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ABOUT REBECCA BALLARD

Strategist and founder.

Two decades building mission-driven organizations. Now focused on DC's next economy.

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DC's next economy is already here. It's us. This city has taken a real hit, and the recovery won't look like what came before. But we don't have to build from nothing. DC already holds a remarkable concentration of policy minds, nonprofit builders, researchers, social entrepreneurs, and people who came here on purpose, for purpose. The opportunity is to turn that talent into more businesses, jobs, and investment — and to build the reputation that attracts more of it.
The next decade is a matching problem. Who our people are. The industries we grow. The jobs we create. The talent we attract and keep. Economic development works when those reinforce one another — and when growth creates opportunity for the people who actually live here. Right now extraordinary people are in roles beneath their capability, or quietly interviewing elsewhere, while the world bids for them.
Mission-driven business is a growth sector, not a charitable one. Payrolls, leases, exports, room to scale. Local doesn't mean small. These companies won't replace what the federal contraction took — no single sector will. But DC has a concentration of purpose-driven talent and institutions no other city can claim, and an identity worth building on is an opportunity hiding in plain sight.
An economy grows when people start things. You can't retain talent into jobs that don't exist yet. New economies get built by new companies, which makes the rate at which people here start and grow them one of the numbers I'd watch most closely. A city that celebrates incorporation and then watches every successful company leave hasn't built anything. Innovation isn't a word — on the ground it's spaces, capital, and the distance between an idea and a first customer.
Hard problems don't respect institutional boundaries. Government, philanthropy, business, and community each hold a piece of every problem worth solving, but no one naturally owns the whole. Building the room — and the shared ownership to keep it moving — is much of the work.

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LOOKING TO sharpen YOUR STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND IMPACT?

Rebecca Ballard Advisory works across companies, social enterprises, nonprofits, foundations, and coalitions — fluent in each, beholden to none. Washington, DC and beyond.

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Whether a conference, convening, panel, podcast, or conversation around the hardest problems a field is facing, we provide engaging and highly tailored facilitation and event leadership tailored to your audience.

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Fresh Talk at the national museum of women in the arts: Women Reclaiming Agency

In partnership with the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), Rebecca Ballard— principal of Ballard Advisory—served as program partner and moderator for Fresh Talk: Agency in Fashion.

Rebecca led a compelling conversation with Tracy Reese, acclaimed designer and founder of Hope for Flowers, and Katrina Orsini, fashion historian and curator at George Washington University. Together, they explored how women are reclaiming agency in the global fashion industry through sustainability, entrepreneurship, and creative leadership.

Drawing on her background in law, policy, and ethical fashion, Rebecca continues to highlight how responsibility and artistry can intersect to create a more equitable and innovative future for fashion.