We invite you to explore our work. Recent projects and presentations are listed below. You can explore additional work using the various tags in the right hand column.
Melissa Levy presented "Increasing Your Impact through Collaboration" at the 2015 ACHI National Conference in Dallas, Texas on March 5, 2015, as part of a workshop session on Effective Collaboration to Increase Community Health Impact. Collaboration…
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…
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…
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 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 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…
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 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…
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…
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…
Melissa Levy presented a workshop, “Increasing Your Organization’s Impact through Collaboration,” as part of the DASH-NY Coalition Conference on March 19, 2015 in Albany, NY. This workshop on collaboration was an interactive, highly participatory workshop,…
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…
Shanna Ratner worked with Barbara Wyckoff of Dynamica Consulting to develop a handbook for ActionAid. This work built off of the framework developed in the Kathmandu workshop on Gender Sensitive Access to Market and Value Chains. Topics addressed…
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…
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…
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…
Yellow Wood Associates is the managing grantee and thought leader for Wealth Creation in Rural Communities - Building Sustainable Livelihoods (now WealthWorks), an initiative of the Ford Foundation that seeks to improve rural livelihoods with a systems…
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…
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…
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…
Melissa Levy presented two “You Get What You Measure®” workshop sessions at the 25th Annual Rural Community and Economic Development Conference, as part of a program of workshops on community and economic development techniques. The conference was…
Melissa Levy co-authored a report, along with Barbara Wyckoff of Dynamica Consulting, for the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs. The report, titled “Connecting Community Assets with Market Demand for Lasting Livelihoods: Meeting New Challenges…
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…
Yellow Wood provided the Town of Hinesburg with assistance in developing an economic development strategy. This assistance included planning and facilitating a community engagement workshop to identify the strategic leverage points for goals identified…
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 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…
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…
Shanna Ratner and Barbara Wyckoff were invited by ActionAid to co-facilitate a five day workshop in Nepal. The participants included partners and ActionAid staff from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Senegal together with two women community…
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 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…
Shanna Ratner presented a half-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Ithaca, NY. The workshop was part of the Human Services Coalition workshop series. Attendees came from Alternatives Federal…
Melissa Levy and Samantha Dunn co-presented a half-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Baltimore, MD. Attendees came from the Farmers Market Coalition and the University of Maryland.
The Maine Food Strategy Steering Committee is a diverse group of stakeholders from around the state. Initiated in December of 2013, the Steering Committee is responsible for guiding the direction of the Maine…
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 co-presented a half-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Raleigh, NC. Attendees came from the Research Triangle Foundaton, Hudson Varick Resources, and the North Carolina Fourth Sector Resource…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
Melissa Levy and Samantha Dunn co-presented a half-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Saratoga Springs, NY. Attendees came from the Land Trust Alliance, Ma'yan, the New World Foundation, the New York Farm Viability Institute,…
Melissa Levy, Senior Associate at Yellow Wood Associates, co-presented a session with Euneika Rogers-Sipp, Chief Regenerative Officer of Sustainable Rural Regenerative Enterprises for Families. The session was titled "Building Rural Wealth Based on…
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…
Shanna Ratner provided coaching and mentoring to 2007 Measurement Guide Molly Anderson, Partridge Chair in Food & Sustainable Agriculture Systems, College of the Atlantic, during a You Get What You Measure® in Use session with Farm to Institution New…
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…
Under the direction of Peg Elmer of Community-Resilience.org, Yellow Wood engaged in targeted strengthening of municipal hazard mitigation planning in the state of Vermont. Yellow Wood assisted in guiding and augmenting national research related to…
Yellow Wood provided consulting services to ReGeneration Resources in support of their strategic planning work with Commute Green New Hampshire (CGNH), a partnership of businesses, schools, transit agencies, regional planning commissions, rideshare…
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…
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…
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…
Shanna Ratner was a panelist for two sessions at this conference: "Place-based vs. Conventional Economic Development" and "Measuring Real Time Plan & Project Impacts." The conference was sponsored by the New England Federal Partnership for Sustainable…
Melissa Levy presented on measuring multiple forms of wealth on June 2013 as part of the 2013 Community Economic Development Webinar Series. Melissa's presentation was part of a webinar titled "Measuring the Success of Your Community Economic Development…
Shanna Ratner participated on the panel "Quality of Life: How Can Co-ops Make a Difference?" along with representatives from NRECA, CoBank, and the US Department of Agriculture. Changing demographics and an economy in transition present challenges…
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…
Melissa Levy presented “Measuring Impact Using a WealthWorks Approach” on Thursday, October 17th, 2013, at the Community Indicators Consortium Impact Summit. Her presentation was made as part of a session titled “Building Data, Gauging…
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 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…
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;…
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…
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…
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…
Shanna Ratner was selected as a member of the 2012 Mel King Community Fellows cohort. The 2012 Mel King Community Fellows Program is devoted to convening leading economic development and community development practitioners from across the United States…
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…
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.…
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,…
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…
Melissa Levy and Ruth Feldman co-presented a full-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Portland, ME. Attendees came from the Maine Association of Nonprofits, the Maine Community Foundation, the University of Southern 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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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.
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Melissa Levy presented an interactive demonstration of tools designed to help practitioners…
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…
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 spoke about Wealth Creation in Rural Communities during a session titled "Working Lunch: Rural Wealth Creation."
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…
Melissa Levy and Jackie LeBlanc co-presented a full-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Montpelier, VT. Attendees came from the Orange County Parent and Child Center, the Chittenden Regional Planning Commission, and Skeo…
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,…
Yellow Wood worked with the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) to conduct a pilot study on the unique contribution cooperatives make to the creation and retention of wealth in the communities and regions in which they operate. We worked…
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,…
Shanna Ratner was an invited participant at the Rural Futures Conference, hosted by the University of Nebraska in May 2012. This conference was held as part of the process of creating the Rural Futures Institute at the University of Nebraska.
Yellow Wood collaborated with the Aspen Institute’s Community Strategies Group to develop a knowledge transfer platform for development practitioners who want to use the wealth creation approach developed through the Ford Foundation’s Wealth Creation…
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…
The eXtension Evaluation PDCoP is charged with providing assistance, resources, and expertise in evaluation to colleagues throughout the Cooperative Extension Service of USDA and across all Extension content areas using electronic media. The eXtension…
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…
Members of the April 2012 Measurement Guide class included Ben Lesser, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.; Greg Hessel, ReGeneration Resources, Vermont; Jackie LeBlanc, Yellow Wood Associates, Vermont; and Michael Hancox, Skeo Solutions,…
