“Power is the ability to not just tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person.”
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Marshall Stowell created Intentional as a collaborative of disruptors - individuals working to rebalance power, shift harmful narratives, and build strategies and programs that are equitable and effective. Intentional is driven by a single principle - greater impact and equity comes when communities have more power and control.
Marshall Stowell has dedicated his professional life working in leadership roles in foundations and nonprofits addressing some of the world’s most challenging health and human rights issues, where he’s grappled with the imbalance of power between funders, organizations and the communities they serve.
The truth is we’ve only been shown a limited approach to communicate our work. We’ve been conditioned to think that if we tell media, partners, donors and policymakers we “know best” for communities we’ll get greater support. When what we should be marketing is that we “listen best” to communities, we follow their lead and build our strategies together. Listening outperforms knowing every time. Intentional will help you pivot from “knowing” to “listening” and will guide you through how to reframe your communications, partnerships, and advocacy efforts.