Consulting
Our Story
FreeBird & Co. was born at the intersection of strategy and soul. After years of leading bold transformation in financial services and children’s mental and behavioral health, Finch Clark stepped away from his role as Chief Operating Officer at Orchard Place to join forces full-time with his wife and co-leader, Marechen Clark.
Marechen brings deep experience from the financial services sector, where she led enterprise-wide governance, ethics, and compliance programs with precision, integrity, and heart. She is also the original force behind FreeBird’s roasting house—where her love of ritual, community, and craftsmanship first took flight.
Together, we bring over 50 years of combined experience across nonprofit, healthcare, and corporate landscapes. We help organizations navigate change with clarity and compassion—building systems that scale and cultures that last.
From strategic planning to cultural transformation, we guide leaders to align what they believe with how they lead.
Our Founders, Your Partners in Change
Leadership rooted in courage, clarity, and connection.
Marechen Clark is a visionary leader and co-founder of FreeBird & Co., where she brings over two decades of experience in human resources, risk management, and enterprise transformation. Before launching FreeBird, she led high-impact governance and compensation programs at one of the nation’s largest financial institutions—designing systems of accountability and culture change at scale.
Known for her clarity, courage, and deep sense of purpose, Marechen has shaped programs that drive performance, reduce risk, and create lasting cultural alignment. She has managed enterprise-wide misconduct accountability frameworks, led high-stakes compensation redesigns, and coached teams through times of disruption and renewal.
But her leadership doesn’t stop at spreadsheets or boardrooms. Marechen was also the original spark behind FreeBird’s coffee roasting roots—crafting not just beans, but a brand grounded in ritual, intention, and connection.
At FreeBird, she now guides organizations through bold transformation—bringing together data, heart, and strategy to help leaders build cultures that are as ethical as they are effective.
Marechen lives in Norwalk, Iowa with her family and continues to invest in her community through youth literacy and financial education.
Finch Clark is a seasoned transformation leader with over 20 years of experience guiding organizations through change, complexity, and culture-building. As the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of FreeBird & Co., Finch brings a rare blend of operational excellence, values-based leadership, and heartfelt coaching to every partnership.
His career spans the financial, nonprofit, and healthcare sectors—including leadership roles at Wells Fargo and as Chief Operating Officer of Orchard Place, where he led the strategic transformation of Iowa’s largest children’s mental and behavioral health agency. At FreeBird, Finch leads organizational strategy, systems design, and leadership development with a focus on mission-driven impact.
Finch holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Development & Change, and is trained in Co-Active Leadership and Coaching—approaches that ground his work in both systems thinking and human-centered transformation. He is also a Six Sigma Black Belt and a longtime advocate for trauma-informed care, performance accountability, and inclusive leadership.
He’s known for building high-trust teams, simplifying the complex, and helping leaders align their values with bold, actionable strategy. Whether navigating crisis or catalyzing growth, Finch shows up with clarity, compassion, and a deep belief that change—when led with intention—can set people and organizations free.
What We Offer
Organizational Transformation
For teams navigating transition, complexity, or growth.
- Strategic and operational planning
- Change management and readiness
- Leadership team restructuring
- Risk, compliance, and governance frameworks
- Mission, vision, and values refresh
Leadership Coaching & Team Development
Support for leaders to grow with clarity, courage, and cultural awareness.
- Co-Active executive and performance coaching
- Leadership development and succession
- Stakeholder engagement strategy
Program Design & Evaluation
Design programs that make a measurable difference—and prove it.
- Equity, access, and inclusion design
- Survey and regulatory readiness
- Quality improvement and evaluation metrics
- Frontline supervision and engagement models
Ethics, Belonging & Culture
Align your values with your practices—at every level.
- Ethics and conduct policy development
- Culture strategy and belonging frameworks
- Trauma-informed supervision
- Burnout prevention and wellness systems
- Culture assessments and behavior modeling
Why Work With Us?
We’ve led from the inside—at the C-suite, in national banks, on mental health frontlines, and everywhere in between. Our combined backgrounds in financial services and nonprofit leadership allow us to bridge operational complexity with human-centered culture work.
We believe transformation happens when leaders slow down, get honest, and choose to lead with intention. If that’s what you’re after—we’re here to help.
