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 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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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 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 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…
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 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 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 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 presented on the wealth creation approach as a guest lecturer for this five-day intensive summer program offered by the UVM Institute for Global Sustainability, taught by Professor Rhonda Phillips of Arizona State University.
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…
Melissa Levy gave an overview of the Wealth Creation in Rural Communities approach and discussed how higher education institutions have supported various aspects of local projects. Ms. Levy's presentation was part of a webinar that explored innovative…
At the Vermont Community Development Association’s Annual Meeting in April 2010, Shanna Ratner presented Green Community Technologies® and facilitated exercises in skilled listening, skilled inquiry and skilled advocacy with Vermont planners and U.S.D.A.…
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…
The January 2009 class of Measurement Guides included Peter van Schaick, consultant, Vermont; Rob Petrini, Yellow Wood Associates, Vermont. Since 2002, Yellow Wood has been offering professionals with facilitation skills the opportunity to become Measurement…
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 facilitated a session on Participatory Research with Ohio University's Community Based Participatory Research Group. This three and one half hour facilitated workshop on participatory research provided participants with a highly interactive…
Shanna Ratner and Rob Petrini facilitated a full-day You Get What You Measure® workshop for the Regional Nonprofit Alliance at Ohio University, on May 27, 2009. The Regional Nonprofit Alliance is an outreach effort of Ohio University’s Voinovich School…
The Director and volunteer committee who manage the Western Heritage Historic Byway in Idaho used You Get What You Measure® to develop a strategic plan for their byway. They identified goals, key leverage indicators, measures and actions that will…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
Shanna Ratner provided coaching and mentoring for 2005 Measurement Guide Samin Dadelahi as she conducted her first solo session of You Get What You Measure® at the Wyoming Community Foundation. The “Wyoming Community Foundation Evaluation and Planning…
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…
Shanna Ratner and Ann Ruzow Holland co-presented a session on Green Technology and Infrastructure for Towns, "What is in it for My Community?"
“You were so professional and well-prepared. This was the best workshop…
The University of Minnesota Extension Service Business Retention and Expansion Program selected Yellow Wood Associates to develop a tool to test the theory that building social capital in communities while focusing on community economic development…
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 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…
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,…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. conducted research to determine how, and whether, Vermont municipalities can use alternative technologies to save money, create jobs, and reduce negative environmental impacts. Our research focused on alternative approaches…
Yellow Wood Associates provided an introduction to strategy development using You Get What You Measure® to a multi-lingual group of residents, immigrants, and refugees in Central South King County, Washington on behalf of the Northwest Area Foundation.…
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…
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…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. prepared a short lesson on “Planning for Economic Development” for Vermont municipal officials, which was used as part of the Lincoln Land Institute’s Online Planning Series, sponsored by The Orton Institute. The lesson…
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. facilitated a training and presented a keynote at “Seeing Beyond the Symptoms: A Conference of Community Change Agents,” sponsored by the Missouri Association of Community Task Forces in conjunction with the Missouri Department…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation on the integration of social capital into their grant-making process. The work involved facilitating the Social Capital Multiplier Group, researching social capital applications…
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. designed and delivered measurement training, including an intriguing exercise about assumptions, to the staff of Rural Development Initiatives, Inc. in Oregon. In preparing for this work, we developed a complete workbook…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with industry groups, staff and legislators on a three-phase strategic planning process with the Agriculture Development Division of the Vermont Department of Agriculture, Food and Markets.
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. delivered a workshop, “Adding Value From Stump to Mill,” focused on alternative approaches to marketing wood products, at the Vermont Wood Product Manufacturers’ Association annual meeting.
Shanna Ratner presented a keynote speech on "Why Capacity Matters and What You Can Do About It" at the Cornell Cooperative Extension Statewide Conference in Waterloo, New York, in October 1998.
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. prepared a paper on flexible manufacturing networks for wood products firms for the Maine Rural Development Council and the Maine State Planning Office. The paper includes a discussion of the network concept and profiles…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. conducted training for the staff and grant recipients of the Maine Community Foundation's Rural Initiative. Training focused on defining poverty and economic security and learning how to measure progress toward the goals…
Ms. Ratner, Principal of Yellow Wood Associates, Inc., spoke on the topic of "Creating Learning Communities" to an audience of economic development practitioners and elected officials. The focus of the forum was "Build Community Capacity: Tools for…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. presented a workshop on measuring progress toward community goals for economic development practitioners.
"The lecture was informative; but the real action began when we went through…
Yellow Wood received a grant from the Vermont Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research to prepare a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant proposal. Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. proposed to develop a Participatory Training Program…
Presented workshops on "Making Indicators (That) Matter: Using Citizen Learning Teams to Keep Community Development Ongoing and On Track" and "Creating and Sustaining a Learning Community of Rural Development Practitioners" at the Cultivating Community…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with the Maine State Rural Development Council to evaluate a program providing integrated service to secondary wood processors in five areas of the state. The work involved a literature review, on-site interviews,…
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. prepared a publication for the Center for Rural Studies at the University of Vermont on rural development options, including main street revitalization, enterprise zones, community cooperatives, and small business incubators.
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. prepared a chapter for a book on the role of social and environmental capital in landscape protection with the support of the Community and Rural Development Institute of Cornell University (CARDI).
Presented a report on the concept of capacity building and the measurement tool for community capacity building developed by the Aspen Institute Rural Community Capacity Building Learning Cluster to a cross-section of practitioners and community members.
Shanna Ratner, Principal of Yellow Wood Associates, Inc., served on a statewide council to improve industry - government communications, and to strengthen the forest products industry of New York State. Ms. Ratner served as the Chair of the Public…
Presented “Is There a Market for My Product?” at this day-long seminar for farmers and agricultural developers in Washington County, New York.
Speech given at the Northern New York Training Seminar.
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. conducted market research to determine the demand and production requirements for Holstein beef at various stages of production, from birth to finish weight. The study involved the integration of production and marketing…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. provided training to staff and grant recipients of the New Mexico Community Foundation to assist in integrating community capacity building into the foundation, rural livelihood, and strengthening family grantee initiatives.…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. served as an economic development consultant to the New York State Governor's Commission on “The Adirondacks in the Twenty-First Century.” Prepared a concept paper on economic development in the Adirondacks, published as…
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…
