Intern
Interns join a client-team with senior Redstone consultants, and join with their peers to develop a cohort project. As an Intern, you’ll participate in team meetings, get to do real client work, and gain unmatched exposure to clients and senior leaders. Each Intern will perform research, analyze data, develop concrete solutions, and practice communicating those results. Mentoring and apprenticeship are a vital part of life at Redstone. You will work side-by-side with other Interns and consultants to develop many of the skills that help Analysts at Redstone hit the ground running, including critical thinking, communication, process, and relationship-building skills.
Meet a Redstone Intern: Lily Liu
After spending a few summers engaging in both direct service and policy research, I was eager to practice translating analytical insights into actionable recommendations for different players in the social sector. My internship at Redstone allowed me to hone many valuable skills and advise evidence-based decision-making first-hand. As an intern, I supported two distinct workstreams on a project that sought to unlock more resources for organizations working on economic mobility. My first workstream was drafting a capability building plan for a nonprofit grantee. After conducting and synthesizing insights from surveys, interviews, research and co-design sessions, I put together a memo that outlined priority development areas and potential strategies for strengthening the nonprofit’s capabilities. My managers supported me in revising the tone, content, and structure of the memo, and we worked with the client to incorporate our plan into their upcoming grant application. My second workstream supported a foundation in selecting an anchor partner for their next investment. I took the lead in developing a rubric for evaluating candidate proposals with the client’s input, while my managers and I carefully facilitated deliberations among various stakeholders to reach a decision. Seeing that our recommendations helped the foundation launch their formal partnership with the selected partner a year later was really encouraging!
The learning opportunities and deep investment in mentorship at Redstone prompted me to return as a full-time analyst. Listening in and navigating conversations between funders, nonprofits, and external partners during my internship whet my appetite to explore relationship-building in the social sector more deeply. In my project work as an analyst now, I am constantly inspired by the new lessons I am learning around nonprofit governance, trust-building, and ecosystem development. The culture of mentorship and collaboration at Redstone also made me want to continue growing in this environment. Even on my first day of the internship, my project lead asked for my input on how to approach our upcoming interview. They always made time to support my growth, whether that is brainstorming ways to make my writing more concise, practicing my first presentation to the client together, or checking in on my well-being over tea or balcony time online. When I returned this September, it felt like coming home to a family of brilliant, mission-driven people who are rooting for my success and committed to having each other’s back.
My summer experience helped me feel more confident in transitioning to the Analyst role. The muscles that I developed during the internship around prioritization, proactive communication, comfort with uncertainty, and a keen ear for subtext in conversations prepared me well to navigate different team structures and client dynamics and to problem solve in new environments. While I miss the mountains, I have enjoyed growing closer to friends in the New York office over happy hours or mid-day walks to Madison Square Park for some much-needed fresh air and cute dog sightings. – Lily Liu
Analyst
All consultants at Redstone play key roles on project teams, and Analysts work directly with clients and senior leaders right from the start. As an Analyst, you will participate in all internal team discussions, brainstorming sessions, and client presentations. You will interview experts, perform research, map and analyze data in GIS, develop concrete solutions, and communicate results within the team and to clients. Mentoring and apprenticeship are a vital part of life at Redstone. Senior consultants will help you develop critical thinking, communication, process, and relationship-building skills.
Meet a Redstone Analyst: David Jung
As an undergraduate, I primarily worked for nonprofits and community-based organizations focused on issues that matched my academic and personal interests in community organizing and public interest law. I joined Redstone after graduating because I wanted to be exposed to many different types of organizations and areas of impact within the broader social sector while also being able to provide some financial stability for my family. Most importantly, I wanted to learn how to eventually become a valuable contributor to the sector through my work with my colleagues and our clients. With the work we do and Redstone’s professional development support, I can’t imagine a better first job out of college.
Redstone has provided a welcoming space to build important skills while learning from and working with mentors and peers who care deeply about making an impact. Through my project work, I’ve built quantitative skills by calculating the impact that a community foundation could have on regional affordable housing production and by visualizing key data trends in the annual budget allocation of a client team. I’ve also honed my qualitative skills by conducting and synthesizing interviews with prominent local affordable housing and homelessness leaders and by analyzing dense educational investment documents to pull out key takeaways. My suggestions and input are seriously considered in both internal meetings with my colleagues and external meetings with the client, which has been a very rewarding experience.
Above all, a highlight of my time at Redstone is being surrounded by passionate and fun teammates who I enjoy spending time with both at work and outside of work. I’ve worked closely with supervisors who have a healthy respect for my work-life balance, become friends with peers who should definitely be on Saturday Night Live if they weren’t at Redstone, and hosted potlucks with my colleagues where I could share a bit of my culture (making kimchi with others is always a win!). – David Jung
You can read more about a typical day in the life of a Redstone analyst HERE.
Associate
Associates take on increasing responsibility in addressing our client’s challenges. Building on the role of an Analyst, as an Associate you will also form hypotheses, perform analysis, lead brainstorming sessions, plan and conduct expert interviews, and craft insights and recommendations. As you continue to develop skills, you will lead larger pieces of the client engagement.
Meet a Redstone Associate: Jarrett Bell
When I think about what drew me to Redstone as an Intern and why I love working here, it’s that Redstone allows me to work on issues I care about—health, the environment, economic equity—and grow professionally alongside passionate, thoughtful, and caring colleagues and mentors.
As soon as I joined Redstone as an Analyst, my colleagues made me feel like an integral member of my project teams. In one-on-ones and team check-ins, they took the time to answer my questions, encouraged me to share my ideas, and provided me with opportunities to develop professionally—from building models and researching policies to developing recommendations and facilitating check-ins with clients. No matter how busy our projects sometimes become, my teammates have always taken the time to share constructive feedback and celebrate wins.
As I’ve progressed from an Analyst to an Associate, my responsibilities have grown from executing analyses and drafts to overseeing key workstreams and serving as a thought partner to my project director as we figure out how we can best support our clients to tackle pressing social challenges. Day-to-day—and this is another reason I love Redstone—this can look quite different: depending on our project needs, I might set agendas for client check-ins, draft strategy memos, interview subject-matter experts, prepare a months-long workplan, synthesize research, or share findings with clients and partners. Moreover, outside my projects, as an Analyst and now an Associate, I’m empowered to contribute to our firm culture and direction, including leading our recruiting subcommittee and co-organizing our firmwide Oscars ballot.
So, when I think about what I find most rewarding about my work as an Associate, it’s easy: all the above—the brilliant, funny, and supportive colleagues; the opportunities and mentorship to grow professionally; and the privilege to support driven and compassionate clients to achieve meaningful social impact. – Jarrett Bell
Manager
Managers oversee day-to-day activities on the project and run most client interactions. Managers develop and manage project work plans, structure analyses, assign work, develop new insights, and address relevant issues. In addition, Managers are responsible for the professional development and coaching of Analysts and Associates on the team. As Managers gain experience, they take greater ownership of client management and oversee projects with more complex dynamics.
Meet a Redstone Manager: Ben Rosenfield
Ben Rosenfield is currently an Associate Principal at Redstone. He shares his insights on his time as a Redstone Manager below.
As a Manager, I was able to take a larger role across all aspects of a project.
Internally, I was the connective glue, working closely with the project director and analysts/associates to both think big picture and execute the work. My day-to-day generally involved two areas. The first was developing workplans, for which I considered what we were solving for to achieve client goals, and how we could get there. The second was executing on this plan – this included setting up analyst and associate teammates to lead the lions share of the work, and also doing a chunk of the work myself (which allowed me to leverage skills I had learned as an associate). The most rewarding part of this work to me was engaging in thought partnership and development with teammates, including through brainstorming chats on project direction, and balcony chats where we discussed our experiences and growth goals/opportunities.
Externally, I served as the main contact for clients and other stakeholders. I led planning for weekly client check-in calls and usually facilitated the conversations, also looking to elevate teammates’ voices wherever possible. In this role, I enjoyed building deep relationships based on trust, credibility, and vulnerability – this rapport helped our team better understand what clients truly sought to achieve (even if it was not initially articulated in that way) and then help see that change realized. I’ve found this particularly true in projects involving coordination among many stakeholders to do something that might not have been otherwise possible, like when I supported a coalition during COVID with NYC Mayor’s office and NYC’s largest emergency food providers to coordinate more efficient and equitable distribution of emergency food and funding than had been seen before.
My time as a manager has positioned me well to succeed as an Associate Principal, my current role. It helped me start to understand how to think about a client’s needs – not just for a given project, but for their broader goals – and how this positions us to make even greater impact in the nearer- and long-term. And it helped me understand how to foster a team culture that supports individuals’ development and makes us all more excited to do this work, and how to empower others to take the lead as they step into new roles. – Ben Rosenfield
Associate Principal
Partnering closely with clients, an Associate Principal will develop innovative, high-impact solutions to social issues. As a beginning Associate Principal, you will manage 2-3 projects at a time and lead relationships with current clients. More senior Associate Principals will originate 1-2 new client relationships per year. Associate Principals are on the firm’s Leadership Team, take on responsibility for key internal priorities, and provide coaching for other team members to play productive roles on client teams and develop in their careers.
Meet a Redstone Associate Principal: Cordelia Tullous
As a Redstone Associate Principal, I lead client relationships for project teams as well as contribute to the leadership and growth of the firm. I joined Redstone as an Associate Principal after several years of serving in the K-12 education, government, and social service sector.
The majority of my time is focused on leading teams and mentoring staff to deliver solutions that help our clients reach their goals. While the client and topic can vary from day-to-day, my focus typically is on helping organizations and projects identify and achieve strategic goals and success. I typically lead 2 – 3 projects at a time, so on a daily basis I engage with client and team members to look for insights as well as opportunities to expand a client’s impact. Within a project, I help develop the project’s scope, work with a team consisting of managers, associates, and analysts to deliver high-quality work and look for opportunities to help our clients expand their impact and achieve their broader goals.
I collaborate closely with my teams – providing feedback on materials for client check-ins or helping prepare talking points for board presentations and other meetings with internal and external stakeholders. I also spend time building relationships with leaders in the field, exploring ways that Redstone could help them achieve their goals.
I help our clients identify their goals and uncover transformative solutions by asking key questions to analyze potential approaches and allies in our efforts to expand their impact.
In addition to working closely with our clients, I also have a passion for providing support to team members within the firm reach their personal and professional development goals. I truly enjoy the time spent serving and leading several internal Redstone committees including our Talent and Professional Development committees as well as the Black Employee Resource group as we work to design and implement initiatives to help shape the culture and future of the firm. – Cordelia Tullous
Principal
Building on the Associate Principal role, Principals originate and lead a client portfolio of high-impact projects. Principals exemplify leadership and inspire trust and confidence across a diverse range of constituents. As a Principal, you will be a member of the Firm’s Leadership Team and Management Committee and contribute to the strategic direction of the firm with other senior leaders. You will also play an important role in growing and nurturing the talent and capacity of staff.
Meet a Redstone Principal: Rachel Cowher
I joined Redstone as an Associate after completing my Masters in Public Policy. As a Principal at Redstone, I work to advance our firm’s values, from helping social impact-focused organizations advance systemic change to developing diverse leaders within the firm, to building the social sector by sharing insights from our work.
Most of my time is focused on leading teams that are solving exciting problems for our clients. I need to ensure that our work not only delivers strongly on a project’s scope but does so in a way that helps the people with whom we work advance their broader organizational strategies and grow in their field as individuals. At any given time, I am likely to be leading a few projects and exploring new impact opportunities. An exciting part of my role is having the opportunity to identify common threads across projects that may have lessons for the broader fields of education, philanthropy, and economic equity.
Meanwhile, I’m constantly looking for ways to support my teammates and elevate their insights with the clients – coaching and mentoring team members is a big part of my job. I am also working to be a better “development lead” mentor to several colleagues and build a collaborative culture across teams and the firm. It is especially important that I actively champion our efforts to build a more equitable, inclusive, and just firm, in both formal capacities (e.g., recruiting, systems for delivering upward feedback) and on a day-to-day basis to ensure all members of the team are set up to thrive. – Rachel Cowher