way.
3 to 5months
Turn insight into decisions, roles, priorities, and a practical implementation plan.
Strengthens Direction, Alignment, Ownership, and Rhythm.
A 3 to 5 month engagement for organizations that need to turn complexity into clear priorities, aligned leadership, defined roles, and measurable next steps.
Teams that already understand the challenge and need help moving from insight to decisions, structure, ownership, and momentum.
6 to 12months
Support complex change across strategy, culture, communications, and execution.
Works across all five checkpoints.
A 6 to 12 month engagement for organizations navigating major change, strategic transformation, culture challenges, stakeholder complexity, or stalled execution.
Organizations that need a hands-on partner across discovery, alignment, facilitation, communications, planning, and implementation.
Bring us the messy version. We'll help you name the first useful step, whether that is a Clarity Sprint, workshop, or longer partnership.
Navigation scan
The Navigation Scan helps you consider the five checkpoints in your organization and identify where further discussion may help.
What leaders tell us
You do not need to diagnose the problem before we talk. Bring us what you are seeing. We will help you identify a useful starting point.
I need my engineering managers to better understand the business strategy to motivate their teams to work with urgency.
I wish the other companies in our portfolio leveraged the insights and methodologies of our star company.
If only I had a go-to team to help with conflict resolution and a toxic employee situation that's killing the morale of the team and harming the culture.
I need some executive coaching to level up my management skills and leadership style.
How we work
We use AI, graphic facilitation, and co-creation to engage your team.
We listen deeply through empathy-based interviews and focus groups, to uncover the true culture that already exists (the good, the bad, and the ugly) and provide you with key themes and recommendations aligned to your strategy.
It turns out that people support what they helped to build. So, involving a slice of the organization in business strategy development will yield a much more complete and supported strategy that doesn’t just sit on the shelf. It becomes a living document that actually drives the day-to-day work.
Research that informs our work
The Caravann team leads with empathy, humility, and compassion when helping teams work through difficult conversations. Their methods and trainings are approachable, and created a safe environment for our team to stop, assess, and start working towards a new shared goal.
Government & RFPs
For government contracts and RFPs, see our Capabilities Statement.
Caravann is a California-certified Small Business and minority-owned business.
View the Capabilities StatementWe offer pro-bono support for small nonprofits and climate organizations.
Get started
You can start with the Navigation Scan, which takes 8 minutes, or schedule a strategy call to talk through your challenge with us.
Free · 8 minutes
We help you reflect on Direction, Alignment, Ownership, Readiness, and Rhythm so you can identify which checkpoints need attention in your organization.
Free · No obligation
Bring us what you are seeing. We will help you identify a useful starting point.