My priority is to provide you with the right mix of services to help you and your team succeed. I thrive working on complex, global issues through a mix of efforts and interventions collaborating with colleagues and peer organizations to reached shared goals.
I would be happy to discuss how we might collaborate.
Strategic program design incorporates a holistic approach to understanding needs and goals, current practices, available resources and putting together a reasonable series of interventions (consultation, training, strategic communications, advocacy, etc.) to meet those goals. Unlike a single intervention, program design seeks to create systemic and long-term change by embedding new programs and practices into an organization or community.
As a facilitative leader, I seek to activate and support people to help leverage their talents and support work/life balance. An individual or team might need help with their strategy or work plan development, project implementation, or figuring out first or next steps. I combine management with coaching and facilitation services to move things forward. I can design a retreat, facilitate strategy sessions, meet a tight deadline short-term, or manage a program or team long-term.
With experience designing and delivering training sessions for 1,000s of participants (workshops, seminars, conferences, short-courses, study-tours, learning materials) both in person and online, I help determine if an issue can be addressed through training. Then, if yes, I help establish the scope of needs and the most appropriate learning interventions given the timeframe, budget, goals, and audience. Then directly or supporting others, the training interventions are prepared and delivered.
In order to meet organizational or institutional goals, research and evaluation of existing context, systems, capacity, resources as well as leading practices is an important step. I specialize in qualitative research including focus groups, surveys, and structured interviews as well as analysis and compilation of applicable research.
Taking a walk through your community, your space is a great way to observe and learn more about what is working and what is not. Safe, healthy spaces support community cohesion. In addition to physically walking, walking, metaphorically, through past programs, organizational history, failures and successes can shed light on needed next steps. Walk Audits can include one or more affinity group. Training and coaching of staff embeds skills in your organization.
Strategic communications are an important part of change management as well as day-to-day operations. I can provide analysis of current systems (web, written, social media, messaging). Documentation related to research and evaluation, training and facilitation, advocacy, and program design include reports, case studies, guidelines, and instructional materials..
With more than twenty years implementing international development programs, I have had the opportunity to work with many different types of organizations, donors, governance structures, and individuals in many countries and regions..
Municipal Governance Program, El Salvador
Advisor, Social Inclusion and Gender Integration
Workforce Development, Egypt
Advisor, Association Development
Local Government Partnership Program, Poland
Director, Information Dissemination and Public Relations
Central American Peace Scholarship Program
Program Manager, Experiential Learning
In addition to collaboration with colleagues from many other countries, I have director work experience in:
Bolivia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Croatia, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, U.S.
Conferences are a great way to reach a bigger audience, but not all conferences are the same. Some lean toward celebratory events with a dose of marketing. Others, are more oriented to academic information sharing. While some are focused on facilitating and catalyzing actions and applications. I specialize on the latter, which might draw on some aspects of the other types but with a focus on learning for application resulting in steps toward a permanent culture shift.
If your team thinks a conference is in order, and wants to ensure efforts lead to applied learning, let's talk.
With well-defined needs clarified, I work with subject-matter experts to design and manage custom training; and with directors and managers to design effective retreats and other convenings. Adult learning and experiential, participatory sessions are at the core of my designs.
As an advisor and strategic partner, I also help clarify what can realistically be expected from training, how the operating environment and legal context might impact, what other interventions might be needed or preferred - either complementary to or instead of training.
Some completed training topics have included:
Association Development
Business Skills for Women Entrepreneurs
Case Study Development for Experiential Learning
Citizen Participation
Conference Management
Decision-Making (Working) Meetings
Economic Development
Energy Efficiency in the Water Sector
Facilitation Skills for Qualitative Research
Financial Management for Local Government
Focus Group Design & Facilitation
Governance Systems & Citizen Perspectives
Presentation & Platform Skills
Program Budgeting for Local Government
Retreats for Team Building and/or Leadership Development
Solid Waste Management
Training-of-Trainers
Working on various programs and projects, I have conducted research for business development, program design and delivery, and to prepare specific publications including:
Is your community interested in increasing the health and well-being of residents? Walk Audits are essential for better street design and decision-making for crossings. If people of all ages don't feel safe walking to nearby friends, shops, schools, etc., improvements need to be made.
Walkability, accessibility, and proximity are a life-long interest especially in relation to well-being. This is an exploration I undertook as a member of the Global Walkability Correspondents Network. Nearly absent in research related to mobility options is consideration of the mix of walk/roll, bike, transit, and private car use individuals select, what physical and socio-cultural influences determine the selection, and their preferred travel mode. I developed the Mobility Pie to easily consider and facilitate straight forward discussions with city staff, residents, targeted age groups, etc. to shed light on the missing perspective of the multi-modal human. This exploration can be done in on-line or in person workshops. Or, I can work with your staff on program design and they implement.
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