The logo for CUE Consulting, with the text in a black font and a stylized capital 'C' and 'C' intertwined.

Empathy is the bridge between intent and lived experience.

To understand and impact people.

I partner with values-driven leaders and organizations committed to integrity and responsibility — across the systems that shape their teams, and the systems that shape the world.

Together, we use Empathy-as-Strategy™ to align behavior with purpose, uncover opportunities, and create human-centered impact.

LET'S CHAT

Empathy-as-Strategy™

This is not empathy as a soft skill.

This is empathy used with intention — to reveal how human experience shapes system behavior and outcomes.

These solutions support the people within your organization and the people impacted by it, positioning your work for long-term integrity and impact.

Leaders.

Best for leaders whose lived experience is inseparable from what they’re building.

Empathy is built for translation. Especially when decisions affect people you may never meet. Empathy helps leaders translate intent into decisions grounded in lived experience — so others can feel it, trust it, and respond.

  • • 1:1 Advising – Personalized guidance to align your vision with actionable decisions that resonate.

    • Strategy Workshops – Clarify priorities to turn ideas into meaningful action.

    • Keynote Speaking – Inspire teams, audiences, or partners through storytelling and strategic insight.

Organizations.

Best for organizations working to align what they’re trying to do with who they’re trying to help.

Empathy is built for systems-level change. Even if you can’t fully empathize with an experience in context, you can understand the feeling behind it. That shared understanding is what guides an organization toward creating — and maintaining — substantial impact.

  • • Organizational Strategy Sessions – Deep-dive planning to identify gaps, optimize systems, and align outcomes with mission.

    • Organizational Audits – Evaluate processes, culture, and behavior to strengthen alignment with your values and goals.

    • Strategic Advisory – Guidance for embedding human-centered practices into decisions, strategy, and long-term impact.

Teams.

Best for teams navigating friction and seeking shared understanding.

Empathy is built from emotional cues. Friction points and challenges don't scare me. They often reveal the most vulnerable and strategically important opportunities within company culture, starting with human behavior.

  • • Internal Culture Workshops – Facilitate shared understanding, alignment, and stronger team cohesion.

    • Strategy Translation Support – Help teams operationalize organizational strategies and make them actionable.

    • Change Transformation Sessions – Guide teams through change with empathy, reducing friction and increasing engagement. 

The CUES Framework.

  • Geometric drawing of an outline square with sections divided by vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines.

    CONTEXT

    Gathering context to uncover the emotions and human behaviors shaping your current outcomes.

    I'm listening for cues about the emotions driving your work and affecting the humans you serve, learning the full emotional and strategic landscape.

    Empathy Reveals →

  • Geometric drawing of an outline square with sections divided by vertical, horizontal, and half circle lines.

    UNIFY

    Comparing the context with current outcomes — to unify the gaps between what you aim to do and what actually happens.

    This reveals a strategic opportunity that connect your authentic mission to your audience’s genuine needs

    Strategic Opportunity →

  • Geometric drawing of an outline square with sections divided by vertical, horizontal, and circle lines.

    ELEVATE

    Turning insight into momentum, refining your strategic focus so your operations + energy + goals move in sync.

    This will elevate your current strategy using the emotional through line we've uncovered together. Built on trust.

    Creates Trust →

  • Geometric drawing of an outline square with sections divided by vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines.

    STRENGTHEN

    Translating new strategy into sustainable next steps you can rely on as you implement.

    These guidelines help integrate intentions with outcomes and strengthen the connection you have to the people you’re building with and building for.

    Maintains Impact

Case Study.

CUE: Consulting x Community Space Food Bank

See how CUE shifted a mission-driven organization’s systems-level impact in support of the humans it serves.

The Challenge

What happens when you challenge the belief that people experiencing food insecurity — especially unhoused individuals — "will eat anything?"

The food bank served quality hot meals and maintained relationships with unhoused community members who had specific dietary needs. But their community fridge — designed for ongoing food security — was stocked with degraded items based on the assumption that people experiencing food insecurity would accept any food.

My Approach

While others focused on pounds distributed and waste diverted, I focused on dignity patterns and choice availability. This revealed that their "waste reduction" success was actually creating waste — premium items going unnoticed while degraded food filled community fridges wasn't real access, it was abandonment dressed as charity.

Using my CUES framework, I identified the emotional through line between what the organization felt (urgency to distribute everything) and what their community felt (need for dignity and choice). The positioning shift from "reduce waste" to "ensure quality access" drove measurable transformation.

The Results:

● 50% increase, brand consumption

● 70% increase in weekly food intake

● 30-40% reduction in food waste

● +1 additional fridge added

VIEW THE FULL CASE STUDY

Let’s Connect.

Tell me about the challenges you're facing, and we’ll navigate them together.

I typically respond within 48 hours.

FAQs

  • Most consultants optimize existing strategies. I question whether your fundamental approach creates the problems you're trying to solve.

    Emotions provide information tied to challenges and solutions — addressing root causes means understanding impactful moments and the emotional response attached to them.

  • Strategic positioning work requires challenging assumptions that may feel foundational to your identity.

    I present evidence and alternative frameworks, but you decide what to implement. The goal is better outcomes, not being right.

  • I work with impact-focused leaders open to discovering their current approach might undermine their mission.

    This work requires intimacy, trust, and willingness to take a new approach that may feel a little foreign. If you're not prepared for that level of strategic challenge, we're not a good fit.

  • My approach combines strategic analysis with nearly a decade in impact-driven spaces as well as corporate communications and strategy.

    From grassroots organizations to corporate social responsibility initiatives for global brands to fieldwork worldwide, I blend my y background with over 500+ hours of behavioral psychology-informed work to implement and embody an empathy-as-strategy approach.

  • Investment varies based on scope and engagement type. I'm happy to discuss options during our initial conversation.

    Regardless of investment, my work uses empathy to challenge fundamental assumptions.

  • I'm Carly Q.

    My experiences navigating barriers have shaped how I think about strategy — I know what it feels like when well-intentioned approaches don't account for real-world constraints. This drives my commitment to use empathic insight to challenge assumptions that might undermine the impact you're trying to create.

    I bring both analytical rigor and genuine care to this work because I've seen how much difference it makes when strategies actually align with people's lived realities.

    My first business concept (at 19!) was a pay-what-you-can cultural fusion buffet, inspired by my time spent in Sydney, Australia and a desire to positively impact my hometown community.

    I'm the founder of CUE: Consulting and am currently based in Los Angeles, CA.

  • I believe that humanity is the throughline and variable in any business challenge. Understanding how actions affect feelings ultimately drive responses on an internal and systematic level. Additionally, my lived experience with systemic barriers informs my big-picture thinking to identify connection points and gaps that others miss.

  • Results vary, but questioning limiting beliefs typically unlocks measurable improvements. For example, I helped one client across an 8-week project increase premium brand consumption by 50% and weekly whole-food intake by 70%, starting by challenging their core belief.

  • I work with founders and organizations genuinely focused on authentic impact, whether for-profit or nonprofit.

    If you're primarily concerned with market fit rather than mission alignment, traditional brand consultants may be better suited for your needs.

  • First, fill out the form on my contact page and share more about where you’re at.

    I’m happy to set up a 15-min. discovery call to see if we’re a good match.

    When working together, I investigate disconnects between stated goals and actual outcomes and identify limiting beliefs driving those gaps.

    Then, I develop alternative approaches based on what would actually serve your audience. (The CUES framework.)

    Processes range from 8-week sprints to 6-month embedded sessions depending on needs. You also have the option to book a 60-minute 1:1 Strategy Sprint Call.