Building the strength
behind the work
Our Origin
Founded in 2021, Hayes Street takes its name from the neighborhood where our Founder grew up, a place that shaped the belief that strong organizations, like strong communities, are built on mutual care and shared connection among people. This lens guides our work with leaders and teams across sectors, connecting people practices to the outcomes that keep organizations healthy: improved performance, lasting retention, sustainable growth, and the trust of the people you serve.
A neighborhood that showed us what people can build together now shapes how we help organizations strengthen their people, culture, and capacity. Decades of practical leadership experience in organizational change and people strategy are core to our approach. We have stood where you stand and understand that organizational context matters. What we bring to every partnership is depth of experience paired with genuine curiosity about what makes your organization tick. We partner with clients to co-create strategies rooted in three commitments that guide our approach: we center people, integrity, and outcomes. This combination turns good intentions into measurable progress. Our work is about building the kind of internal strength that shows up in everything an organization does.
Our Founder
Nikita McClain, MSHRM, SHRM-CP, brings more than 20 years of HR, operations, and organizational development leadership to her work architecting transformative workplace solutions for mission-driven organizations. Nikita spent most of her career on the inside of organizations as a leader and decision-maker responsible for the people systems, operational choices, and culture that directly inform an organization’s stability and success. She knows the weight of those decisions from experience: balancing compliance with compassion, growth with stability, and mission with the practical realities of running an organization well. That vantage point shapes how she works today. She translates operational insight into guidance leaders can use, meeting them as a trusted partner who has stood where they stand.
Nikita serves on several boards and is an industry thought partner sharing insights through research, publications, and advisory work. She writes the tHRu-line newsletter for mission-driven leaders and leads the firm’s work. She brings both credentials and lived experience to helping organizations do their good work well.