About
Guiding the full Arc of vision to life.
Dee Heffernan
Founder | Strategic & Creative Lead
Dee is obsessed with people and human experience. For Christmas, she consistently asked for two things: a swimming pool, and books about psychology, spirituality, really anything that would give her a window into what makes people tick.
After studying Human Development at the University of Chicago, where she also played point and shooting guard for the women’s basketball team, she dove headfirst into sales. Wait. Sales? Yes, the Yellow Pages. The big yellow book.
It makes more sense than it sounds. Dee was born into a family of entrepreneurs and immigrants, a hard-working, thick-skinned line of plumbers, grocers, and manufacturers.
Nearly two decades later, having sat in just about every conceivable seat in sales and marketing departments, Dee founded Matriarc to partner with leaders and small teams in need of guidance around their branding, marketing, and culture.
Brands she’s worked with include The University of Chicago, The University of Portland, Human Rights Campaign, Good Dye Young, The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Sears, Walmart, Publicis Sapient, and many others.
In 2024 she delivered a TEDx talk titled How to Stop Highlight Reel Living — a personal account on approval-seeking and performance-driven burnout. That talk informed the foundation of Dee’s REAL™ Framework, serving as the spine of everything at Matriarc.
Matriarc is a mission-led strategic advisory and creative studio.
We believe that the future of is collaborative and deeply human. We also believe that the organizations that leverage authentic connection, trust, and community are positioned to build a stronger, more sustainable way of life and work. These are the clients we serve.
The REAL™ Framework
REAL™ is Matriarc’s signature strategic framework for guiding individuals, teams, and communities through deeper connection and authenticity with themselves, their work, and what they leave in their wake.