About Axle

Dela Wilson, JD, MPA,  is a cultural strategist and design researcher who collaborates with institutions, governments, and cultural leaders to navigate moments of transformation. Her practice spans strategic facilitation, narrative strategy, and cultural translation — turning complex ideas into meaning, civic initiatives, cultural infrastructure, and public experiences that actually land.

She founded Axle Impact Studio as a collaborative strategy and integration studio for cultural design: a home for work that sits between disciplines and refuses easy categorization.

Her background spans inclusive innovation, social impact strategy, and philanthropy, with experience across the United States, Sint Maarten, Barbados, the Netherlands, Ghana, South Africa, and Senegal. Her research and writing explore the cultural conditions that shape systems change, with citations in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University, and UN Women’s publications on Women's Leadership.

A trained mediator and legal scholar, she has previously served as a Social Entrepreneur-in-Residence at USC Marshall School of Business, designed Washington, DC’s first city-funded, participatory grant program, and moonlights as a pitch coach to aspiring creators.

Alongside her studio practice, Dela is the writer and director of The Hope Gap XR, a civic infrastructure platform using immersive technologies to restore belief in achievable futures — a distillation of everything she cares about: what people think is possible, and how design can quietly expand that horizon.

Her thinking is shaped by her rearing in the Deep South, under the guidance of educators and activists, and through studies at Spelman College, Georgetown University Law Center, and Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Camille Johnson is a strategist and urban planning practitioner focused on building equitable systems and community-centered institutions. At Axle Impact Studio, she works at the intersection of strategy, organizational development, and civic engagement, supporting clients as they align operations, leadership, and community relationships to achieve lasting impact.

Her background spans nonprofit leadership, community organizing, and strategic consulting, with experience across organizations including Eastside Community Network and Fractal Strategies. Camille brings expertise in operational and organizational development, fund development, strategic planning, and communications—helping institutions strengthen the systems that enable mission-driven work to thrive.

She holds a BA in Political Science and History from the University of Michigan, where she is currently completing her Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning. A devoted home cook and enthusiastic restaurant explorer, Camille is also a passionate Michigan football fan and loves discovering new places to travel.