v2.1 · beta

A transformation studio

A small core. A global network.

ShiftFlow runs on a deliberately small core team and a carefully-chosen network of senior associates. Every engagement is staffed to fit the specific problem in front of us. The shape of the team you work with comes from what the work actually needs.

The core.

4 leads · accountable for the work

Every engagement has a named accountable lead. The core carries continuity across engagements, mentors the bench, and makes the calls that need one named owner.

Nicholas Scott

Founder · Principal

Fredericton, Canada

An intuitive leader with a passion for innovation and problem-solving, Nick has a track record of leading transformative projects in Canada, New Brunswick, and the UAE. Since 2012 he has directed transformational change in the public sector, most recently managing a Life Event Service Transformation initiative in the UAE. He previously served as Director of Innovation Services at Canada's Digital Academy, leading multiple digital teams. Earlier roles included Executive Director of Open Government and Innovation for New Brunswick's government, where he established innovation infrastructure and public problem-solving frameworks. He co-founded NouLAB, a public innovation lab, and directs the GovMaker Conference. Nick teaches Science and Technology Studies and Leadership for Social Innovation at the University of New Brunswick, and served as a jury member for the Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart Government Award (2017–2020).

Jen Nickerson

Vice President & Somatic Coach

Fredericton, Canada

A psychotherapist passionate about integrating somatic intelligence and creative contemplative practices, Jen specializes in the challenges of liminal spaces — the difficult, in-between transformation stages. She aims to be a heart-centred companion and guide for individuals and groups navigating complex transitions, believing these modalities offer powerful tools for exploring deeper aspects of self and relational dynamics.

Lewis Muirhead

Senior Consultant

Vancouver, Canada

Lewis brings head and heart to his work through considerate facilitation and consultative engagements, drawing on leadership and innovation backgrounds. A systems thinker, his work centres on facilitation and evaluation supporting change initiatives, with recent focus on narrative as evaluative method. After an MSc in Sustainability Leadership, he spent four years with the University of New Brunswick's NouLAB programming social and public-policy innovation labs. He founded Alternate Future Design Group and has partnered with TELUS Health for Good, McConnell Foundation, EcoTrust Canada, and various governments. He holds a BA from UBC and an MSc from Blekinge Technical Institute.

Jason Doiron

Facilitator & Organizational Development Consultant

Moncton, Canada

Jason Doiron is a facilitator and consultant based in Moncton, NB, who helps teams turn unproductive meetings into purposeful conversations that lead to clear decisions and real follow-through. His work blends participatory leadership with practical tools leaders can use right away to build psychological safety, strengthen collaboration, and make meetings worth people's time. Jason works with nonprofits, government, healthcare, education, and mission-driven organizations across Canada and internationally.

The associates.

10 senior associates · staffed to fit

Senior practitioners we've worked alongside for years. Each is chosen for depth in a specific domain. We bring the right two or three onto a piece of work in service of the problem in front of us. Locations span Canada, the UAE, and Estonia.

Joanna Nickerson

Senior Consultant

Winnipeg, Canada

A creative and strategic thinker known for her capacity to create experiences and build community, Joanna has been instrumental in launching social-venture accelerators and successful organizations. She holds an MBA from the University of New Brunswick and completed the Getting to Maybe: Systems Change program with Dr. Frances Westley. Her work shows a fierce curiosity and a passion for lasting positive change. She functions as a facilitator, strategist, mentor, and #shiftdisturber, with expertise in social innovation, systems thinking, and impact entrepreneurship.

Jerry Koh

Mission Innovation Advisor

Toronto, Canada

With over twenty years of systems innovation experience across governments, charitable organizations, and corporations in Canada, the US, and Asia, Jerry helps foundations, impact investors, and governments unlock capital for underfunded and overlooked communities. He is a fractional executive at New Power Labs, co-founded MaRS Solutions Lab, Canada's first public and social innovation lab, and led strategic foresight at the Ontario Cabinet Office and Ministry of Health. Jerry serves on the boards of 8 80 Cities, Goodwill Industries Ontario Great Lakes, Making Art Making Change, and West Neighbourhood House. He helps leaders move from sensing complexity to deciding and acting under uncertainty.

Emilie Chaisson

Designer & Facilitator

Ottawa, Canada

Holding a Bachelor's in Leadership Studies from the University of New Brunswick and a Master's in Global Affairs from the University of Toronto's Munk School, Emilie has navigated complex development and humanitarian challenges through positions at Venture 2 Impact, AIDS-Free World, and Grand Challenges Canada. She has led projects across non-profit, private, and public sectors, including the experiential learning initiative Future New Brunswick. She excels at developing cross-sectoral partnerships and using a human-centred approach to problem solving.

Jes Coverini

Branding · Social Change · Facilitation

Winnipeg, Canada

A Canadian brand strategist, graphic designer, and community educator, Jes specializes in creating striking, connective brand identities and resource materials that increase accessibility through thoughtfulness and inclusivity. Her design philosophy is rooted in the importance of connection as part of the human experience. Over fifteen years she has held roles from frontline to directorship in Canadian non-profits including Youth Agencies Alliance, Art City Inc., and Momenta — developing deep empathy and a structural understanding of systems of power.

KJ Conyers-Steede

Associate

Halifax, Canada

Over eight years, KJ has led or worked on community projects building quality public-policy programming and lobbying initiatives that focus on the big, hairy policy issues within society. A strong believer in systemic approaches, he undertakes governance reviews and develops strategies adopting a strategic-foresight lens to the problem, using facilitation styles that encourage collaboration through psychological safety.

Matt Dirks

Strategic Workflow Architect

Winnipeg, Canada

Founder of Alignex Operations Consulting, Matt specializes in organizational architecture and strategic operations design, embracing disruptive innovation and cutting-edge SaaS solutions. With fifteen-plus years across hospitality and service sectors, he focuses on enabling open collaboration, individuality, and sustainable change within organizations. He helps leaders create sustainable organizational change by focusing on the humanity of their teams and customers, offering expertise in strategic operations design, process automation, and organizational architecture.

Karin Rits

Digital Governance Expert

Tallinn, Estonia

Karin helps governments turn digital ambition into practical change. Her work brings together more than two decades of experience in ICT policy, digital government, public service transformation, and agile product development. She previously worked at Estonia's Government CIO Office, where she contributed to the design and implementation of several national digital strategies. Over the past four years, she has worked globally, advising governments and international organisations on digital governance, transformation strategy, and customer-centric public services. More recently, her work has expanded into AI governance and responsible use of AI.

Yuki Wu

Strategic Operations & Project Manager

Niagara Falls, Canada

Yuki specializes in bringing a grounded, operational lens to complex design and innovation projects. Currently supporting municipal government operations, she leads the execution of critical provincial requirements — including the coordination of annual service plans, multi-year budgets, and quarterly performance reporting. With over a decade of experience across governments, healthcare, and non-profits, Yuki excels at navigating complex organizational landscapes and consolidating cross-functional inputs into streamlined, implementation-ready frameworks. By focusing on strategic business planning and rigorous project management, she ensures that innovative strategies are not only creative but also operationally sound and measurable. She holds an MBA from McMaster University and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

Nuha Alami

Strategic Product & Experience Consultant

Dubai, UAE

Nuha is the founder of Tebra Studio, a consultancy working on product strategy, customer experience, and service innovation. Across fifteen-plus years in fintech, payments, government, and consumer services, she has helped organizations simplify complex experiences, find growth, and design services that hold up commercially and stay human. Her practice combines systems thinking, business-model innovation, omnichannel experience design, and facilitated workshops, bringing strategy, customer insight, and execution into the same room. She holds an Executive MBA from IE Business School.

Rachel Derrah

Associate

Halifax, Canada

A social innovator and facilitator, Rachel supports clients with strategic processes to have challenging conversations and propel visions forward. With deep listening and co-creation at the core, she excels in highly collaborative environments working across sectors and communities. She has facilitated multi-sectoral innovation labs addressing economic growth, employment, and early-childhood education, plus participatory leadership trainings on four continents. She co-founded Brave Space Social Innovation and is an instructor for Simon Fraser University's Executive Leadership program on Catalyzing Change in Complex Systems, holding formal education in Community Design from Dalhousie.

The network.

4 peer partners · co-delivery + methodology-share

Peer organizations and senior practitioners with their own brands. We partner on co-delivery, share methodology, and sub-contract where the problem calls for capability outside the bench. Different procurement shape, different attribution. Same standard for the work.

All In

Service design · public sector

Fredericton, Canada

All In works with non-profits and the public sector on service design. The practice runs through human-centred design research, collaborative ideation, prototyping, and testing. Based in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Peer organization on service-design engagements.

States of Change

Innovation capacity · training & research

International

States of Change works with governments and public institutions to build the capacity for more experimental, participatory practice. Their work runs across training, executive coaching, and collaborative research on innovation in government. A distributed practice with practitioners across multiple geographies. Peer organization on methodology and capacity-building.

Code for Canada

Civic tech · public-service design

Distributed · Canada

Code for Canada is a national non-profit that builds digital services with governments and non-profits for broad accessibility and public benefit. The practice runs through digital public infrastructure work, collaborative development, options analysis, and inclusive user research. Partnerships span federal, provincial, and municipal governments across Canada. Peer organization on civic-tech and public-service-design engagements.

Think Digital

Digital government · public-interest tech

International

Think Digital advocates for agile, human-centred approaches to public-sector challenges. The organization supports innovative uses of digital technology and data to advance the public good. A distributed practice working across multiple geographies. Peer organization on digital government and public-interest tech engagements.

Want to talk to a particular specialty?

Start · scoping · staffing

Tell us the shape of the problem, we'll bring the team.

Half an hour to describe the situation. We'll tell you what kind of team it would take, who from the network we'd pull in, and how we'd staff the engagement so the right capability is on the right move.

Start a conversation See how we work