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…
Shanna Ratner was the featured presenter at the Regards to Rural 2015 Conference Pre-Session, “WealthWorks Northwest,” consisting of three workshops introducing WealthWorks. The first workshop, “WealthWorks Northwest! Building Rural Wealth,” focused…
Participants in the April 2015 Becoming a Measurement Guide Training joined us from the 1772 Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Yellow Wood Associates. Yellow Wood has been offering professionals with facilitation skills…
Participants in the fourth WealthWorks training, which began in April 2015 and runs through February 2016, come from organizations and states across the country, including National Joint Powers Alliance (MN), Southern Colorado Economic Development…
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…
The Rural Health Network of South Central New York is working on a collaborative assessment project, Rural Broome Counts, that will provide organizational leaders, decision makers, policy makers, service providers and funders with a comprehensive report…
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…
Renewable Energy Vermont is a Vermont-based non-profit focused on reducing the state’s dependence on fossil fuels and expanding the use of renewable energy across the state and the region. Yellow Wood is working with Renewable Energy Vermont on a three-part…
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…
Participants in the third WealthWorks training, which began in October 2014 and runs through August 2015, come from organizations and states across the country, including Agricultural Utilization Research Institute…
The Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC) works to increase the pace, quality and scale of land conservation in Connecticut while assuring the perpetual, high quality stewardship of conserved lands in the state. The council is in a growth stage,…
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 Rural Health Network of South Central New York continued their work with Yellow Wood Associates, selecting Yellow Wood to provide their Rural Health Service Corps AmeriCorps program evaluation for the 2013-2014 program year. In addition, the Rural…
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…
Yellow Wood worked with the Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center to plan and facilitate a learning journey around arts tourism. Representatives from the Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center traveled to Western North Carolina for an itinerary…
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 presented on “Creating and Retaining Wealth: Connecting Assets with Market Demand for Lasting Livelihoods” at the 21st Annual Conference on the Adirondacks. Her presentation was titled…
Profit Squared sought Yellow Wood’s assistance in developing a case study of a goat meat value chain project supported by Heifer International in Nepal, for use in training Heifer International staff on a wealth creation approach to development. Yellow…
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,…
Participants in the April 2014 Becoming a Measurement Guide Training joined us from the Virgin Islands Developmental Disabilities Council and the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link. Yellow Wood has been offering professionals with facilitation skills…
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…
Participants in the second WealthWorks training, which began in April 2014 and runs through February 2015, come from organizations and states across the country, including Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group…
The WealthWorks Training provides coaches and coordinators from nonprofit, for profit, and government agencies with an introduction to the Wealth Works approach and framework and a guided six to nine month Wealth Works…
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…
Yellow Wood worked with the National Audubon Society to coordinate research work related to the demand for and economic impact of ecological services. Yellow Wood’s role included conducting coaching calls related to demand studies, participating on…
Yellow Wood Associates is working with the Natural Capital Investment Fund and partners to develop outcome measures for the Rural Jobs Accelerator that capture effects on the seven forms of wealth as well as on jobs and income. We will work with NCIF…
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…
In the second phase of their work with the Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission / Black Belt Treasures, Yellow Wood is working with Black Belt Treasures to strengthen their value chain through expanded connections to the greater arts, culture and…
Members of the April 2013 Measurement Guide class included Ashley Taylor, Wallace Center at Winrock International, Virginia; Barbara Newman, Jefferson County Department of Health, Alabama; Denise Smith, Friends of Northern Lake Champlain, Vermont;…
Melissa Levy provided measurement coaching to 2013 Measurement Guide Karen Lehman, Director of Fresh Taste. Melissa Levy assisted Karen Lehman and Fresh Taste with facilitation of a workshop with representatives of the Illinois Farmers Market Association.…
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…
Melissa Levy presented, “Wealth Creation in Rural Communities: Measuring Impact to Build Locally Controlled Wealth” at the Vermont Nonprofit Conference in Fairlee, Vermont in March 2013. The Ford Foundation’s Wealth Creation in Rural Communities initiative…
The Center for Rural Entrepreneurship funded Yellow Wood Associates to work with mini-grantees of the National Association of Development Organizations. Melissa has been working with a NADO mini-grantee, the Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission,…
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Liz Lerman invited Shanna Ratner to join them as a special guest for a conversation about wealth and poverty in America at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan. The conversation took place as part of "Blood, Muscle, Bone:…
Yellow Wood was contracted by the Vermont Environmental Consortium to produce content for a Vermont-focused “green careers” website, as part of a Vermont Department of Labor deliverable to Vermont Technical College. The content that was researched…
The Rural Health Network of South Central New York sought consulting services to evaluate their Rural Health Service Corps (RHSC) AmeriCorps program from the period of September 1, 2012 through November 30, 2013. Yellow Wood evaluated the data reported…
Members of the November 2012 Measurement Guide class included Jeff Farbman, Wallace Center at Winrock International, Virginia; Katie Enterline, Wallace Center at Winrock International, Virginia; Stacia Kiraly, Wallace Center at Winrock International,…
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.…
Melissa Levy presented an overview of the Ford Foundation’s Wealth Creation in Rural Communities initiative, which uses a systems approach to wealth creation, linking together the whole system of assets, producers and consumers in ways that benefit…
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…
Melissa Levy co-presented a workshop session titled "Visioning and Beyond: Developing Plans and Measuring Implementation" with Peggy Reichert of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The workshop walked participants through the process of connecting…
Yellow Wood was invited to collaborate with the National Cooperative Business Association to develop the introductory workshop and framework for subsequent workshops in a conference track for community economic development practitioners. The initial…
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…
ActionAid is an international organization, working with over 15 million people in 45 countries for a world free from poverty and injustice. After hearing about the wealth creation approach, ActionAid approached the Ford Foundation to learn more. In…
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Melissa Levy presented an interactive demonstration of tools designed to help practitioners…
Melissa Levy facilitated "Social Equity in Rural Communities: Setting Goals and Tracking Progress" with Wayne Fawbush of the Ford Foundation and Noah Dorius of HUD Region 1.
Melissa Levy presented an interactive demonstration of tools designed to help practitioners identify and measure the impacts of project and policy actions on different forms of community wealth. Participants worked through two exercises to analyze…
What you measure IS what you get! Melissa Levy presented this webinar to the National Good Food Network on January 20, 2011. The webinar presented a taste of the acclaimed You Get What You Measure® planning process. Participants learned crucial measurement…
Members of the November 2011 Measurement Guide class included Ann Jones-Weinstock, NRG Systems, Vermont; Deb Markley, Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, North Carolina; and Marilyn Hoke, Community Resource Group, Arkansas. Since 2002, Yellow Wood has…
Members of the March 2011 Becoming a Measurement Guide class included Katy Allen, Rural Support Partners, North Carolina; Thomas Watson, Rural Support Partners, North Carolina; Judy Anderson, Community Consultants, New York; Ruth Feldman, Project for…
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…
Shanna Ratner presented two webinars to interested cooperatives on the Wealth Creation approach in September 2011.
Samantha Dunn, along with Tom Broido of ATC Associates, a Vermont Environmental Consortium (VEC) board member, presented a webinar to the Vermont Chamber of Commerce on the results of a survey to identify Green Workforce Training Needs and Opportunities…
Yellow Wood was engaged by the Vermont Environmental Consortium (VEC) to define Vermont’s environmental sector, survey the sector to improve the understanding of the workforce education and training needs of these firms and survey schools, organizations…
Yellow Wood worked with the Vermont Community Foundation and the United Way of Addison County to use You Get What You Measure® with each organization’s grantees, a diverse group of organizations operating in Addison County, Vermont, to learn more about…
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…
The Central Appalachian Network (CAN) is a group of seven nonprofits in the Central Appalachian states of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia focused on transforming Central Appalachia’s economy by creating economic opportunities…
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…
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.
Shanna Ratner delivered a You Get What You Measure® in Use workshop to staff and board members of community foundations seeking to become leaders in their communities. The Community Leadership Network Peer-Learning Institute in Georgia was sponsored…
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.
Presented "Introduction to You Get What You Measure®" at Evaluation 2007: Evaluation and Learning, the American Evaluation Assocation's 2007 annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Shanna Ratner co-presented with Kim Norris.
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…
Shanna Ratner provided coaching and mentoring for 2005 Measurement Guide Jeff Forward of Forward Thinking Consultants as he facilitated his first You Get What You Measure® session with the Vermont Environmental Consortium at Groton State Park on Monday,…
Yellow Wood worked with Maine Rural Partners and the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship to design and facilitate a two-day training based on the award-winning Home Town Competitiveness framework for rural community economic development. The first…
On behalf of the National Association of Development Organizations, Yellow Wood conducted research on EPA brownfields grants awarded to regional development organizations. As part of this research, Yellow Wood developed an online questionnaire and…
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…
Yellow Wood provided assistance to the manager of RUPRI's Community Clustering Initiative in considering how to evaluate progress toward the Initiative's goals related to strengthening local governance. This innovative project uses computer communications…
For the second time, Vermont Environmental Consortium's Board of Directors selected Yellow Wood Associates to facilitate their strategic planning process using our trademarked You Get What You Measure® approach. In a one-day retreat, Yellow Wood assisted…
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…
The November 2005 class of Measurement Guides included Jeff Forward, Forward Thinking Consultants, Vermont; Joy Stalker, Rural Health Network of South Central New York; Christine Berwald, Rural Health Network of South Central New York; and Charlie…
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…
Yellow Wood facilitated the Vermont Environmental Consortium's strategic planning process using our trademarked You Get What You Measure® approach. Over the course of two workshops, Yellow Wood assisted the board with planning to better define the…
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…
Shanna Ratner provided coaching and mentoring for 2002 Measurement Guide Karen Affeld from Rural Action, a nonprofit organization that builds model sustainable development projects and encourages a broad civic conversation around Appalachian Ohio’s…
Members of the August 2002 Becoming a Measurement Guide class included LaDonna Coy, Southwest CAPT, Oklahoma; Kerstin Gorham, Northwest Area Foundation, Minnesota; and Karen Affeld, Rural Action, Ohio. Since 2002, Yellow Wood has been offering professionals…
This project consisted of two phases. The first identified a mix of possible products that the former Ethan Allen employee group would be able to produce given their skills, knowledge base, opportunities for additional training, and an array of business/marketing…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. trained nearly 60 people in You Get What You Measure® at the Navajo Chapter House in Cameron, Arizona in December 2000. Participants included a mix of Native and non-Native Americans, youth and elders, men and women, who…
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…
