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.
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…
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 conducted a market study to determine if there was a sufficient market for a commercial/light industrial park in the Town of Johnson, including the types of sectors/clusters that might be most interested. The study shed light on whether…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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 presented a pre-conference session on Wealth Creation in Rural Communities at the Appalachia Funders Network's Second Annual Gathering in Charleston, West Virginia.
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 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 was invited to serve as one of three external advisors to Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) to help refine and finalize 5Capitals - A toolkit to improve impacts of pro-poor value chain development. The…
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.
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.
Melissa Levy, Senior Associate, and Barbara Wyckoff, Measurement Guide, co-presented "You Get What You Measure®: An Alternative Strategic Planning and Evaluation Tool for Progress You Can See," a seven hour training session crafted to provide participants…
Yellow Wood conducted a feasibility study for a local retail food enterprise in the Town of Johnson, Vermont. The study included interviews with local food businesses, institutions and social service agencies to learn more about their desire and interest…
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…
Shanna Ratner participated as a speaker/panelist in a call discussing how communities can help to create business opportunities and mentor the entrepreneurs who can help them grow.
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…
Protect the Adirondacks!, a non-profit, grassroots membership organization, hired Yellow Wood Associates to review application materials for the Adirondack Club and Resort (ACR). a major real estate development proposed for Tupper Lake, New York. Yellow…
Shanna Ratner presented two webinars to interested cooperatives on the Wealth Creation approach in September 2011.
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…
In October 2011, Shanna Ratner made a presentation and delivered a workshop on the Wealth Creation approach at the 2011 National Cooperative Business Association Annual Conference in Minneapolis, MN.
