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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
The Town of Montgomery, New York hired Yellow Wood Associates to assist residents and local government officials in planning for the Town’s energy future. Yellow Wood used its You Get What You Measure® process to help the group identify seven important…
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…
Appalachian Sustainable Development, the Center for Economic Options, and the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development asked Yellow Wood to provide facilitation services for their collaboration. The purpose of the collaboration was to…
Shanna Ratner presented "The Power of Measurement and Developing Measurement Plans" at the Connecticut Climate Change Workshop: Measuring Progress in Climate Change Action Plan Implementation held in Waterford, CT on October 24-26, 2006. The purpose…
The Leadership and Civic Engagement Program of the University of Minnesota Extension Service selected Yellow Wood Associates to work with a team of Extension professionals to create an interactive tool to measure social capital in Minnesota communities.…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. trained 26 people from the Missouri Departments of Economic Development, Health, and Mental Health, in You Get What You Measure®, Yellow Wood’s unique approach to measuring progress toward goals. Participants applied You…
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. 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. delivered its interactive workshop, You Get What You Measure®, for state government employees at Vermont’s Cyprian Learning Center, a state personnel training center. Follow-up from the initial workshop included working…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. coordinated the design and implementation of public involvement needed in assessing the management of 700,000 acres of New York State multiple-use forest land for SmartWood certification. Activities included press releases,…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. designed, facilitated and transcribed the results of a one-day visioning workshop as part of the St. Lawrence County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Planning process.
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. and the Madagascar Collaborative Program of the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development provided an administrative framework for a six-day, five-night Adirondack study tour that provided exposure…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. was invited by the Aspen Institute to participate in a review of the East Tennessee Foundation’s rural communities initiative. Offered feedback and advice on delivering technical assistance to community groups.
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. delivered a two-day training program in collaboration with Vicki Creed of Learning Partners on community capacity building for the Massachusetts Rural Development Council (MRDC) and the Agency of Community Development.…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with the Connecticut River Joint Commissions of New Hampshire to plan a conference for growers, buyers and others interested. Results included a written summary of agricultural production and marketing trends in…
Potsdam College retained Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. as a technical consultant to the North Country Food First program. Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. prepared a quarterly newsletter, assisted in workshop development for buyers and growers, presented…
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…
