Active Voice Lab is a nonprofit network of seasoned strategists, led by Ellen Schneider. They help funders, advocates, media makers, and other leaders skillfully and collaboratively use story to advance social change. Based in San Francisco, they work with allies in the U.S. and beyond. Financial support comes from foundation grants, fee-for-service/consulting, and private donations. 

Active Voice Lab believes that significant social change becomes possible when policy experts, philanthropists, researchers, organizers, social entrepreneurs, and “creatives” work together toward common objectives for a better world. They think of these interdependent relationships as an “ecosystem of change.”

While many social change movements share goals, each movements’ cultures, tools, and expectations vary widely, as do the power dynamics among communities. Effective collaboration is particularly complex when “creatives” are part of the mix: shifting narratives, editorial control, and even content ownership are new concepts to many within the ecosystem. They draw partners together across different parts of this ecosystem with a focus on social, economic, and racial equity.