Defining My Value: How Clarifying My UVP Helped Me Build a Purposeful Business

A little over 30 years ago, I stood at an early fork in the road.

I had two job interviews scheduled for the same day: one with Deloitte, and one with Human Rights Watch. At the time, I was a young idealist — let’s be honest, a bit of a hippie — but I wanted to present myself as someone who could “fit in.” So, I went out and bought a gold silk lamé suit to wear to both interviews.

At Deloitte, the response was swift: “You look like a creative type…” They were looking for someone more conventional — someone they could mold.

Later that day, I met with the head of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division — who would become my boss. As she walked me to the elevator, she looked at me kindly and said, “If we hire you, you don’t ever need to wear a suit like that to the office again.” She saw past the outfit to who I really was.

The gold lamé suit in action. Taken at the Ministry of Health in China in 2003 for a project with the Global Health Council focused on reducing stigma around HIV/AIDS. Yes, that’s Miss Universe and Miss China, and yes, I’m still standing by my fashion choices... sort of!

Thankfully, they hired me.

I joined Human Rights Watch during an extraordinary and sobering time — in the midst of the Rwandan genocide and the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. The urgency and gravity of that work shaped me profoundly. My lens eventually expanded beyond Asia, and so did my purpose. That foundation led me to become a journalist in China, to run a magazine about HIV, and ultimately to spend more than two decades leading communications for international relief and development organizations — working across sectors from global health and food security to press freedom, democracy, and emergency response.

Every step of the way, my work has been tied to purpose.

A New Fork in the Road

Over the years, I always imagined that the final chapter of my career would be as a consultant. I looked forward to working independently, and supporting organizations I believed in. I just never thought that chapter would start quite so soon.

The 2024 election changed that.

I immediately knew that the outcome would have ripple effects — not just nationally, but personally. While I was still happily employed, I could feel the ground shifting. I began taking quiet steps: registering an LLC, mapping out a website, and exploring what consulting might look like. I wasn’t sure I was ready — but I had a hunch I needed to be.

Soon after, the deep cuts came. The sector I’d spent my life in was being systematically dismantled. Friends and colleagues were losing jobs.

And eventually, so did I.

That moment forced me to ask: Should I pivot away from mission and try something safer? Should I repackage myself as a generalist and chase private-sector work?

I could have. Communications is a flexible skillset. But I knew I was too far in. I’d spent three decades shaping narratives for causes I believed in. Walking away wasn’t an option. What I needed was clarity — and that started with the same thing I now help my clients define: a unique value proposition.

What a UVP Really Is (And What It Definitely Isn’t)

For mission-driven organizations — and for people like me who support them — a UVP isn’t a tagline. It’s the foundation that anchors everything else. It answers:

• Why is your mission urgent right now?

• Why are you uniquely positioned to address it?

• How are you different from others doing similar work?

When your UVP is strong, it guides your strategy. It clarifies who you’re trying to reach, what story you need to tell, and how to tell it.

Now, let me be clear about what a UVP is not.

I have an unusual talent: I can write forward with my right hand and in mirror image with my left — at the same time. (Yes, really. Michelangelo used mirror writing as a way to keep his notes secret.)

That’s unique. It’s quirky. But it’s not a value proposition — because it doesn’t help anyone understand what I do, who I help, or why it matters.

A UVP isn’t about novelty. It’s about relevance and resonance. And it’s where any strong communications strategy begins.

Why I Launched Global Impact Narratives

Once I reframed “mission-driven” beyond U.S. funded humanitarian assistance — once I looked beyond the international lens I’d always relied on — I saw how vital domestic missions are, too. And I realized that I could contribute in new ways: supporting work to improve educational policy, helping organizations serve children born with life-threatening illnesses, and so much more.

The world hasn’t gotten any simpler. But the need for clarity, for truth, and for values-based storytelling has never been greater.

So I launched Global Impact Narratives — not as a fallback, but as a next chapter. A business rooted in the belief that strong, ethical communications can amplify purpose and drive real change.

Now, I help others uncover what makes them essential — and ensure the world hears it.

Because clarity changes everything. It did for me.

P.S. If you’re navigating your own inflection point — as a leader, a team, or an organization — I’d love to talk. Helping purpose-driven partners tell the right story, to the right people, in the right way is exactly what I do at Global Impact Narratives.