Strategic Consulting
Leadership & Community Development.
Creative Thinking Techniques.
Program & Process Design.
Resiliency Strategies.
My services are diverse, with the underlying purpose of supporting people through transition, whether personal, community-based, or organizational. Each situation is unique, and I excell at creating engaging atmospheres where people from diverse backgrounds can address challenging realities with fresh perspectives that lead to transformative innovation.
 Thriving Hubs |  Education for Collective Wisdom |  Intergenerational |
|---|---|---|
 Futures Mapping - Innovation |  Involve the Community |  Make it Fun! |
 RespectYouth.com |  Healthy Schools |  Systems Resiliency |
 4 Conditions for Sustainability |
Projects & Approaches Include
H3Uni
a University for the Third Horizon
Looking around the world today, it is clear that we need to find new ways of responding to the complex interconnected challenges that we are facing including population, food security, the economy, water, energy, disease and species extinction. These challenges are compounded by the need both to maintain essential services that support society, while making well informed rapid changes leading us to a viable one planet future. It is between these two dilemma horns that The University of the Third Horizon – H3uni - operates.
Transforming to a one-planet paradigm needs creative ways of learning, thinking and doing; an educational approach that supports people, communities, and organizations to co-create a viable future. H3Uni is an adventure into new ways of co-creating a new pattern of living that takes into account complexity, interconnectedness and emergence. Designed to enable and encourage a global network of people and organisations, with the common goal of co-creating a viable future for all, the curriculum, learning methods and underpinning psychology have these goals in mind.
RESPECT! Youth Engagement Tool
RespectYouth.com houses the RESPECT Youth Engagement Tool for organizations, government bodies, and groups who wish to engage youth. the 7 RESPECT Principles provide the essence of effective youth engagment. Each Principle has videos, examples and resources and a survey to start a conversation between youth and adult supporters.
RESPECT! was created in collaboration with the Tri-County Women's Centre, the HeartWood Centre for Community Youth Development, and the Nova Scotia Health Authority, with funding by the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness. I lead the project, oversee the branding, designed the website layout and coordinated the gathering and writing of content.
Visit RespectYouth.com to learn more about RESPECTful Youth Engagement.
Thriving Hubs
How can gathering places (hubs) be central to mobilizing our communities towards a more just, sustainable and thriving world?
We reviewed the common characteristics and impacts (Community Capitals) across some of the world's leading high-impact hubs and with experts in community engagement. The findings are useful for anyone looking to create a hub, add a missing spark to an existing initiative, and reframe the value of impacts in terms of the Community Capital Framework.
Read more about the concepts discovered in our collaborative thesis Neighbourhood Hubs: Engaging Communities for Sustainability. The information from the research is being placed into an online format, or you can read a 2-page summary here, or read the full thesis here.
Strategic Sustainable Development
I create bridges between thought leaders, organizations, government, and communities to revitalize our social and environmental wellbeing. The basis for my understanding of social and environmental stewardship come from my Master's in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability, which embeds the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) in the approach.
The four Sustainability Principles of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development underpin my work as well as my own decision-making practices. These Sustainability Practices are outlined by the Natural Step and are intentionally framed in the negative to remind us of the necessary limitations to responsible action.
How do we create vibrant, healthy schools?
In June 2015, 80 student leaders from four schools in Nova Scotia, Canada gathered to reimagine what vibrant, healthy schools look like. The students explored three dimensions of strengths, challenges, and dreams both for themselves and for their schools. This highly interactive day included games, playing with animals, lively conversations and quiet time. Not only did the youth have new ideas for actions they could take next year, they also reported walking away with new sense of hope and inspiration for their personal lives.
This project was a collaboration between the Nova Scotia Health Authority and the Youth Health Centres. I was the coordinator, and also the co facilitator with Ryan Veltmyer from Youth Art Connection. Graphic recordings were by Rachel Derrah from Brave Space.