About Us
We are practitioners who have done the work.
GamblinConsults is not a firm that studies institutions from the outside. Our team has advised, staffed, and led inside government, nonprofits, and universities. We know what it takes to make change hold, because we have been the ones responsible for holding it.
300+
policy and program redesigns influenced
160+
trainings delivered across the country
2.4 million
people reached through client engagements
147
U.S. counties touched
$21B
in government operating budgets served
OUR STORY
Marlysa D. Gamblin, MPP CEO and Lead Principal
The problem is almost never the people.
"Systems produce exactly what they are designed to produce."
When outcomes are misaligned or underperforming, it is rarely a people problem. It is a design problem. We fix the design, and we build the capacity of your team to sustain it long after we leave.
GamblinConsults was founded in Washington DC in 2017, incorporated in Virginia in 2020 and then later incorporated in California in 2021 when our headquarters moved to Los Angeles, CA. We are a Los Angeles County-based management consulting firm, with national reach, and team members across California and Washington DC.
Â
Our firm partners with executive leaders responsible for institutional performance, compliance, and large-scale initiatives, to support their ability to design, strengthen, and implement transformational change.
​
GamblinConsults was founded on the belief that systems produce exactly what they are designed to produce. So if the system is misaligned, then it will produce misaligned results. That founding belief became the foundation of our Restorative Design and Leadership Model, the methodology behind everything we do, with a track record across the nation, to strengthen systems-designed so that systems, processes, and culture no longer misalign with the vision, mission, resources, and intended outcomes that instituons often seek to acheive.
-GamblinConsults CEO, Marlysa D. Gamblin, MPP
How we work
What every engagement is built on.
Three principles show up in every project, whatever the sector and whatever the scope.
We fix the design
When results are not what an institution wants, we look at the systems, processes, and decision structures producing those results, and we rebuild them. We do not treat symptoms.
We build your capacity
An institution that can only perform with us present has not been developed. It has been managed. We transfer the tools, skills, and practices so your team carries the work forward on its own.
We stay through execution
We do not hand off a plan and leave. We stay through implementation, because the difference between a document and a changed institution is everything that happens after the plan is written.
Our tools and expertise have been cited by the NY State AFL-CIO, Children's Health Watch, and the Georgetown Law Review. Full project references, contact information, and work samples available upon request.
Marlysa D. Gamblin, MPP
Marlysa has 15+ years advising senior leaders across city, county, state, and federal systems. She has coached and consulted for offices managing budgets exceeding $750M. Under her leadership, GamblinConsults has trained leaders in 147+ U.S. counties and influenced the redesign of 300+ policies and programs.
​
She holds a Master's in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. with Honors from UC Berkeley, where she graduated Valedictorian.
Â
She has advised the White House, Senate, and Congress, and her research is cited by Yale Law Review, Georgetown Law Journal, the Urban Institute, and the National Institutes of Health.
​
Marlysa is an expert in institutional design, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement, with over a decade of experience in policy design and institutional transformation. She specializes in restructuring systems and community-centered research analysis to align with strategic vision and long-term sustainability.
​
She is the architect of the Restorative Design and Leadership Model (RDLM), the proprietary methodology behind every GamblinConsults engagement that has impacted 2.4+ million people, and founded the firm in 2017 on the belief that organizations struggling with outcomes rarely have a people problem; they have a design one.
CEO AND LEAD PRINCIPAL
OUR TEAM
We are practitioners who have done the work.
Our mission is to help institutions stop launching plans that go nowhere and start building the systems and teams that actually make change stick.
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Dr. Anna Rozzo, Ed.D.
CHIEF of Staff
Anna is a nationally recognized expert in educational leadership and organizational strategy. Her work focuses on building staff capacity and implementing large-scale program redesigns.
​
Anna holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of Glasgow and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the SIT Graduate Institute. She is an International Coaching Federation Accredited Coach and has presented at Harvard Law School and international education conferences on tool and assessment design, training design, and mixed-methods research.
​
Anna brings a robust background in program design, project execution, and organizational operations, with experience leading multi-year, complex initiatives and cross-functional teams. Her expertise spans monitoring and evaluation, stakeholder engagement, assessment design, quantitative research, LMS and CRM platforms, and executive coaching aligned with professional standards. She specializes in client-centered learning approaches that build lasting internal capacity, not just short-term fixes.
​
As Chief of Staff and Operations at GamblinConsults, Anna oversees the systems, coordination, and cross-team execution that keep engagements on track from strategy through delivery.
SENIOR CONSULTANTS team
Carmen Ye, MPP
SENIOR HR AND ORGANIZATIONAL CONSULTANT
Masters in Public Policy, University of Michigan Ford School; BA, UC Berkeley. Former Special Assistant to the Chief Human Capital Officer at USAID and former staffer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Fluent in Cantonese, Spanish, and Mandarin. Expertise in human resources, organizational assessment, strategic planning, compliance, and workforce development.
Karyn Bigelow, M.Div.
SENIOR POLICY AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS CONSULTANT
Masters, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary; Graduate Diploma, University of Edinburgh; BA, Michigan State University. Served in the House of Representatives and advised the U.S. Senate, House, and White House administrative staff on federal policy. Held C-suite leadership roles at nationally recognized advocacy and policy organizations.
ASSOCIATE CONSULTANTS team
Kristie Kirby, AMFT
ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT
Master of Arts in Teaching and Curriculum, George Mason University; California Multi-Subject Teaching Credential; Associate Marriage and Family Therapist. Direct experience within LA Unified School District, including sustained work in Watts. Expertise in multi-stakeholder engagement, person-centered learning, curriculum design, and facilitation.
Khadyjah Thomas
ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT
Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction and Master of Arts in Science and Marketing, Western Governors University; BA and teaching credential, UC Riverside. Designs tools, courses, and training materials to build capacity in K-12 systems, educators, and communities nationwide. Expertise in stakeholder engagement, curriculum, and facilitation.
Boaterneraz Anthony Martinez
ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT
Bio coming soon. Boaterneraz supports engagements across the firm's core service areas, bringing hands-on capacity to research, organizational development, and stakeholder engagement work.
Caleb Price
GRAPHIC DESIGN CONSULTANT
Bachelor of Arts in Communication, Palm Beach Atlantic University. Coordinates visual communications and design deliverables in complex, high-stakes environments that require polished, public-facing tools and resources. Expertise in graphic design, web design, branding, and creative production.
ADMINISTRATION TEAM
Lisa James
👤
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Lisa brings over 20 years of administrative operations and strategic management experience across government and private sectors.
​
Lisa supports client and partner coordination, as well as the operational rhythm that keeps client engagements and partnership moving. She is a key part of how the firm delivers reliably across a full slate of projects.
Dr. Terry Allen, Esq., Ph.D.
SENIOR LEGAL, POLICY, AND RESEARCH CONSULTANT
Juris Doctor, UCLA School of Law; Ph.D., UCLA School of Education; Masters in Education Policy, Columbia. Staffed at the White House and interned at the DOJ Office of Legal Policy and the GAO. Assistant Professor of Law at USC Gould. Published in the NYU Law Review, Georgetown Law Review, and UCLA Law Review.
Language access. Our team brings a multilingual skillset, fluently speaking English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin, and has experience working directly with translators across those and additional languages.
Proven Results With Our Clients
Want to work with a team that has done the work?
Tell us what your institution is facing. We will tell you, honestly, whether and how we can help.