Who Is Sloan Leo

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Sloan Leo Cowan (they/he) is a non-profit strategist, fundraiser and facilitator. They are a leading thinker in community design, or facilitation design—the art of helping people work better together. 

To Cowan, design is a way of orienting toward leading change, and he creates strategies and practices to find shared language and frameworks that allow organizations to be more intentional about community design, strategy, and engagement.

Cowan has over 12 years of experience in the non-profit sector. Their background includes managing the boards of some of the country’s largest environmental organizations, raising $25M in major gifts, and stewarding the development of various strategic plans.

Since 2020, Sloan Leo has served as the Founder & CEO of FLOX Studio. FLOX partners with philanthropic, cultural, and social impact institutions to devisea strategy with deep organizational buy-in and clear answers to
the question, "How will we move forward together?"

Their joy comes from working with and leading teams,driving towards big wins, bold visions, and cultures of care.

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Our name is at the root of who we are

FLOX is named after a scientific process called FLOXing - it refers to the moment and process when a new DNA sequence sandwiches a gene, changing it, interrupting it. Making it new. We are FLOXing in the world of social impact organizational behavior, policies and practices - inserting new ways of being and doing within these systems. 

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Founding Story

Found in 2019, FLOX Studio began as a dinner party design lab that invited non-profit professionals, advocates, activists, and designers to engage in generative exercises that addressed some of the pressing needs in New York City. Since 2020 forward, FLOX has engaged 20 different organizations, conducted over 1500 hours of in-person and virtual facilitations, and helped organizations both in the midst of and on the precipice of change and transition. To us, consulting means building the ability and strength of organizations and the communities that they serve to learn together, grow together, and lead together more effectively.

Trusted Collaborators

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    Sloan Leo (he/they)

    Founder & CEO

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    George Aye (he/him)

    Advisor

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    Mari Nakano (she/her)

    Advisor

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    Miya Osaki (she/her)

    Advisor

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    Deborah Marton (she/her)

    Advisor

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    Stavo Arreguín (he/him)

    Senior Strategist

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    Rose Hsu (she/her)

    Design Strategist

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    Evan Ressegger (she/her)

    Design Strategist

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    Hannah Malvin (she/her)

    Culture Strategist

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    Lee Gilmore (they/them)

    Studio Manager

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    Laneen (she/they)

    Designer & Technologist

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