Meet Danielle Henneberger, a 2009 Global Affairs alumna and the founder and strategic marketing advisor at Mise en Plan, a consulting firm inspired by the French culinary concept mise en place, which means “everything in its place.” Just as chefs organize their ingredients and tools before cooking to ensure an efficient workflow, Dani applies this principle to business marketing.
Through her work, she helps founders and entrepreneurs thoughtfully break down their goals, identify their ideal customers, clarify messaging, and organize marketing channels to ensure everything is in place to make a meaningful impact. With an extensive background in both corporate and nonprofit sectors, Dani is able to leverage her creativity, attention to detail, and her love of learning in her work. She is especially skilled in helping her clients identify gaps they may not see due to their closeness to their work. As she puts it, “A big part of my work is helping clients not just market what they already have, but rethink and innovate the way they market and position their businesses. I love helping people see new possibilities and turn fresh ideas into practical, market-ready strategies.”
Although at first glance, Dani’s undergraduate path wouldn’t suggest a future in the private sector, as she majored in Global Affairs with a focus on international health, development, global governance, and diplomacy. And in the early stages of her career, she worked and interned in the public sector, researching climate change and population displacement, producing reports for USAID, and assessing inclusive business models across Latin America, Africa, and South Asia.
Her transition into the private sector was gradual, as it began with a pivotal moment during an internship at the Center for Global Justice & Reconciliation at the Washington National Cathedral. There, she witnessed a donor from a major oil company pledge a million dollars to support the work her team was doing. “I was struck by the power that adding additional private sector dollars could have in development initiatives in the communities they operate in,” she recalls. “So, I made the commitment to myself to take my health and development background and find a way to apply it to corporate social responsibility to make the private sector world a better place.” Following that decision, Dani pursued her master's in development management at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) from 2011-2012.
When asked about the most valuable aspect of her Global Affairs education, Dani credits it with giving her a unique perspective on the interconnectedness of the world, which has helped her in her work. “Even small things can affect us all as one global unit,” she says. Courses on globalization, economics, and global health helped her develop the ability to “see patterns, anticipate shifts, or connect dots others might miss” when advising clients. She was also fortunate enough to strategically structure her undergraduate time to work and intern nearly full-time, gaining valuable hands-on experience with organizations like the U.S. State Department and UNHCR in Geneva, The ONE Campaign, and the Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation. This equipped her with the tools and skills she would later use in her career. Still, Dani admits that learning to embrace ambiguity and abstraction in her career path took time, but she’s grateful to have grown into it!
Reflecting on her journey thus far, Dani acknowledges that her career has unfolded differently than she once imagined. Instead of directly innovating business models from the start or helping families in Malawi access vaccines, she now helps people “innovate their business models while solving new problems and learning something new every day.” Still, she holds a strong passion for international development and hopes to include more of that work in the future.
When asked to share advice for current Global Affairs students still figuring out their next steps, Dani had this to say:
While I was at GMU, I had several informational interviews with people in what I thought was my ‘dream job’. I would ask how they got where they were, and their answer would be “I guess I just kind of found myself here after hopping from role to role…” At the time, I was admittedly annoyed; I wanted a formula for their success! Now, looking back, I finally get it. Sometimes, opportunities arise in your career that might not ‘fit’ your vision or feel far from where you’re trying to go. I’ve found that those have ended up being the biggest catalysts for something exciting or different. You’ll learn more, be able to apply what you’ve learned elsewhere in creative ways, and find paths for your future you may not have ever thought of. Then over time, you find yourself exactly where you need to be. So, if the economy/job market isn’t behaving with the career ambitions in your head, don’t fret. Stay curious, stay open; careers are built through exploration and adaptability.
July 30, 2025