A new discipline for identity, story, and belonging.
Pinnup is the nonprofit home of Narrative Systems Engineering, a systems approach to identity and belonging.
We treat identity as a living system, not a slogan, so people and organizations can rebuild from the inside out.
Rooted in immigrant and first-generation experience. Built for anyone who has ever felt out of place in the
story they were handed.
Built at the intersection of identity architecture, narrative engineering, and systems thinking.
Start here
CrackFinder™: a 15-minute identity diagnostic.
CrackFinder™ is a short, guided clarity session built with Narrative Systems Engineering.
It maps the crack between who you are and who you have learned to be, using a simple
threat, mask, and cost pattern.
You answer a small set of structured questions. We map how your system reacts when you feel exposed,
at risk, or on display. You receive a personalized Discovery Report that names the pattern your identity
has been running in the background.
A personalized CrackFinder™ Discovery Report by email.
Language for the pattern your system uses to keep you safe, and the cost it has been charging you.
Many people start here before joining a circle or bringing the work into an organization.
Why the world is searching for this
Identity is collapsing. Belonging is fractured. Story is overloaded.
We live in a time where identities are stretched across countries, platforms, and systems that were not
built to hold them. Many people feel this as burnout, numbness, or the quiet sense that their story
no longer fits. Organizations feel it as misalignment and churn.
Most tools treat identity as a brand or a label.
Personality tests, brand workshops, and motivational talks try to fix symptoms at the surface.
Narrative Systems Engineering starts deeper. It treats identity as a dynamic system that needs
new structures, not just new slogans.
Belonging cannot be reduced to engagement.
Many spaces reward performance over presence. People learn to show the version of themselves
that keeps the peace, pleases the algorithm, or protects a fragile culture. NSE is interested
in what it would take to be more whole without losing safety or responsibility.
Story
Pinnup is the nonprofit home of Narrative Systems Engineering.
Pinnup exists for people who have spent years adapting to survive and now want to rebuild from a truer place.
The work sits at the intersection of identity, story, and systems.
Narrative Systems Engineering grew out of real stories of migration, faith shifts, burnout,
and the experience of being the person who holds everyone else together. It started as language
to name why high-functioning people kept replaying the same identity loops even after they had done
all the right things.
Over time it became a discipline. Not a single framework, but a way of working with identity that
respects culture, history, and survival while still insisting that people deserve to feel human in their own lives.
The people behind the work.
Pinnup is co-led by people who have lived this tension in their own stories and communities.
The work is informed by:
Immigrant and first-generation experience.
Years of supporting people in faith, wellness, and community spaces.
Product thinking, narrative design, and systems work.
The goal is simple and heavy at the same time: to build spaces and structures where people who never fit the script
can finally belong without shrinking or splitting themselves.
Circles
Spaces where you do not have to translate your whole life first.
Pinnup circles are small, structured spaces that use Narrative Systems Engineering to talk about real life.
They are built for people who are usually the ones holding space for everyone else.
Story and belonging circles.
For people who live between worlds. Immigrants, first-generation professionals, and anyone who has felt like
the only one in most rooms. These circles name the identity loops that keep you performing one version
of yourself in some spaces and hiding in others.
Holding spaces for the strong ones.
For caregivers, leaders, and connectors who are tired of always being fine. These circles give language
to the cost of holding everyone else together, so you do not have to keep doing it alone or in silence.
Circles run in cohorts. There are limited seats so the group can stay small enough for people to actually be honest.
To hear about the next round, you can join the interest list or reach out with a short note about what you are carrying.
For organizations
Identity work that is honest about systems and safe for people.
Many organizations talk about belonging and identity but rely on the same playbook: a keynote, a survey,
a new set of values on the wall. Narrative Systems Engineering offers a way to look at how identity actually plays out
in your culture and structures.
Listening before language.
We start by listening to real stories inside your system. Not to extract content for a campaign,
but to understand how different identities are being held or stretched. This can look like listening sessions,
story-based research, or identity loop mapping in specific teams or communities.
Designing for belonging, not just engagement.
From there, we help leaders and teams design structures that can actually hold the identities they say they want.
That might include new ways of gathering, supporting immigrant and first-generation staff, or rethinking how
your programs signal who is really welcome.
FAQ
Questions about Narrative Systems Engineering.
Because Narrative Systems Engineering is new, it can sound abstract at first. These questions name the things
most people quietly wonder about identity, belonging, and whether this is for them.
Is Narrative Systems Engineering a kind of therapy?
No. NSE is not therapy and does not replace mental health care. It is a way of seeing identity as a system:
how your story processes events, pressure, and belonging. Many people who work with NSE also have therapists,
coaches, or spiritual support alongside it.
How is NSE different from coaching or mindset work?
Most coaching focuses on goals and behavior. NSE looks at the structure underneath: the loop from
self → story → meaning → behavior → outcome → feedback. Instead of asking you to push harder or think
more positively, it helps you understand why your system does not believe you when you try to change.
Who is this work for?
Anyone who feels misaligned in their own story. The discipline grew out of immigrant and diaspora experience,
but it resonates with many people: first-generation professionals, people who have outgrown old roles,
leaders who never quite felt at home in traditional scripts, and those who carry a lot for others.
Can NSE help with burnout?
It can help name the structures that keep producing burnout: how you read pressure, obligation, and worth.
NSE is not medical treatment, but it is helpful for people who are tired of solving burnout with more productivity
tips and want to understand the identity-level story underneath.
Is this only for people between cultures?
No. Many people who connect with NSE live between cultures, languages, or belief systems, but the discipline
is not limited to that. It is for anyone who feels like they have been living inside a story that no longer
fits, or was never built for them in the first place.
Can organizations work with NSE?
Yes. Organizations bring in NSE when they want more than a one-off workshop. We help teams understand the identity
loops at play in their culture and design next steps that are honest about systems and safe for the people inside them.
Where do I start if I am curious?
Many people start with CrackFinder™, a short identity diagnostic built on NSE, to get language for their pattern.
Others start in circles where they can hear their own story next to people who carry similar tensions. Leaders
and organizations often begin with a short conversation about what is happening in their context.
How does this connect to Pinnup as a nonprofit?
Pinnup exists so this work can reach people who are often overlooked by traditional programs. The nonprofit structure
lets us hold circles, support leaders, and experiment with models that center belonging rather than extraction.
Narrative Systems Engineering is the discipline; Pinnup is the home.
What do you mean by the glitch?
The glitch is the shadow filter that distorts how you read events and your place in them.
It often forms around shame, exclusion, or survival moments. NSE does not treat the glitch as a flaw
in you, but as a protective adaptation that now needs a different structure to live in.
Does this conflict with my existing support system?
No. NSE is designed to sit alongside other forms of care. It can give you language you can bring
into therapy, spiritual direction, mentoring, or coaching, so you do not have to keep translating
your experience from scratch.
Contact
Have a question, or want to explore NSE more deeply?
Whether you are carrying a personal story, leading a team, or exploring this discipline for your organization,
you do not have to translate it alone. A short, honest conversation often clarifies more than a long form.
Best first step: send a short note in your own words.
Pinnup is a nonprofit focused on belonging, identity, and story. Narrative Systems Engineering is the discipline
we use to support that work.
If you are curious about CrackFinder™, you can start directly at
pinnup.org/crackfinder. If you are an organization, you can use the same email
to share a brief sense of your context, and we will explore whether there is a fit.