Yellow Wood was founded with a deeply held belief in empowering people and communities who work and live close to the land to be effective stewards of our shared natural resources. We believe that healthy communities and healthy resources go hand in hand. We believe effective and innovative stewardship that counteracts the unsustainable, extractive approaches of the past should be recognized and rewarded through market and incentive-based mechanisms.
Yellow Wood provides entrepreneurs and planning and development organizations with research that ranges from multi-state or regional sectoral analysis and policy analysis, to community economic impact studies to pre-feasibility/feasibility studies and business plans for specific enterprises. Our work in natural resource-based economic development is focused in three areas: agriculture, water resources and forestry.
Our work in natural resource-based community economic development is enhanced and informed by our knowledge of sustainable infrastructure, strategic planning, and wealth creation.
Shanna Ratner presented the closing keynote at the 2015 Regards to Rural Conference in Bend, Oregon. Her presentation shared perspectives on what it looks like to do economic development differently, drawing on her experience with the WealthWorks framework…
Opportunity International was interested in developing an agricultural model for sharing economic benefits and applying this model to a plant operated by Opportunity International in Nicaragua. The CODESPA Foundation was selected to complete this…
The Land Trust Alliance (Alliance) is a national conservation organization that works to save the places people love. Most recently, the Alliance has begun to focus on Community Conservation, listening to and engaging people from all walks of life…
Yellow Wood Associates is working with Cornell University to facilitate working sessions with their research and extension advisory teams to systemically apply the WealthWorks theory of how wealth is created and retained in rural areas to the rural-urban…
The Rutland Area Farm and Food Link received a 2014 partnership grant from Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (NESARE). Rutland Area Farm and Food Link’s (RAFFL) programs link small-scale, diversified, and local farms with new…
Yellow Wood, in consultation with the Working Lands Enterprise Board Forestry subcommittee of the State of Vermont, is working to provide a systems analysis of the forest and wood products industry. This work will engage a variety of stakeholders…
Yellow Wood is working with the Verde River Valley Nature Organization (VRVNO) as they transition from a volunteer-led nonprofit organization to an executive director-led nonprofit. We will be facilitating an on-site strategic planning workshop with…
Yellow Wood Associates is working with place-based grantees of the Walton Family Foundation in the Lower Mississippi River Region. This work is focused around nature-based tourism. Coaching work includes calls with grantees and group calls to support…
Melissa Levy presented the Board Member Summit, “Increasing Your Land Trust’s Impact through Collaboration” with Judy Anderson, Principal of Community Consultants. The session shared examples of how land trusts have collaborated and conserved more…
In connection with our work on the Wallace Center Nourishing Networks – Improving the Food Environment Project, Yellow Wood provided consulting services to Wallace under the Nourishing Networks: Capacity Building for Food Hubs and Regional Food Systems…
The Local Economies Project of the New World Foundation is focused on strengthening the food system of the Hudson Valley Region through four primary areas of focus: 1) The Hudson Valley Farm Hub; 2) A Food Hub Portfolio; 3) Education; and 4) A financing…
Continuing their work with the Local Economies Project (LEP) of the New World Foundation, Yellow Wood designed and facilitated a full-day, on-site workshop to review the findings from the first workshop, align current and planned activities in relation…
Melissa Levy presented a workshop titled Strategic Planning, Measurement and Evaluation Using “You Get What You Measure®” at the 2014 Connecticut Land Conservation Conference. You Get What You Measure® is a facilitated, values-based strategic planning…
The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development's What Works Conference Series hosted a joint regional conference with the National Value Added Agriculture Conference on "Enhancing Food Security and Rural Viability through Innovative Food System…
Yellow Wood worked with the Land Trust Alliance Northeast Region and the 1772 Foundation to plan and facilitate a meeting of farmland preservation grantees. The Land Trust Alliance Northeast Region has a collaborative relationship with the 1772 Foundation…
Shanna Ratner was a panelist on the panel "Innovative Strategies that Support Rural Communities." This panel featured organizations that build local value chains in sectors such as food and agriculture, green affordable housing, energy efficiency,…
Shanna Ratner and Jackie LeBlanc presented two sessions at the NGFN Food Hub Collaboration Spring 2014 Conference in Raleigh, NC: “Finding Common Measures for the Nation’s Food Hubs” and “Measures that Matter.” In “Finding Common Measures,” Yellow…
Yellow Wood Associates designed and implemented a study for the Nature Conservancy on the economic impacts of invasive species on a variety of economic sectors in the Adirondack Park. This study provided a preliminary assessment of the present day…
Shanna Ratner was invited to serve on the National Advisory Board of the Food Hub Management Program, an innovative higher education program focused on food hub management. Shanna is collaborating with thought leaders, practitioners, funders, and…
Morse Marketing, a consulting firm working in multi-sector partnerships across a variety of food-related initiatives, turned to Yellow Wood to provide guidance in evaluating the effectiveness of a Beginning Farmer & Rancher Development Program Educational…
Yellow Wood Associates worked for the Wallace Center at Winrock International on the Nourishing Networks – Improving the Food Environment project, funded by The Kresge Foundation. Yellow Wood served on the Food Hub Collaboration Core Team; provided…
Yellow Wood Associates worked with the Verde River Valley Nature Organization (VRVNO), a Walton Family Foundation grantee. Yellow Wood provided VRVNO with coaching and analysis to review their birding value chain, identify metrics/measurement that…
Melissa Levy assisted Karen Lehman and Fresh Taste with facilitation of a workshop with representatives of the Illinois Farmers Market Association. Using You Get What You Measure®, the workshop was meant to help the Illinois Farmers Market Association…
In connection with our work on the Wallace Center Nourishing Networks – Improving the Food Environment Project, Yellow Wood provided consulting services to Wallace under the Increasing Farmer Success in Local Food Markets in Mississippi and Alabama…
At the invitation of Mann Librarian Outreach and Engagement Specialist Jeff Piestrak, Shanna Ratner made two presentations followed by participatory engagement, one at Mann Library and one at the Tompkins County Library, respectively entitled: A Wealth…
Yellow Wood provided the Town of Fairfield with a regional feasibility study to identify potential solutions to the growing need for certified, inspected wholesale meat processing facilities to meet local, state, and regional market demand for local…
FINE is a network of organizations working to strengthen farm to institution connections throughout New England. Yellow Wood worked with FINE using You Get What You Measure® to engage multiple stakeholders in clarifying its external goals, creating…
The team of Goody Clancy & Associates, of which Yellow Wood Associates is a part, was selected by the Town of Mansfield, CT to assist in preparing an updated Plan of Conservation and Development as part of their commitment to the federal Sustainable…
Beginning in fall 2011, Yellow Wood Associates has worked with four Walton Family Foundation grantees along the Lower Mississippi River around nature based tourism. Focus areas for this group have included paddling tourism, non-consumptive wildlife…
Yellow Wood served as a strategic partner and facilitator for eight monthly calls with the New England Beef to Institution Steering Committee. The purpose of the group is to cultivate a Community of Practice that enables participants to discuss challenges…
Samantha Dunn of Yellow Wood Associates and Jeff Forward of Richmond Energy Associates gave a presentation highlighting findings from the application process and 17 pre-feasibility studies completed in the North Country in 2010-2011 as part of a US…
Yellow Wood designed and administered a survey on evaluation metrics for the Farm to Plate Network Technical Assistance for Producers and Processors Working Group, which is facilitated by the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. The need for improved program…
Yellow Wood worked with the Blueberry East Food Ventures (BEFV), a cooperative of blueberry growers in Maine, to evaluate the feasibility of establishing a fruit processing facility for conventional and organic blueberries in Washington County, Maine.…
Shanna Ratner gave a plenary presentation on “Your Role in Healthy Food Systems” at the Growing Health 2012 conference, highlighting how healthy food systems contribute to multiple forms of wealth in the community, and workshopping ways in which members…
Yellow Wood provided coaching in wealth creation value chain development and conducting demand-related research for four nature-based tourism pilot projects in the Lower Mississippi Delta. We also provided coaching services for a team working with…
Yellow Wood worked with twelve Walton Family Foundation grantees in the Verde Valley area of Arizona. The intent of this work was to introduce the wealth creation approach as a way to strengthen the individual projects and begin thinking about the…
Yellow Wood worked with Suri Paco to evaluate the costs and benefits of an expanded wholesale production program, including demand, supply and processing of domestic alpaca fiber for a range of value-added products, including bales, non-woven felt,…
Shanna Ratner facilitated the NGFN Food Hub Collaboration Spring 2012 Conference. During the conference, she moderated a panel on "Supply Side Success: Logistics for Quality and Consistency;" facilitated region-based breakout groups and developed an…
The Wallace Center invited Yellow Wood to participate as evaluator and core team member in the National Good Food Network Food Hub Collaboration, an initiative funded by the Kresge Foundation to strengthen regional food hubs and their contributions…
In an effort to help the Northeast and Midwest meet their needs for renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction through the sustainable utilization of woody biomass, the U.S. Forest Service engaged Yellow Wood Associates in conducting third party…
Panelists Kamalesh Doshi and Samantha Dunn, along with panel organizer Sarah S. Smith, discussed the The Community Roadmap to Renewable Woody Biomass Energy (the Roadmap) as part of a panel at the Woody Biomass Energy Research Symposium. The roadmap…
Shanna Ratner participated in an ad hoc think tank convened by Appalachian Sustainable Development on the role of social enterprises in building and strengthening local food value chains. 25 representatives of businesses, nonprofit organizations, and…
Shanna Ratner presented the keynote, “Why Does Agriculture Matter and What Can Municipal and Public Officials Do to Grow the Agricultural Economy?” at the Central New York Agricultural Council’s third annual conference in Cooperstown, New York.
Yellow Wood presented two workshops to the Walton Family Foundation Nature-Based Tourism Group of grantees along the lower Mississippi River Delta. The first workshop was around goals, value chains and wealth creation. Participants articulated goals…
Yellow Wood Associates worked with One Voice and NAACP Mississippi to identify best practices for developing a food systems value chain with a focus on four models (Institutional Sales through the Farm to School model; Targeted Distribution of Produce…
Opportunity International Nicaragua (OIN) is a nonprofit organization working to blend community economic development strategies with microfinance strategies to benefit the poorest of the poor in Nicaragua. As part of their work, OIN has incubated…
Yellow Wood was asked to provide technical assistance to the Green Forest Products Collaborative to assess the level of demand opportunity in the region’s institutions and government agencies. Yellow Wood performed a scan of the region and identified…
Samantha Dunn presented “Understanding the Potential of Thermal Biomass for the Adirondack North Country Economy” to the Adirondack North Country Association Board of Directors on June 15, 2010. This presentation was made as part of a panel discussion…
Yellow Wood partnered with the Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC) to develop the Community Roadmap to Renewable Woody Biomass Energy: A step-by-step decision-making tool for NH communities through a contract…
Yellow Wood assisted the North Country Resource Conservation and Development Area Council and Roadmap development partners in planning for dissemination of the Community Roadmap to Renewable Woody Biomass Energy.
Yellow Wood Associates evaluated the second half of the Wallace Center's Expanding Sustainable and Community-based Food Systems project funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. The multi-faceted project included regranting to four organizations involved…
Yellow Wood worked with the National Good Food Network, in partnership with the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Project for Public Spaces, and the National Association for Produce Market Managers, to facilitate a meeting at the Wholesale and Regional…
Shanna Ratner facilitated the second of two values-based value chain writeshops for the Wallace Center at Winrock International. The Value Chain Research Collaboration Project, a partnership between the Agricultural Marketing Service and the Wallace…
As part of the 9th Annual Catskills Local Government Day, Samantha Dunn gave an interactive presentation on a unique process for rural municipalities to inventory their infrastructure and evaluate the potential for applying sound alternative…
Yellow Wood worked with Cornell University Community and Rural Development Institute using You Get What You Measure® in Use to assist diverse groups working on two projects: Local Agriculture Sustainability Indicators, and Vital Indicators for Enhancing…
Shanna Ratner of Yellow Wood Associates facilitated two daylong participatory workshops for communities that owned and managed forestland and for communities that were interested in acquiring forestland, using Yellow Wood’s See the Forest® interactive…
Shanna Ratner, principal of Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. was a founding member of the National Network of Forest Practitioners, serving on the organization’s Executive Committee, and as Chair of the Research Subcommittee.
Yellow Wood worked with Susanne Moser, PhD to explore the issue of community resilience from the perspective of literature and key informant interviews with 25 rural development practitioners from around the country. They identified stages of community…
Yellow Wood conducted a supplementary round of interviews exploring the issue of community resilience. These interviews were with representatives from MDC, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, Danville Regional Foundation, Louisiana Disaster Foundation,…
Yellow Wood provided analysis for the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities, suggesting ways to connect grantee measurement activities with overall measurement by the initiative of desired outcomes.
Yellow Wood worked with the National Good Food Network leadership in designing, executing, and following up on a strategic planning meeting. Yellow Wood assisted with the follow up process, development of an action plan, and evaluation planning.
Yellow Wood provided assistance with qualitative data gathering for the Wallace Center. This assistance included developing interview questions, interviewing growers, and synthesizing interview responses.
Shanna Ratner facilitated the first of two values-based value chain writeshops for the Wallace Center at Winrock International. The purpose of the writeshop was to develop content for tools to assist intermediaries in building value chains so that…
Yellow Wood Associates worked with consultant Doug Hoffer to assist the Wallace Center in preparing a proposal to the U.S. Department of Labor for Agriculture and Food Sector Job Training for Enhancing Green Jobs.
Yellow Wood worked with the Town of Brattleboro to complete a municipal infrastructure inventory and assessment.
West Central Initiative, a regional economic development group in Minnesota, hired Yellow Wood Associates to bring our Green Community Technologies® tools and perspective to bear on water resource issues in small Minnesota communities. The cities of…
The West Central Initiative commissioned an infrastructure pilot project in three communities in west central Minnesota. The City of Battle Lake, as a community with a relatively new centralized infrastructure facing pressure from growth, was chosen…
The West Central Initiative commissioned an infrastructure pilot project in three communities in west central Minnesota. The City of Brandon, as a community with agricultural land being converted to housing, was chosen to be part of the pilot project.…
The West Central Initiative commissioned an infrastructure pilot project in three communities in west central Minnesota. The City of Ottertail, as a community facing development pressure and pressing water system issues, was chosen to be part of the…
Shanna Ratner of Yellow Wood Associates planned for and facilitated a Community Forest Workshop in Shelburne, New Hampshire on Saturday, May 17 using Yellow Wood’s See the Forest® approach. Yellow Wood assisted with planning the agenda, developing…
Yellow Wood compiled a list of highly successful projects funded by the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, along with a review of some of the best practices that made these projects successful.
Yellow Wood worked with the Wallace Center to develop a scope of work for evaluation of the Accelerating Community Based Food Systems project, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Yellow Wood worked with Stone Environmental to assess options for water supply and wastewater treatment in the rural town of Westford, Vermont's town center. Yellow Wood prepared a Wastewater Feasibillity Study Survey for landowners in the town center…
Yellow Wood partnered with Mt. Auburn Associates to help the Massachusetts Trust for Public Land build a framework for discussing the full range of economic benefits derived from public land. Categories of economic benefit include contributions to…
Yellow Wood was selected to design and facilitate a one and a half day workshop to explore and develop relationships among urban, rural, and suburban practitioners of community forestry with a focus on markets for forest products and services. The…
Yellow Wood evaluated the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and its work helping advance farming systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities through a nationwide research and education…
Yellow Wood Associates designed and conducted a day-long Community Forestry Workshop in Craftsbury, Vermont. The workshop was designed both for communities that own and manage town forest land and for communities that are exploring the possibility…
Yellow Wood Associates conducted market research on behalf of Deep Root Organic Cooperative with current buyers, supermarket chains, food coops and natural food stores, institutions, wholesalers/distributors, and organic processors to learn about the…
The Vermont Association of Conservation Commissions hired Yellow Wood to help design a participatory evaluation process for a project in which five rural communities received funds to prepare directories of local agricultural products and producers…
Prepared a concept paper on wealth and sustainability and their relationships to one another for use by the Northern Forest Center and the North Country Council in developing principles to guide the Northern Forest Sustainable Economy Initiative. Meet…
Melissa Levy presented on Green Community Technologies® as part of the "Building Health Communities" session at the 2005 Vermont Planning Celebration. The presentation discussed identifying new technologies and sustainable approaches to managing community…
Yellow Wood helped the Middle Peninsula Planning and Development Commission to define and assess the feasibility of economic development activities and opportunities that sustain traditional land uses and which minimize adverse impacts on the natural…
Yellow Wood worked with the Frederick County Dairy Processing Task Force to determine the feasibility of a venture focused on selling Maryland dairy products to Maryland consumers. Work included trend analysis of dairy consumption, regional demand…
The Town of Hinesburg asked Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. to research alternative ways of increasing their wastewater capacity beyond expanding the plant, using their Green Community Technologies process. Hinesburg, Yellow Wood, and Stone Environmental…
Shanna Ratner presented a workshop on Participatory Community Problem-Solving at the 11thAnnual Conference on the Adirondacks. The workshop topics included everyday research, the National Community Forest Center initiative and how participatory…
Citizens and communities of the Northern Forest region have demonstrated the power of local knowledge and participatory research thanks to a grant from the US Department of Agriculture. Over the course of four years, the National Community Forestry…
The Southern New England Forest Consortium sponsored development of materials and implementation of See the Forest for communities in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Participants learned about forest health, forest economics, and institutional…
Worked with HomeGrown Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives and other participants to study the feasibility of an agriculture/food facility for downtown Madison that would include an indoor farmers’ market, a storage, processing,…
Shanna Ratner presented a participatory research workshop at Middlebury College on November 20th, 2003. The workshop was presented by the National Community Forestry Center Northern Forest Region in cooperation with the Middlebury College…
Shanna Ratner presented a workshop on Participatory Community Problem-Solving at the 10th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks. The workshop topics included everyday research, the National Community Forest Center initiative and how participatory…
Yellow Wood Associates facilitated a two-day Navajo County Forest Health Strategic Planning Workshop for town, county and tribal participants, using You Get What You Measure®. The workshop focused on forest health and reducing threat of catastrophic…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with the Town of Richmond, Vermont to inventory and assess municipal infrastructure assets and provide options for future investment based on a comparative analysis of alternative technologies versus conventional…
Shanna Ratner spoke as a panelist on the subject of economic forces shaping the Northern Forest Region and the region’s place in an increasingly global economy.
Thanks for being a part of the day one doings.…
The Aspen Institute’s Community Strategies Group, which is administering the Ford Foundation’s Community-Based Forestry Initiative in the United States, invited Shanna Ratner of Yellow Wood Associates to review and analyze the monitoring plans of nine…
The Principal of Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. participated as a socio-economist with a three-member interdisciplinary team to conduct a management assessment of 83,000 acres of private forest land according to criteria established by the Forest Stewardship…
On behalf of the Burlington Community Land Trust, Yellow Wood worked with potential vendors of the Burlington Public Market to explore cooperative marketing arrangements. Yellow Wood helped determine which groups would be most ready to participate…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. prepared, distributed, developed a database, entered data and ran frequency counts for a survey created by the Empire State Forest Products Association.
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. facilitated a series of focus groups on starting a value-adding forest landowners cooperative to be coordinated by the Maine Low Impact Forestry Project of the Hancock County Planning Commission. Participants included approximately…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with NESARE in piloting an outcome-funding approach to grantmaking. The work included two year’s participation in the design process, proposal reviews, interviews with potential grantees, committee work to select…
View our many projects by choosing from the categories listed below. You can also view our database of projects by going to our Work page.
