Recent Clients & Projects

In the last three years, example projects include the following. 

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Government & Multi-Sector Collaborative Innovation
Confidence on common ground ignites clear purpose, adaptive leadership, co-ownership of results, and strong partnerships.  

County Climate Resilience Coordination 29 stakeholder interviews across County departments, tribal nations, and partner agencies revealed that technical climate solutions were beyond reach due to relationship and coordination challenges. During co-creative design sessions, department heads developed a shared definition and purpose of climate resilience work, cross-functional working agreements, and internal partnerships that are now being operationalized. 

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Next Level Wildfire Resilience Assisted a task force of state, federal, and NGO agencies focused on California wildfire resilience to engage and learn from the experience of restoration organizations, Native practitioners, local water districts, and financing and policy experts implementing innovative and integrated watershed/forest health and wildfire prevention efforts on the ground across California to craft state policy recommendations that will achieve a greater landscape pace and scale of wildfire resilience. ​

City Leadership Synergy, Strategy & Policy Update Interviewed 30 management staff and convened them to review results, surface priorities, and shape a common sense of purpose, strategy, and priorities. 

Community Engagement 
Beyond outreach, input, and engagement to resilient co-creation and co-ownership

Remote Rural Community Engagement for a State Corridor Master Plan Designed culturally-responsive public engagement for a remote region where most residents had never participated in a government planning process. One-on-one discovery informed a packed, co-creative public workshop. The agency reports that partnerships emerging from this work are among their most productive in a 320-mile master planning effort.

City Discovery to Inform Strategic & General Plans trained and facilitated staff and community volunteers to co-design and conduct a listening campaign with diverse community and staff. Partnered with local organizations to conduct focus groups with traditionally marginalized populations. Using results to facilitate a staff workshop to inform Strategic Plan and plan co-creative community engagement for both Strategic and General Plan Updates. 
 

Tribal Nations & Indigenous Partnerships
Honoring sovereignty, acknowledging history, sowing reciprocity, and weaving collective wisdom

Economic Development Initiative for A Four-County Region Co-facilitated tribal representatives from multiple nations for eight months to explore shifting from traditional to Native-led economic development frameworks. Rather than extractive consultation, created ongoing dialogue structure that identified regional opportunities for supporting Native communities' economic resilience driven by Native values and systems.

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Exploring Reconciliation & Historic Truth-Telling Engaging tribal leaders to consider interests in healing historic trauma associated with and interpretive materials and programs about a Historic State Park with a brutal history.

Understanding Tribes’ Interests in Native-Managed Public Access Reached out to and interviewed NW CA tribes to identify communications/interpretation interests for one of the first sites that will shift from federal government to Indigenous management. Convened tribal, state, federal, and NGO partners to design project and integrate feedback into site and interpretive plans. 
 

Organizational Transformation
From internal conflict or lack of clear direction to productive culture, collective confidence, and bold impact 

Environmental Culture Change Struggling with complaints about lack of cultural responsiveness and staff turnover, this six-month process with a statewide environmental nonprofit began with catalyst staff, grew to include management and all-staff, and resulted in new hiring practices, community partnership protocols, decision-making structures, and organizational culture design information for a strategic plan update. Staff retention improved dramatically and community partnerships expanded significantly. 
 

Co-Creating Startup Purpose & Strategy Supported the large board and founder of an emerging nonprofit serving Northern California to co-create a shared sense of purpose and expectations, identify flawed assumptions, develop universal design criteria, and plot a strategic timeline.

Streamlining In Face of Sector & Generational Changes Supported a 50-year old nonprofit board and staff to reconnect with current and former staff and students, participants, and communities it serves to understand reinvention interests and possibilities. Over 16 months, they co-designed, implemented, and adjusted an "essentialized” purpose and strategies given significant sector transformation and financial constraints.