Today we’d like to introduce you to Nautrie Jones.
Hi Nautrie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I moved to Metro Atlanta in 2003 right after finishing my undergraduate degree. I honestly don’t know what initially pulled me here from Texas, but more than 20 years later, Atlanta (at this point, I have lived and/or worked ALL OVER the city, so yeah Atlanta) is home. I began my career as a teacher in Atlanta Public Schools, a role that deeply shaped who I am. I loved teaching, started my family during that time, and learned some of my most important lessons about people, leadership, and potential in the classroom. One of the greatest joys today is running into former students, now grown with families of their own, which still feels surreal and incredibly meaningful.
The throughline of my career has always been people: seeing potential, imagining what’s possible, and supporting individuals and groups as they learn and grow together. After about a decade in the classroom, I transitioned into the nonprofit space, where I coached teachers and eventually moved into leadership roles focused on professional development and teacher leadership. I led a functional team responsible for developing leaders, and it was there that I really began to hone my curiosity about how adults learn, what motivates people, and how to cultivate high-performing, people-centered teams. I loved it. Putting together the pieces of a human-centered “people puzzle” felt energizing and purposeful.
After leaving the nonprofit sector, I landed at a consulting firm, and that experience was incredibly affirming. It confirmed that my passion wasn’t tied to a single sector, but to people work itself: talent, leadership, culture, and systems that shape how people experience work. Consulting expanded my lens and sharpened my skills, while also helping me name more clearly the kind of impact I wanted to have.
Around that time, a conversation with my now business partner brought everything into focus. Our visions for the work aligned in a way that felt rare and undeniable, rooted in shared values, complementary strengths, and a deep belief that work could be better for people. We joined forces and launched Empact Work, a woman-owned, Black-owned consulting firm grounded in empathy and impact.
Today, as Co Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Empact Work, I help organizations rethink how they hire, lead, and develop people. We are intentionally disrupting the status quo and showing companies and organizations that it is possible to take care of people, so people can take care of the work. Looking back, every chapter, from the classroom to nonprofit leadership to consulting to entrepreneurship, has reinforced my belief that when we design systems that truly support people, the impact extends far beyond the workplace.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In many ways, yes, it has been smooth. I have never doubted that this is exactly where I should be or that this is the work I am meant to be doing. That clarity has been constant. The path and the signals have consistently said “yes, keep going,” and that part has felt steady and grounding.
Where it has been less smooth is in the learning that comes with building a business. Stepping fully into entrepreneurship means navigating a lot of unknowns, especially learning what it takes to run and scale a firm in a sustainable way. For me personally, that has meant learning how to balance my superpower with the broader demands of the business. My sweet spot is business development. I love meeting people, building relationships, and understanding how our work can support an organization’s goals. Leaning into that fully while also tending to the operational and structural needs of the business has been a real learning curve.
Early on, we made a very intentional decision to hire a team and provide full benefits. That choice was aligned with our values and our vision for the kind of firm we wanted to build, but it also came with complexity and responsibility. Making values-aligned decisions at that scale requires thoughtful planning, financial discipline, and a willingness to keep learning as you go.
We also hold ourselves accountable for walking the talk. The things we advise our clients to do around people, culture, and leadership are the same things we are actively working to practice internally. That work requires strategy, accountability, and a great deal of trust. I would not describe it as a struggle, but it is ongoing, intentional work that we take seriously. Building something that is both values-driven and sustainable is not always easy, but it is deeply aligned with who we are and how we want to lead.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At Empact Work, we believe work doesn’t have to suck. We think people can and should love their work. Too often, because we assume work will be miserable, we haven’t fixed it. Our mission is to solve for disengagement, helping organizations create workplaces that engage talent, support leaders, and shift the way companies do work across sectors.
I serve as COO, guiding our internal strategy, supporting our internal operations and developing relationships. Travonnie Mackey, my co-founder, leads our client services work, and she and her team are essential to our ability to execute on strategy, coach leaders, and implement frameworks that create real impact. Together, we balance Empathy + Impact: when we take care of people, they take care of the work, and that principle guides everything we do.
We focus on three essential elements of an effective talent strategy: managers who leave their staff feeling cared for, a value proposition that feels fair, and a culture that people can follow. When these are in place, staff experience engagement, leaders are supported and sustained, and organizations see tangible shifts in culture, productivity, and impact.
What sets us apart is not just what we do, but how we do it. Travonnie and I serve as each other’s managers. We believe that the same level of care, development, and success we want for our teams, we deserve for ourselves. While we share leadership, we also create space to operate in a manager/direct report relationship. We give each other feedback, engage in performance conversations, coach one another, and most importantly, celebrate each other’s wins—because we know the power of pause and recognition. This practice allows us to live the principles we teach, strengthen our partnership, and build a team culture that reflects our values.
We are also proud that after two years (with lots of shifts and changes), our internal Net Promoter Score, a measure of how likely someone is to recommend Empact as a place to work is 100. That means not one member of our team would not recommend Empact as an employer. For a small, growing team, that is huge. It reflects our commitment to our people and our willingness to put ourselves on the hook for our team’s engagement. We take that responsibility very seriously and do not discount what it means to create a workplace people love.
We are proud that our work has been transformational for our partners. Clients tell us they now have the language, protocols, and clarity to repair relationships, rebuild trust, and embrace conflict constructively. They say our frameworks are simple, transparent, and practical, lowering barriers to implementation while increasing clarity and engagement. For me, the most meaningful part of our work is guiding strategy, partnering with Travonnie and our team, and witnessing organizations and leaders shift the way they work creating environments where people love their work and thrive.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can work with us in a few different ways. Organizations partner with Empact Work when they want to rethink how they hire, lead, and develop their people. We work closely with leaders and teams to design talent systems, build culture, and create workplaces where people can thrive.
We also collaborate with other consultants, coaches, and partners who share our values and want to partner on solutions that center people while driving impact. That could look like joint webinars that speak to the demand for talent work in today’s society, joint projects, or thought partnership.
Finally, individuals can support our work by amplifying our mission, connecting us with leaders ready to make meaningful change, or engaging with our content and community. Follow us on LinkedIn, connect with us through our website at www.empact.work , or reach out directly to me at nautrie@empact.work.
At Empact, we believe that when people come together with intention, care, and accountability, the ripple effect extends far beyond any single organization
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.empact.work
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/empact-work/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmpactWorkLLC/featured
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nautrie-jones/
