Written by Jada Wyatt
Elizabeth Benefield and Melissa Carrier, the wonderful women leading impactful organizations to new heights, invite you to celebrate one year of Radiant Work with them!
Read highlights from a recent interview with the Co-Owners, where they share what this first year has been like for them. Discover the hope they have for each of their clients which centers their work and drives their impact.
Who is Radiate Works?
The Women Behind the Radiance
A trust built over years of dreaming, co-working, and collaborating across disciplines and institutions. |
If there is one thing to know about these two ladies, it’s that there isn’t much they can’t do when they put their heads together.
Each of them brings vastly different experiences, but they find alignment in their approach to work. An important commonality that connects them across sectors is taking the systems-level view. Specifically, they examine and respond to structures and relationships, as well as formal and informal power dynamics, among stakeholders. Together, they discovered a way to blend their skills, combining cross-sector insights to build sustainable solutions.
Melissa CarrierIndustry | Start-Ups | Investing Business & Chemical Engineering | Elizabeth BenefieldHigher Education | Nonprofit | Philanthropy Women & Gender Studies |
Key OverlapsSystems and Human-Centered DesignSocial Innovation EducationTheoretical & Practical EntrepreneurshipOrganizational Strategy & Consulting |
Coming Together + Undeniable Connection
There was a spark- you know the one- each time the two got together. They shared endlessly, often losing track of time when the conversation inevitably steered toward how programs and organizations can improve their operations and impact.
“What made you sure of each other as partners,” I asked.
“We both recognize that you have to have a foundation of trust, of mutual respect for each other’s skills, a compatible work ethic, and a solid, aligned passion for the work.” Elizabeth proudly shares, “I see all of those things in Melissa.” Despite coming from different worlds, “We shared particular foundational anchors,” Melissa explained.
Surely, these anchors - based in a deep-rooted sense of optimism, desire to elevate the work of others, and shared passion for boldness - brought these women together 10 years ago, and have a large influence over their relationship today as collaborators and Co-Founders of Radiate Works.
Fun Fact David Kirsch, a mutual Ashoka U contact, connected Elizabeth and Melissa in 2015 when Melissa shared her plans to move to Raleigh. Soon after, she landed an opportunity as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Elizabeth’s institution, bringing the two even closer than anticipated! Shoutout to David for being a catalyst for radiance! |
Becoming Radiant
Reflecting on their varying experiences across industries and years of supporting interdisciplinary students after they graduated, Elizabeth and Melissa focused on the challenges of organizations in utilizing bright changemakers and adopting innovation practices. As systems thinkers, the two began to investigate and explore how they might help organizations transform how they do good work.
They knew they had something special between the two of them, so they explored ways to come together. “We had to iterate more than a few times,” Melissa shares. Doing this helped the two find their lane and refine their own value proposition, an approach you see show up in their work with clients. Radiate Works began serving organizations across different sectors, working with them to enhance their operations for maximized impact.
Radiate Works Value Proposition
We use a creative and generative process that moves companies
from a “checkbox” to a “practice” mindset.
We co-design a custom model for action with a clear
commitment to results for each client.
We invite new perspectives, practice meaningful inclusion,
and work collaboratively.
Sharing Radiance
They spoke to a commonality they see across many diverse organizations: despite so many good intentions, there are still many deeply embedded challenges in the alignment of mission and execution. Exploring the many dynamic, and often conflicting intentions, beliefs and behaviors, creates new space for learning. “There’s so much value in the coalescing process,” where everything is out on the table and strategizing is a fluid process. (Elizabeth)
That’s where Elizabeth and Melissa come in, bringing with them the Radiate Effect- a process for collecting divergent inputs and converging on newfound alignment.
“The Radiate Effect™ is a unique set of innovation practices custom-designed to help organizations achieve greater prosperity and impact” (RadiateWorks.com).
All the while, they make sure to support the leadership team in adaptable ways throughout the process. Often engaging in advisory, facilitatory, and even instructional ways as needed, Radiate Works can accommodate a range of leadership team experiences, supporting growth and collaboration at each step.
It’s here - in the sharing of resources, competency-based facilitation, and resilience building - that you see the educational and programmatic backgrounds of these women shine through. Transformational change in this case is achieved through examining and refining practices & behaviors through outcome modeling. It’s truly about empowering capability and inspiring action alignment within their clients.
Client & Company Hopes Moving Forward
Their goal for each client is to confidently increase their positive impact in a way that can be sustained. Elizabeth shares, “We love the ‘ah-ha’ moments and getting those next-day reflection messages. We hope they can always feel comfortable with a transparent and authentic approach.” Their intuition and focus on relational dynamics open the door for shared learning among clients. The ladies aim to create spaces for everyone to embrace the possibilities for change.
“It works!” Melissa shares, “We’ve consistently helped clients move away from uncertainty towards a clarified path forward.” Consistently, Radiate Works has supported its clients to set and reach aspirations beyond what they thought possible.
The two now feel very confident in the business outlook. Naturally, they are always thinking of business development, but they find client generation a secondary concern for now. The “secret sauce” has been taste-tested to perfection, and the ladies are happy to embrace the clarity that comes with stepping into year two.
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