We love our clients because they make the world better. We work with organizations who advocate for animal rights, companies who create alternative foods that save animal lives, fight for social justice, and help save the environment. Dawn and Lisa have deep personal passion and experience in these areas – this is how we want to help heal the world. Our clients range from nonprofits and foundations to consulting companies and accelerator programs.
Who We Are
Dawn and Lisa each have over 15 years experience in Silicon Valley innovation and design techniques. These proven methods can help crack your hardest problems, starting with key insights about customer beliefs and behaviors. Dawn and Lisa share a lifetime personal passion for animal and environmental advocacy. We use our talents to help organizations reduce animal suffering and save our beautiful planet.
Dawn Ressel
CEO & Design Strategist
I am a design and strategy consultant who helps organizations better understand the people they serve and how to create more meaningful experiences for them. I have 15+ years experience in applying my expertise in corporate, non-profit, and higher education.
Prior to founding Next Leap, I was a Design Strategist and Experience Design Leader at Intuit for 8 years. Working there taught me how to be a better collaborator and strategic thinker. I am extensively trained in Intuit’s “Innovation Catalyst” program, which The Harvard Business Review accurately depicted as the secret to Intuit’s growth and success.
I started Next Leap to follow my personal passion, which is applying design skills to make the world a better place. I am an activist and regularly volunteer. The causes I’m most passionate about are animal advocacy, environmental protection, and social justice. I’m currently on the Board of the San Diego Ambassadors of The Trevor Project, and I am a former board member of Home and Hope.
I have a determined entrepreneurial spirit, and I love working on new initiatives. If you have an idea of what you want to accomplish, but you don’t know how to get there, I can help!
Lisa Towell
Innovation Consultant & Program Manager
I am a program manager with an in-depth understanding of the creative development process – I help organizations bring new ideas and projects from conception to completion. I have 15+ years of experience in both the corporate and non-profit worlds with planning complex initiatives and empowering design and development teams to deliver high-quality products and services on schedule.
My recent experience at Intuit included management of company-wide cross-functional programs and hands-on involvement with Intuit’s successful innovation methodologies.
I love using my curiosity, empathy, and team leadership abilities to help revitalize and support the sustained success of non-profit and social good organizations. I’m personally fired up about healing the world via animal advocacy and environmental protection. Some of my most rewarding experiences in recent years have involved applying my program management and innovation skills to help animal and environmental non-profits define and implement new initiatives in support of their missions.