PORTLAND, OR, Civil Strategies announced today that it is formally operating as a systems design firm and has expanded its structure through the addition of an interdisciplinary Of Counsel advisory team. The evolution strengthens Civil's ability to partner with foundations, nonprofits, and mission-driven enterprises navigating complexity, restructuring, and institutional change in how they operate and govern.
Across sectors, the current landscape has exposed organizations' greatest vulnerabilities. These are systems that held under stable conditions but are now buckling under sustained pressure.
“Civil's evolution formalizes how we already work, focusing on designing the full architecture organizations need to operate with coherence, resilience, and institutional health,” said Midy Aponte-Vargas, Founder and CEO of Civil.
What systems design means in practice
Unlike traditional consulting that treats strategy, operations, or communications as separate engagements, Civil designs integrated systems where each element reinforces the whole. A foundation undertaking strategic planning might also need governance restructuring, updated financial processes, communications architecture, and program or campaign models that carry new priorities into action. Civil addresses these as interconnected components of a single system, guided by The CIVIL Framework™, which translates vision into the day-to-day architecture of decisions, operations, and culture.
Addressing growing institutional strain
Civil's transition comes amid increasing pressure across philanthropy, the nonprofit sector, and mission-driven business. While leaders continue to invest in strategic planning and leadership development, many institutions remain constrained by fragmented systems, unclear operations, and a growing gap between how organizations are structured and how they actually function. Too often, decisions are made at the center while the work unfolds at the edges, across programs, partnerships, fundraising, and community engagement, without a system designed to connect them. Civil helps organizations redesign the structures governing how they function internally and how they operate externally.
Expansion of the advisory team
To support this work, Civil has broadened its bench with a team of Of Counsel advisors: senior practitioners who maintain independent practices and partner with Civil on client engagements, each contributing discipline-specific expertise within an integrated systems design approach.
Marcelo Bonta, Strategic Leadership. Based in Portland, Oregon, Bonta brings more than 25 years helping foundations, nonprofits, and environmental institutions improve governance, leadership culture, and the long-term systems needed to advance equity and inclusion.
Mark Costanzo, Business, Finance and Capital. Based in the Washington, D.C. area, Costanzo brings deep expertise in financial strategy, business modeling, and operational discipline across the public and private sectors.
Marcie Perez, MS, Strategic Communications, Branding and Marketing. Based in Los Angeles, Perez is a seasoned communications strategist across entertainment, nonprofit advocacy, philanthropy, and public-sector engagement, focused on narrative development and executive communication systems.
Lisa J. Pino, MA, JD, Policy and Risk Management. Based in New York, Pino is a nationally recognized attorney and public service executive whose expertise spans governance, civil rights compliance, privacy, and policy alignment.
“I am proud of the team we have brought together,” said Aponte-Vargas. “The Of Counsel model reflects our methodology. It lets us work alongside organizations to understand how systems function across disciplines and redesign them so internal structures better support the work they are carrying into the world.”
About Civil Strategies
Civil Strategies is a national systems design firm that works with organizations at the national, regional, and local levels, integrating business, communications, finance, policy, and risk management into one cohesive practice. The firm designs systems for coherence through The CIVIL Framework™, ensuring that what organizations stand for is reflected in how they operate. Civil offers retainer-based partnerships, project-based engagements, fractional leadership support, and technical assistance, and works with a limited number of organizations at any given time to ensure depth, focus, and accountability. For more information, visit civil-strategies.com, email contact@civil-strategies.com, or call 657-777-8490.