Our Story
Audra and Makinna both have educational backgrounds in Anthropology and Global/Public Health, and a collective 15 years of experience working and volunteering in local and state health departments, nonprofit organizations, and health clinics, giving them broad insight into systems and the communities they serve.
After working as Senior Consultants at another firm for four years, Audra and Makinna started Community Compass Consulting to focus on bringing innovative approaches to systems change work that is truly community-led.
We bring the expertise and passion to design and facilitate inclusive, participatory processes.
Our clients don't just get a deliverable. They get an experience that builds trust with their communities, and decisions they can stand behind because the people most affected helped shape them.
Audra Baca, MPH, CHES
Co-Founder | (she/her)Audra is inspired by community leadership, and has focused her career and education on participatory approaches for community-led decision-making. In Ecuador, Peru, Spain, and rural and urban areas of Oregon, Audra has worked directly with communities to improve programs, manage grants, and design planning and engagement efforts. Deeply committed to equity, she reduces barriers to participation by employing popular education techniques and principles of plain language and accessibility, ensuring all can contribute meaningfully. Audra’s experiences working cross-culturally and across sectors has helped her to become a highly skilled communicator, able to build rapport with anyone and ready to meet folks where they are in the process of systems change work.
Audra is also currently the Health Equity Coordinator for Willamette Dental. Outside of work you’d likely find her on a walk with our Barketing Manager, Bert, exploring the City of Portland, or rewatching 30 Rock.
Makinna Miles, MPH
Co-Founder | (she/they)Makinna is energized by processes that center equity, accessibility, and shared power. She brings her humanity to professional spaces and encourages others to do the same, centering warmth and trauma-informed practices to foster deeper collaboration and ensure that all feel heard, valued, and empowered. Makinna uses mixed-methods approaches that honor community knowledge, celebrate difference, and build trust, while producing rigorous, actionable insights. They have led engagement efforts with local governments, coalitions, and public service agencies, including large countywide processes. Through these efforts, she supports groups in moving from dialogue to impact, strengthening capacity and advancing lasting change.
Makinna is also currently a paralegal at Matthew C. Ellis, PC, and volunteers with Our Streets, Sunnyside Shower Project, and Games Done Quick. She’s also likely to be found reading or writing a short story, playing pinball, or profusely apologizing for spilling/dropping whatever she’s meant to be holding.