I provide a wide range of services working with change-makers across the nonprofit, government and private sectors.
Climate Resilience
For nearly 20 years, I have worked in the field of environmental restoration and urban river revitalization with a deep focus on the particular challenges of environmental justice communities. My work has emphasized the need to invest in human capital, as well as environmental restoration and resiliency.
If you are working in the climate resiliency and environmental restoration field, you know that there are billions of dollars of capital funds for climate resiliency and carbon mitigation projects. How to access those funds might be a puzzling question, however. I can help your team develop priority projects and successful applications and other funding strategies. The key is leveraging capital funds to build partnerships with local environmental and workforce development organizations. I can also help you develop strategies for integrating workforce development training into the construction, stewardship and monitoring of these projects.
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Partnership development: building common cause with elected officials, local partners and funders for environmental resiliency projects.
Developing winning proposals for environmental resiliency projects that prioritize investments in human capital.
Building programs to achieve job opportunities in disadvantaged communities and build climate smart communities.
Organizational Development + Leadership Coaching
Running an organization means mastering many skills, empowering your team, and making sure all pieces of the organization are running smoothly. As a leader, you have many constituencies to cultivate and respond to. Sometimes it can be overwhelming! I can help you determine what to prioritize, how to delegate and manage up effectively and how to develop teams that hold one another accountable to each other and the work.
I assist clients with all aspects of organizational management from collaboratively developing inspiring visions and concrete work plans to setting up enabling structures to ensure follow-through and accountability.
I support leadership teams with special projects, coalition building and community engagement, as well as fundraising and communications. As a former Executive Director and NYC Parks Administrator, I know first-hand the stresses that leaders are under in today’s work climate, and bring compassion and understanding to those all-too-real challenges.
I work with clients to ease burdens and establish management practices that support your health and well-being while you accomplish great things.
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Executive and Leadership Coaching: I assist Directors and senior management teams shift through all of the competing priorities demanding your time to find your North Star. We can focus on the particular pain points you face, be it staff development: let’s review your organizational structure, develop or refresh job descriptions, develop effective work plans, and craft meaningful performance evaluations; financial management: let’s review the technology and layers of review you have in place and the way that your team supports you in budget preparation, the annual audit, and providing regular financial reports to the board.
I can bring focus and organization to your team without creating extra layers of complexity … because I’ve been there! I know how important it is to right-size solutions to the size, culture, resources of your organization.
Board Development: If you are a non-profit leader, let’s talk about your board. The Board of Directors should both provide you regular feedback and support you in critical aspects of the work, such as fundraising, long-term strategy, and in managing itself! Doesn’t sound like your board? Let’s roll up our sleeves, talk about why, and produce a phase Action Plan to get your board where it needs to be.
Visioning + Strategic Planning: no more expensive plans sitting on a shelf! Let’s develop a strategic strategic plan that is concise, focused and ready to move into action immediately! Breaking the work up into bite size chunks can address specific areas of your organization that need support while ensuring alignment with the mission and vision of your organization.
Fundraising + Communications
Fundraising is one of the key roles of an executive and often one of the ones that causes the most stress. But it doesn’t need to be!
However, let’s be real: fundraising in the post-COVID landscape has shifted. Support that was available during 2020 and 2021 have dried up and a new normal has set in. It’s time for all of us to adjust.
Let’s build strategies to authentically communicate your work and mission and strategically link it to your fundraising strategy and goals.
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Fundraising assessments + planning: Let’s do a thorough review of your organization’s fundraising and chart out a plan to boost it over the next 3-5 years.
I can also help your team with specific fundraising goals! Let me help you deepen relationships with existing funders, conduct prospect research and outreach. I can also help you craft winning grant proposals and other donor communication tools.
Media outreach - let’s get the word out there about your great work! This starts with determining the story you want to tell about your work, how to garner earned media attention through op-eds, personal stories or events and mapping out the media landscape that is most relevant to your work.
Updating your foundational communications - grant proposals, websites, appeal letters - and work with you to fine-tune them for maximum impact.
Coalition Building + Community Engagement
For mission-driven organizations, the work is often linked with broader issues of geographic scope or topical alignment. Let’s look at how strategic coalition building can amplify your work, without taking over your calendar!
For all organizations, community engagement is key to building trust, sharing information early and often, and listening and incorporating community feedback. The best laid plans will not flourish without sufficient meaningful community engagement. I assist teams in developing diverse strategies to reach your critical constituencies and garner constructive input.
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Coalition building: Let’s assess your organization’s current level of coalition participation and do a landscape scan of what other coalitions you might like to join or spearhead. Let’s examine ROI on this work and do a reality check on internal capacity to right-size your participation in coalitions now and in the future.
Strategic plans for public engagement for your work. Let’s talk through who are the key stakeholders in your work, how to reach and engage them in common cause.
Organizing and running effective input sessions that generate constructive feedback and advance your work.
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