Masat Collaborative

An ecosystem for relational governance & co-learning

Moving the center of gravity in corporate philanthropy is tough, lonely work.I partner with corporate impact leaders, foundation directors, and social strategy executives who are navigating the tension between rigid corporate expectations and authentic, community-rooted resource stewardship.

Let’s start a conversation

Meeting you where you are

You don’t have to push your organization alone.Whether you are just beginning to ask where your giving can do less harm, or you are ready to imagine entirely new, trust-based models of resource movement—this work happens on a spectrum, and it moves at the pace of trust.
Inside a corporate environment, trying to do bold, meaningful work can feel isolating. You see the widening wealth gaps and the urgency in our communities, yet you are constantly balancing risk-averse legal teams, conservative boards, and strict corporate metrics.You don't need another generic vendor. You need a strategic partner who understands both worlds.I help leaders navigate internal corporate realities while thoughtfully shifting organizational culture toward relational governance, harm reduction, and non-extractive resource stewardship.

How we co-build & collaborate

Strategic Co-Building & Board AlignmentWorking alongside you as a trusted partner to sequence change and navigate institutional friction.

Strategic co-building & leadership alignment

Working alongside you as a trusted partner to sequence change and navigate institutional friction.

Navigating internal power & strategy

Power-mapping board dynamics, framing strategic narratives, and building the ethical and operational case for relational grantmaking and equitable resource movement.

Sequencing change at the pace of trust

Pacing internal shifts so your team moves thoughtfully from heavy compliance to relational, colleague-directed, or community-informed models.

Rigorous & relational governance

Balancing corporate requirements for measured success, 990-PF compliance, and clear metrics with human-centered, reciprocal community accountability.

Ecosystem & field-building resources

Introducing proven frameworks from pioneering field-builders—such as Justice Funders, Trust-Based Philanthropy, and NCRP’s Power Moves—adapted specifically for corporate legibility.

Corporate impact peer circles

Creating brave, confidential spaces for corporate givers.

Facilitated co-learning circles

Small, trusted spaces governed by mutual confidentiality (Chatham House Rules) where corporate impact leaders can drop the PR filters, share honest internal challenges, troubleshoot institutional resistance, and imagine new ways of moving resources together.

About

Yek Tunal — Welcome.The Masat Collaborative takes its name from the Nawat word Masat [mah-SAHT]—the word for deer, representing sensitive listening, grounded movement, and relational responsibility.Led by Jess Laura, a social impact and resource stewardship strategist, the practice serves as an advisory ecosystem and living laboratory for leaders who are interested in what happens beneath the visible work of impact: how resources move, how decisions are made, who gets invited into those decisions, and what becomes possible when our structures reflect the values we say we hold.I think of this as the architecture behind impact.

Bridging institutional power & right relationship

For over a decade, I’ve moved between corporate leadership, institutional philanthropy, higher education, and community-led movements—strengthening governance, stewarding resources, and designing systems that improve transparency, participation, and sustainability.In my corporate leadership, I architected and operationalized the corporate giving and disaster philanthropy strategy for a multibillion-dollar enterprise—earning the company independent national recognition on Newsweek & Statista’s 2026 America’s Most Charitable Companies list (#7 in industry) while stewarding millions in unrestricted, trust-based, and colleague-directed funding.
My perspective is deeply shaped by moving between institutional seats and grassroots, community-led spaces. Those experiences define how I understand accountability, power, and what it means to move from extraction toward right relationship.

Asking the questions underneath the work

The questions underneath institutional practice are often the ones I find most vital:
• If we value community voice, where does it actually live in our decision-making?
• If we value trust, how must that change the way resources move?
• If we call ourselves stewards, what responsibilities come with holding institutional power?Resources are more than dollars—they are access, information, relationships, attention, institutional influence, and the ability to open a door. I don't claim to have every final answer. Instead, I build a practice around these questions: helping leaders notice where power sits, navigate internal friction, and translate human-centered intention into enduring structure.

Ready to imagine something different?

Whether you need a confidential sounding board to help prep your next board meeting, or a long-term co-builder to sequence a bolder impact strategy, let’s start with a casual conversation.