Nancy Payne serves on the Strategic Advisory Board for Insight Policing, where she provides guidance on business and communication strategy. She first connected with the Insight Policing team through SEED SPOT, an organization dedicated to supporting social impact entrepreneurs. Nancy brings a wealth of experience from her role as COO of PeaceTech Lab, where she spent five years leveraging technology to support peacebuilding—applying conflict resolution principles that align closely with Insight Policing’s mission.
Nancy’s career spans leadership roles in strategic communications, global development, and peacebuilding, with a focus on helping organizations and leaders grow their impact and communicate more effectively. She specializes in building businesses, reputations, and programs with a social impact mission.
With an M.A. from American University’s School of International Service and a B.A. from the University of Nebraska, Nancy has also shared her expertise as a professor at Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University.
Learn more about Nancy in the full Q&A below.
How did you hear about and get started with Megan? Did you pick her from the program?
We chose each other because of the overlap in our interests—my passion for conflict resolution and her belief that better communication leads to better outcomes. My background is in communication, primarily in the corporate sector, where I’ve supported companies in improving their communication strategies. I was especially intrigued by her approach, which applies communication principles to address significant societal issues, such as over-aggressive policing. This is a timely and important issue, and as a mentor, it’s exciting to support someone working on a solution to a problem that is top of mind for so many across the country.
What interested you about the work of conflict resolution?
Who doesn’t want to live in a peaceful society? Throughout my career, I’ve worked on issues with broad social impact, both positive and negative. Many of the challenges I’ve addressed have had a significant effect on different areas of society. In the Seed Spot environment, they support individuals and organizations focused on creating social impact, tackling issues at a larger scale. Conflict resolution is one of those essential skills that everyone should understand, whether it’s for everyday interpersonal issues or larger societal challenges. What Insight Policing is doing is applying communication principles to a broader context—specifically, how people in authority communicate with those who don’t have power. In the case of policing, it’s about how to achieve compliance from individuals who may not want or be able to comply. The goal is to resolve these situations calmly, leading to peaceful outcomes, rather than the conflicts we often see in the news.
What is your favorite part of your role as a mentor for Megan and the organization?
My relationship with Megan has been built around her business and approach, and I truly enjoy working with her. She’s incredibly smart, motivated, and has a fantastic vision. Building a business from scratch is no easy feat, and it’s inspiring to see how she perseveres—never giving up, always adapting, and finding new opportunities. It’s been incredibly gratifying to watch her expand into other agencies and make a real impact. That’s what it’s all about. The most rewarding part for me is seeing the ideas we’ve discussed come to fruition, knowing I may have played a small role in shaping them.
What experience prepared you for this role?
In the field of conflict resolution, I helped create a Peace Tech Lab that spun out of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a renowned research institute. We took a set of programs that applied technology to peacebuilding and turned them into a separate, viable organization. This experience showed me that the principles of peacebuilding can be applied in a variety of contexts. As part of that work, we partnered as a nonprofit in a tech accelerator designed to drive social impact. Over the course of three or four cohorts, I served as a mentor, working to explore how technology could support peacebuilding and drive conflict resolution, particularly in reducing violent conflict. In the context of Insight Policing, the question shifts to how we can apply these principles to one-on-one interactions, making them positive for both parties involved.
What do you think is the most effective part of what you do?
As a strategic advisor for Insight Policing, my role is to be a sounding board—listening carefully and providing honest, direct, and hopefully productive feedback to Megan and the team as they guide the program. Early on, we worked on developing the tagline "Get Curious." I encouraged Megan to use it more formally because it perfectly captures the essence of the program and communicates its core message.
What impact are you hoping to have being part of Insight Policing?
Megan continues to thrive in her work, and I have no doubt she will keep succeeding. She has the potential to make a lasting impact and truly change the world.
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