Inaara works in non-profit organizations, supporting community-focused institutions working to make a direct impact in the lives of vulnerable communities, especially those experiencing housing and food insecurities. From serving in communications at the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation to managing relational stewardship partnerships at local faith-based organizations, Inaara brings her marketing, fundraising, group facilitation, and events management skills to the projects she leads. Managing large teams, Inaara is skilled in implementing systems that initiate long-term, sustainable growth. Inaara is active within the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, the umbrella organization that encompasses 100+ Quaker meetings in the Mid-Atlantic region. Along with serving in numerous capacities at her local Meeting, she also serves as the Clerk of the Addressing Racial Wounding Committee for the Friends General Conference.

Inaara graduated from Harvard University with a Joint Bachelor of Art degree in History & Literature and Theater, Dance & Media, with a minor in South Asian studies and a language citation in Urdu/Hindi. Currently, Inaara resides in Philadelphia and serves as the Director of Advancement at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square. Inaara is proud to hold the role of Board Chair for Community Dialogues for Action.

When people ask me, “What do you do?” I always pause. Saying, “I’m a consultant,” does not begin to cover it. Over the years, my work has included being a right-of-way engineer, surveyor, Registered Technology Tutor in the Commonwealth of Virginia for people who are vision impaired, software developer for the vision impaired and other entities, marketing director for nonprofits and for-profits, sales representative for an artists’ collective, web designer, homeopathic practitioner, wood carver, puppet builder, and the first small-appliance “repair lady” for Sears and Roebuck during the era when Equal Employment Opportunity efforts encouraged companies to recruit women into non-traditional jobs. I am also the founder and director of three 501(c)(3) organizations: Vision Impaired Foundation, Sapphire Trust, and most recently, Puppetry 4 L.I.F.E. — Learning Intentionally For Excellence. 

Fortunately, thanks to the Girl Scouts’ Handyman Badge, my grandfather, and a Christmas-break job at Sears during my freshman year of college, my natural instinct for tinkering and “fixing things” has always been part of the underlying principle of who I am. Everything I have done has been rooted in the same purpose: to make things better than they were before and to improve the quality of life for the people around me. Two affirmations guide me deeply: “Life always supports me,” and “I will never miss what I am meant to have.” These have become even more meaningful through my recent discovery of Human Design. In Human Design, I am a 3/5 Emotional Projector. Projectors make up about 20 percent of the population, while Generators make up the majority. While Generators are busy creating, producing, and doing the work, Projectors are here to see systems clearly, recognize what can be improved, and guide others toward greater efficiency, and alignment, with ease, and grace. That explains a lot about my life.

Through both my successes and my mistakes, I have gathered a lifetime of practical wisdom. There is no formal “how-to manual” for the kind of path I have lived. But there is experience, discernment, creativity, resilience, and a lifelong commitment to helping others improve what they are building, how they are living, and who they are becoming.

That is what I do.

Human Design is a self-knowledge system that combines elements of astrology, the I Ching, Kabbalah, the Hindu-Brahmin chakra system, and quantum/mystical concepts to create a “bodygraph” chart based on a person’s birth date, time, and place. It presents a person’s energetic blueprint, including Type, Strategy, Authority, Profile, Centers, Gates, and Channels. Practitioners use it as a tool for understanding decision-making, relationships, life purpose, and how someone may best interact with the world.

Marianne Kaplan brings more than thirty years of Human Resources and Business experience to her Organization Development, Executive Coaching, and Training work. Marianne has held positions of increasing Human Resources or Operations responsibility at General Electric, Exxon, SmithKline Beecham, QVC, and Corning Besselaar. Throughout her career, Marianne has provided a variety of Human Resources services for all levels of employees. In the last 30 years, much of her work has involved consulting with corporate executives around organizational development issues. In March of 1996, Marianne established an independent consulting group, Kaplan Consulting Network. The goal of her organization is to increase the effectiveness of organizations as systems or the effectiveness and satisfaction of individuals working within these systems. A primary focus of Marianne’s work is in the area of inclusion, power, and diversity.

Marianne’s volunteer work has included board participation in the Mariah Fenton Gladis Foundation and the Social Justice Initiative, the predecessor of Community Dialogues for Action. She has also served as adjunct faculty to the Pennsylvania Gestalt Center, delivering presentations and workshops on a variety of soft skills and gestalt principles. She has also served as a Bereavement volunteer at Neighborhood Hospice in West Chester, PA, until its closing in 2022.