Kacee Ballew | Intende Consulting

WHAT I DO

Mission-driven organizations don't stumble because of vision. They often just need a steady hand when diverse stakeholders get in a room, when strategy outpaces systems, when headquarters loses touch with the field, or when a team wins new funding and suddenly has to deliver on it. That's where I come in.

I work as an embedded operational advisor — close in, over time — helping global nonprofits, foundations, and international development implementers compete for and deliver on complex work. I bring the discipline of an economist, the judgment of someone who's run field operations in conflict zones, and the practical instinct that only comes from doing this work across 25+ countries for nearly two decades.

HOW I WORK

Most engagements start with a specific need and grow from there. A significant part of my client base are organizations I've worked with more than once — some for years, in different capacities, through different challenges. I'm always ready to meet the client where they are. That's not coincidence. It reflects how I prefer to work: embedded enough to understand the real dynamics, trusted enough to say what's actually true, experienced enough to get the hard work done.

That's usually how this starts.

SELECTED CONSULTING ENGAGEMENTS

Field-HQ Coordination

Sesame Workshop · 2024–Present

Senior Finance & Operations Advisor bridging New York headquarters and international programming across LATAM and South Asia. Strengthened financial governance, compliance systems, and field-HQ coordination during a period of major donor transition.

Strategy & Innovation Facilitation

Cadmus Group · 2023–2025

Facilitated strategy and innovation design sessions translating complex technical priorities into fundable, actionable program concepts across international development, governance, climate, and energy portfolios.

Grants Program Design

Resonance · 2023–2024

Built the foundation for a grants program — compliance framework, operations manual, application and review process, and hands-on advisory guidance through rollout. Served as HQ resource to ensure programs meet donor standards and hold up under scrutiny.

Business Development

Pact · 2020–2022

Led business development across a portfolio of bids ranging from $10–300M throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Achieved a 30% win rate, facilitated entry into two new markets, and coordinated cross-functional proposal teams.

Operational Advisory

Panagora Group · 2018–2019

For the USAID Small Business of the Year recipient, served as an embedded advisor to executive leadership during a period of rapid growth. Strengthened systems and staff capacity across an 11-country portfolio, improved billability by 15%, and stood up three new country offices from hiring through operational launch.

FIELD LEADERSHIP

Operations Director

Tetra Tech DPK · Jamaica · 2015–2016

Turned around operations of an underperforming $12M USAID program, leading a team of 15 through strategic realignment, grants restructuring, and a government audit, delivering on-time and on-budget results.

Crisis-Response Grants Lead

Chemonics · Pakistan · 2010–2011

Launched and directed a $5.25M crisis-response grants program supporting 300+ SMEs in a conflict-affected region. Designed audit-ready systems and distributed nearly 1,800 grants in 12 months.

ABOUT

I'm Kacee Ballew, the founder of Intende Consulting. I started my career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Romania and have spent the last two decades working across international development, nonprofit management, and organizational strategy — in the field and from headquarters, in crisis environments and through periods of rapid growth.

I hold a master's in economics from the University of Amsterdam and an MBA from Fox Business School at Temple University. I manage a global client base, while being posted in Geneva, Switzerland — well-positioned among the multilateral organizations and foundations that shape much of the sector.

The through line across all of it has been the same: get in, understand the real dynamics, and help organizations do their best work.

Embedded advisor. Operational expert. Trusted by the organizations doing the most important work.

Embedded advisor.
Operational expert.
Trusted by the organizations
doing the most important work.