Our Team

Joan Sullivan Anane – PRESIDENT & PRINCIPal

More than 30 years taking on hard problems—and building the organizations, teams, systems, and coalitions capable of solving them.

Joan Sullivan Anane advises leaders across government, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector at moments when the stakes are high and the path forward is unclear. She helps them see the whole landscape, make difficult choices, align people around a shared direction, and translate ambition into lasting progress.

Before becoming a consultant, Joan spent a decade as CEO of the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, leading a network of 20 public schools serving 13,500 students in Watts, Boyle Heights, and South Los Angeles. For Joan, school transformation was never simply about improving individual schools; it was part of a larger struggle over whether public systems would recognize, learn from, and invest in the children and communities they had long underserved. Under her leadership, the Partnership dramatically improved student outcomes and raised more than $160 million. It also helped advance districtwide changes, including a funding formula that directed more than $1 billion to schools serving students with the greatest needs and an initiative that brought broadband access to 100,000 families.

Previously, as Deputy Mayor of Education for Los Angeles, Joan used the reach of City Hall to forge coalitions and public-private partnerships that removed barriers and opened opportunities for young people. Her approach was shaped by her experience as an educator and institution builder, including founding the Bronx Academy of Letters and growing it into one of New York City’s highest-performing public schools. Joan’s engagement with politics and civic life has taken other forms as well, from working on Bill Bradley’s presidential campaign to publishing her memoir, An American Voter.

An executive coach and frequent public speaker, Joan is known for combining strategic intelligence with relentless practicality—and for earning the trust that allows people to confront difficult truths and move forward together. A Yale graduate with a master’s degree in school leadership, she is an alum of the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute, the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship, and the Broad Center’s Superintendents Academy. She lives in Los Angeles with her wife, Ama, and their three daughters.

Ama anane – Founder

A strategist, storyteller, and the founder of Good Influence Consulting, Ama built the firm around a belief that curiosity, creativity, and deep listening can help organizations see themselves, and their future impact, more clearly.

She has led strategy, stakeholder engagement, research, and communications work for nonprofits, foundations, coalitions, and public institutions. Ama loves helping leaders listen more deeply to the people closest to their missions, navigate complex questions of identity and equity, and turn learning into concrete action.

Today, Ama is bringing that same curiosity and creativity to television and film. She is a staff writer on Dig, a new series co-created by Mike Schur and Amy Poehler, and made her directorial debut with the short dramatic romantic comedy Cottonmouth. Her scripts, poetry, stand-up, and films explore the identities and experiences that divide us and make us whole.

A graduate of Emerson College and Columbia University, Ama serves on the governing boards of Communities In Schools of Los Angeles and the Moonshot Initiative. She lives in Los Angeles with Joan and their three daughters.