Community Connects Consulting, LLC

I met Lilly over ten years ago through Head Start, before we were talking about lived experience or co-design. Back then, we were simply parents trying to make a difference. What stood out to me from the very beginning was that Lilly got it. She understood that parents had something valuable to offer long before systems were talking about family voice or lived experience as expertise.

She made space for me before I knew I deserved to take up space. She challenged me to think differently about leadership, governance, systems, and my own voice. More importantly, she helped me believe that my voice mattered. That wasn’t something she taught in a curriculum—it was something she lived every time she invited people in, listened with intention, and trusted us with meaningful responsibility.

Over the years, our professional relationship became a friendship, and today I proudly call her my sister. What has never changed is her integrity. She has always been the same person—authentic, thoughtful, humble, and deeply committed to people. She doesn’t include people because it’s the right thing to do; she includes people because she genuinely believes they belong.

Looking back now, I can see that the work I lead today is rooted in seeds that were planted during those early years. Lilly helped me find my voice before I ever knew where it would lead. For that, and for the countless lives she has impacted, I will always be grateful.

I have had the absolute pleasure of working with Lilly Irvin-Vitela of Community Connects Consulting on several community-led projects. Most notably, we have collaborated on initiatives to support and uplift Indigenous early childhood efforts that center community voice and care. Lilly brings an incredible depth of knowledge and a genuine heart to advocating for health equity. She has a rare gift for building strong, authentic relationships with everyone she works with. Quite simply, I love working with her and cannot recommend Community Connects Consulting highly enough. 

I have had the privilege of working with Community Connects Consulting, LLC for several years. Lilly has an exceptional ability to bring people together around a common goal, and her collaborative approach is one of her greatest strengths. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with her and have seen firsthand her ability to connect and engage effectively with people from all backgrounds. Lilly is consistently well-prepared and knowledgeable on every topic she consults on. Her professionalism, expertise, and dedication have earned her the respect of colleagues and partners throughout the State of New Mexico. 

I've had the great pleasure of working with Community Connects Consulting on numerous occasions and in different settings. Lilly Irvin-Vitela masterfully facilitated several meetings with philanthropic funders, state agencies, and nonprofit partners. In every setting - I always felt welcome, like my lived and learned experiences were relevant, and that the next steps would be clear and meaningful.

Community Connects Consulting has a strong team highly capable of tackling complex challenges and sensitive conversations. As a bonus, Lilly has significant content expertise and understands what leaders across many sectors struggle with when it comes to strategy, relationships, and Board governance. I confidently recommend their services - you won't be disappointed!

Working with Lilly has been such a meaningful experience for our team at Perigee Fund. She has guided us through several full-day retreats with so much presence, care, and wisdom. It is clear that Lilly truly cares about this work and about the people she works with. She puts tremendous thought and time into preparing, and she takes the time to understand and become part of a team’s unique culture.

Lilly has a special gift for helping people feel seen, heard, and valued. She creates space for honest reflection and meaningful conversation while also sharing thoughtful teachings on culture, systems, and how we work together. She brings decades of experience navigating organizational and cultural challenges, and her guidance has been especially valuable as we have strengthened our thinking about how we partner with and learn from Indigenous communities.

We have learned and grown so much through our work with Lilly. She is a gifted facilitator, a generous teacher, and a deeply caring partner. We wholeheartedly look forward to an opportunity to work with her and her team again!

Lilly Irvin-Vitela is a delight to work with in many ways. Lilly was on the board of directors of a statewide non-profit I directed in Wisconsin.  She brought wisdom, passion and humor to meetings. If I had to pick one word to describe Lilly, it would be integrity. Lilly shows up with her sleeves rolled up ready to work. She is quick to provide appreciation for jobs well done and provides diplomatic feedback where improvements can be made. Lilly does not shy away from hard conversations, and the work is better for these honest conversations. Although our work no longer intersects, over the last twenty years our relationship has evolved into an endearing friendship. Despite the miles between us, I am grateful to now call Lilly my cherished confidant.

The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government was extremely fortunate to work with Community Connects Consulting and to adopt their recommendation to create the organization’s three-year plan – a roadmap to ensure precious resources were used to secure maximum benefits.  

CCC suggested hosting a board retreat and clearly defined and facilitated the process to:  

· Ensure that all board members share a common understanding of the organization’s goals, values and strategic direction;

· Measure, evaluate and improve the board's performance to distinguish operational from oversight functions;

· Solidify common goals and avoid mission creep;

· Focus attention to draft and finalize a workable plan with measurable goals and distinct timelines.

Several successes came from the retreat and the final plan. A few include:

· Directing resources to activities to sustain and increase member engagement;

· Training for new board members;

· Conducting a survey of board members resulting in information that led to new areas of funding.

· Also, because activities and goals were outlined, board meetings were conducted and concluded in a shorter amount of time.

NMFOG’s work with CCC was invaluable and will allow the organization to continue its efforts to protect the public’s right to know for many years to come. 

Working with Community Connects Consulting was an impactful experience for our organization.  The supportive and welcoming environment allowed both our staff and Board of Trustees to share ideas and learn from one another’s experiences in a guided and positive environment. They partnered closely with us throughout the entire process—listening to our needs, thoughtfully planning, facilitating sessions that were engaging, and providing thorough follow-up. Their full-circle approach ensured our goals were exceeded.  I highly recommend Community Connects Consulting for any organization seeking effective and collaborative professional development. 

Lilly was our Executive Coach and Organizational Change Consultant for 12 months as our small nonprofit navigated a difficult transition from all-volunteer to paid staff, a huge influx of contracts, revenue, and visibility, and an increasingly diverse board leadership and partnerships. Within that time, she guided us through difficult changes to ensure that our organization's internal policies, procedures, and work reflected our externally visible goals and values, and strengthened our budgeting and contracting procedures. Lilly led a transformative Board Retreat for our 20+ Board members from all across New Mexico that brought us to important connection and consensus and helped us transition to fresh leadership and structure. We worked with her weekly and biweekly over time as our needs changed, but her expertise in both the 'head' and 'heart' domains of nonprofit management and leadership were invaluable to our organization. She is a consummate professional, a generous mentor and guide, and above all, transforms nonprofits to center most-impacted communities. I am so very grateful we worked with Lilly through this rocky time; we emerged with transparent and robust budgets, policies, and procedures, and with clarity and alignment in our mission and vision. I cannot recommend her highly enough! 

Lilly approaches work in a highly relational way bringing curiosity, humanity, and even a little playfulness. This allows her to help a group push through difficult territory. She is open-minded, but crystal clear on mission and values, guiding her clients and partners to embody this same mindset.  

The President is the one of the most skilled facilitators I have ever seen. I have watched her work with a variety of groups. She has artfully managed large groups dealing with contentious issues, ensured that participants were heard and respected, and moved the group toward a collective conclusion.

Recently, I have had the privilege to co-facilitate regional nonprofit gatherings with the President. We go into communities where we may not know anyone and leave with lots of new connections. The President creates a welcoming atmosphere, ensures we attend to the agenda, and that the participants have fun.

Community Connects Consulting is heart centered, relationship based, and research informed.