Who We Are

Meet the Team

With over a decade of experience supporting public and private sector organizations in achieving their programmatic and funding goals, ResearchBuildConnect (RBC) offers a wealth of expertise in grant lifecycle management, impact evaluation, and strategic planning. Our team brings extensive experience in senior nonprofit leadership roles and as strategic consultants for public and private sector entities, driving program design, fundraising efforts, donor relations, and comprehensive grant coordination from inception to completion.

Founder & Principal

Lucy Turley

Lucy Turley Ph.D is a social scientist and communication strategist. Turley brings extensive experience conducting applied, impact evaluation, and grant management for nonprofits, foundations, national and state agencies, and community development institutions. She is skilled in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and has significant expertise in developing grant reporting systems, data collection tools, facilitating systems change within organizations.

Before founding RBC, Turley was the Senior Director of Narrative Strategy at the Center for Policing Equity (CPE), where she managed the end-to-end production of all data-driven products. During her tenure at CPE, Turley contributed to original research for partnering law enforcement agencies, including the Seattle Police Department and St. Louis County Police Department. Prior to CPE, she served as the Director of Research at The Opportunity Agenda, a social justice communications lab in New York City.

Lucy holds a Ph.D. in Communications from American University, an M.A. in Africana Studies with a concentration in Global Journalism from New York University, and a B.A. in English from Queen Mary, University of London.

Strategic Advisor

Joseph Turley

Joseph Turley is an experienced project manager and operations leader with over 15 years of expertise in financial tracking, organizational alignment, and cross-functional team management. He has a proven track record of overseeing complex fund operations, ensuring regulatory compliance, and driving process improvements. Joseph excels in strategic planning, data-driven decision-making, and fostering collaborative environments to achieve operational excellence.

With certifications in technical project management and a background in managing global portfolios, he has successfully led initiatives for prominent organizations such as EQT Group, StepStone Global, and Allianz Global Investors. Joseph’s strengths lie in his ability to streamline workflows, manage large-scale projects, and align financial tracking processes with organizational goals. His expertise spans project coordination, financial oversight, and developing systems to enhance efficiency and compliance across diverse industries.

Partner Consultants

RBC is made up of a network of independent consultants who come together to build the right team for specific projects. We bring together decades of experiences and expertise in strategic communications, marketing, social media strategy, campaigns, cultural strategy, and convening facilitation.

Applied Researcher & Criminal Legal Expert

Mawia Khogali, Ph.D.

Mawia Khogali holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and Law from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. With ten years of experience leading quantitative, qualitative, and applied research with Black and Brown youth and adults impacted by the criminal legal system, Mawia brings expertise in leveraging science and data-driven metrics to inform program development, strategy, implementation, and evaluation in public safety reform. She currently serves as a consultant to support organizations in producing and measuring impact by translating strategic vision into tactical operations and leveraging best practices in mixed-methods research.

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Communications & Narrative Strategist

Julie Fisher-Rowe

Julie Fisher-Rowe is a seasoned communications and narrative strategy expert with over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit world, primarily in the social justice space. She specializes in creating strategic communications plans, narrative frameworks, and innovative tools that drive social change. Julie also has extensive expertise in developing curricula and delivering training programs to support advocates, organizers, and cultural strategists in strengthening their narrative, messaging and advocacy efforts. With a focus on translating complex research into practical, impactful resources, she equips partners to elevate conversations on a range of social justice issues and has specific experience in migrant justice, criminal justice reform, democracy and racial justice.

Public Opinion & Narrative Strategy Expert

Loren Siegel

Loren Siegel’s work spans decades in public opinion research, strategic communications, messaging, and narrative shift. As Director of Public Education at the American Civil Liberties Union (1991-2001), she managed the organization’s early public opinion research program, conducting both qualitative and quantitative studies on issues such as the death penalty, mass incarceration, marijuana legalization, and education vouchers. In 2004, with support from the Ford Foundation, Siegel published How to Work with Public Opinion Research: A Guide for Human Rights and Civil Liberties Advocates and Their Funders.