Morales Consulting

05/20/2026

We’re excited to announce and launch Part 2 of our neuroinclusive hiring resource series: our new Neuroinclusive Recruitment Assessment Tool for HR leaders and organizations in the social sector.

Explore the new tool.
https://moralesconsultingllc.com/neuroinclusive-recruitment

This free online tool walks organizations through five key stages of hiring, from job design to onboarding, and includes a scored checklist of 25 research-informed practices to help assess and strengthen your recruitment process for neurodivergent talent.

Too often, hiring systems are built for neurotypical candidates by default, not by design. Organizations committed to equity must also examine how neurodivergent bias, especially at the intersection of race, creates barriers to access, advancement, and belonging in the workplace.

This new tool is designed to help organizations move from intention to implementation with practical, actionable guidance for building more equitable hiring infrastructure.

As a companion resource, revisit our recently published article:
“Your Hiring Process Is Broken: 3 Research-Backed Fixes for Neurodivergent Talent”
https://moralesconsultingllc.com/insights/your-hiring-process-is-broken-3-research-backed-fixes-for-neurodivergent-talent

05/18/2026

The Morales Consulting team had the privilege of an advance preview of the Obama Presidential Center this weekend, just weeks before its grand opening on June 19.

Built on Chicago's South Side, where the Obamas' own story began, the 19.3-acre campus of the presidential museum offers the city a great place for ideas, art, athletics, and community. Walking through it as a team was a powerful reminder of what's possible when vision meets purpose.

We're grateful for the experience and energized heading into the week ahead.

05/14/2026

Celebrating a proud moment for the Morales Consulting team!

Earlier this week at 2026 event, our CEO & Founder, Alberto Morales, MPA, was honored with the Champion of Collaboration Award, presented by Surge Chicago.

This award holds special meaning, honoring two alumni who understand that the greatest impact is never achieved in isolation. It is reserved for the bridge-builders who view leadership as a collective endeavor and recognize that the most sustainable solutions for Chicago are co-created.

The evening cultivated community in joy and focused on forward momentum, creating space for alums to reconnect and to step into what's next.

Thank you to Surge for cultivating a network where leaders rise together, and congratulations to Alberto and all honorees.

05/13/2026

The Center for Effective Philanthropy just released its State of Nonprofits 2026 report, based on a February survey of 380 nonprofit CEOs. Three numbers that should sit at the center of every philanthropy and strategic planning conversation this week.

Forty-six percent of nonprofit CEOs now say their own burnout is very much a concern, up from 29 percent in 2025. For the roughly 300 leaders surveyed in both years, this is a statistically meaningful increase (CEP, 2026, p. 9).

Fifty-seven percent of nonprofit CEOs say it has become harder to secure foundation grants relative to the past, and 44 percent have already experienced reduced funding from foundation funders since January 2025 (CEP, 2026, pp. 16-17).

Thirty-nine percent of nonprofits reported a fiscal year 2025 budget deficit, almost double the 22 percent rate in 2022 (CEP, 2026, p. 20).

At Morales Consulting, we read this report as a direct invitation to two audiences.

For foundation teams: the grantmaking environment described here is not neutral on grantee wellbeing. It is producing it. The most useful question your team can ask this week is whether your grant terms, reporting cadence, and overhead allowances have moved toward the trust-based practices CEP and others have documented, or whether they have stayed the same while the pressure on grantees has not.

For nonprofit executive teams in a strategic planning cycle, this report is a useful piece of evidence to bring to your board. The conditions driving the 46 percent burnout figure are structural, and your strategic plan can name them as such. The leaders CEP surveyed are not asking for permission to slow down. They are asking for funders, boards, and operating models that match the scale of the moment.

In addition, CEP notes that nonprofits with LGBTQ+ CEOs, CEOs of color, and a social justice focus experienced more pronounced threats than their peers in 2025 and 2026 (CEP, 2026, p. 14). As a Latine- and LGBTQ-owned firm partnering with mission-driven organizations across the country, we see this in our work every week.

Reference: Center for Effective Philanthropy. (2026). State of nonprofits 2026: What funders need to know.https://cep.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/CEP_State_of_Nonprofits_2026_FNL.pdf

05/12/2026

Morales Consulting's monthly newsletter is your go-to source for the insights, trends, and resources driving meaningful change across the social sector.

Join our growing community committed to building stronger, more sustainable, and equitable organizations through collaboration and shared resources.

Subscribe now: https://mailchi.mp/67c870d3c234/newsletter

05/07/2026

Join us for 2026! We are excited to share that CEO & Founder Alberto Morales, MPA, will be acknowledged next week with the Surge family!

Join us for an evening rooted in community, joy, and forward momentum. Reconnect with fellow alums, build with potential CHI27 fellows, and help shape what is next for Surge in Chicago.

🗓️ May 12, 2026
⏰ 5:30 PM-8:30 PM CT
📍 Allium Events, 333 N. Ogden Ave, Chicago, IL
👉🏽 RSVP: https://lnkd.in/gVZzSAM4

05/06/2026

Most hiring processes don't measure who can do the job.

They measure who can perform well in an interview.

Those are not the same thing, and for neurodivergent candidates, the gap between them is where great talent gets filtered out.

Our latest thought piece breaks down 3 research-backed changes that any organization can make to their recruitment process, drawing on new research presented at SIOP 2026 and our own practice at Morales Consulting.

Read it here: https://moralesconsultingllc.com/insights/your-hiring-process-is-broken-3-research-backed-fixes-for-neurodivergent-talent

What is one change your organization has made to its hiring process that actually moved the needle?

05/05/2026

At a time of deep uncertainty for the nonprofit sector, philanthropic leadership requires both conviction and action.

As Board President of the Albert Pick, Jr. Fund, Alberto Morales, alongside Executive Director Heather Parish and a committed board, helped guide a bold, values-driven response to meet this moment, prioritizing stability, trust, and long-term partnership with grantee organizations.

In 2025, the Fund made a decisive shift:

• Doubled its annual grantmaking through 2028
• Introduced a Rest & Respite pilot to address nonprofit leader burnout (we've been widely sharing research on this topic, see previous posts)

These actions signal a commitment to trust-based philanthropy and to standing alongside organizations navigating unprecedented challenges.

As the sector continues to evolve, this work underscores what it means to lead with integrity, listen deeply to the community, and invest in both immediate needs and long-term resilience.

Read more in the Albert Pick, Jr. Fund newsletter: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/-CORRECTED-LINK--Winter-2026-Newsletter.html?soid=1140081946999&aid=suN1OQpkx7k

Email from Albert Pick Jr. Fund And don't forget to vote today!   Important News and Updates from APJF This winter season has been filled with unpredictability to say the least - weather, consequentia

05/01/2026

Day 1 Recap at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Conference – Neuroinclusion in Action

At Morales Consulting, neuroinclusion is core to our HR & Human Capital work, not an add-on.

We’ll be releasing practical neuroinclusion resources in upcoming weeks, stay tuned.

A few key neuroinclusion takeaways from Day 1:

1) Neuroinclusion ≠ hiring strategy - Attracting talent is not the problem. Systems are. Work design, performance expectations, and leadership behaviors often misinterpret difference as deficiency.

2) Disclosure is not equitable - Not everyone feels safe disclosing neurodivergence, and disclosure varies across identity groups. If support depends on disclosure, access will always be uneven.

3) Shift to universal design - The future is building environments where people don’t need to disclose to succeed, clear expectations, flexible workflows, multiple ways to contribute.

4) Managers are the biggest lever - Organizations with trained managers showed: Higher psychological safety; Lower turnover intent; Better performance outcomes. The core skills were not complex: Clear, direct communication; Structured workflows; Proactive support; Strength-based leadership

Bottom line: Neuroinclusion is a systems design challenge, not an individual one.

More soon on how we’re translating this research into practice.

04/21/2026

The data is clear, and it demands action.

Neurodivergent adults face a 30–40% unemployment rate in the U.S. This is not a skills gap. It is a systems gap.

When 76% of neurodivergent job seekers say traditional recruiting puts them at a disadvantage, and 68% of HR professionals acknowledge their frameworks fail to surface neurodivergent strengths, the problem is not the candidate, but the process.

At Morales Consulting, we partner with organizations ready to build more equitable, high-performing teams by rethinking the systems that shape who gets hired, who gets developed, and who gets left out.

An equity-centered HR strategy is one step towards building a sustainable infrastructure for your organization.

Sources:
MIT Sloan Management Review: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/helping-neurodivergent-employees-succeed/ and https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/building-the-neurodiversity-talent-pipeline-for-the-future-of-work/
Autism Society of America: autismsociety.org/employment
CultureAmp: cultureamp.com/blog/neurodiversity-in-the-workplace
MyDisabilityJobs.com: mydisabilityjobs.com/statistics/autism-employment

04/16/2026

Building a neuroinclusive workplace isn't a one-time initiative. It takes time and resources to build long-lasting infrastructure.

At Morales Consulting, we recommend three starting points for leaders ready to move from intention to impact: auditing your HR systems, investing in management training, and considering universal design that enables flexibility for all employees. Neuroinclusion means embedding these practices as standard and not just as accommodations granted on request.

What is your organization doing to build neuroinclusive systems? Share in the comments.

Gottardello, D., Calvard, T., & Song, J. (2025). When neurodiversity and ethnicity combine: Intersectional stereotyping and workplace experiences of neurodivergent ethnic minority employees. Human Resource Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22286

Kalmanovich-Cohen, H., & Stanton, S. J. (2025). Moving beyond disclosure: Rethinking universal support for neurodivergent employees. Frontiers in Psychology, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1547877

Szulc, J. M. (2024). Leading with understanding: Cultivating positive relationships between neurotypical leaders and neurodivergent employees. Employee Relations: The International Journal, 46(9), 97–114. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-12-2023-0621