Innovators in Rural Community Economic Development

Network/Collaborative

Yellow Wood brings a special combination of content and process expertise to our work.

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.

2015 ACHI National Conference: Building the Next Generation of Healthy Communities, "Effective Collaboration to Increase Community Health Impact"

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…

WealthWorks Training, April 2015 - February 2016

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…

Connecticut Land Conservation Council Retreat Facilitation

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,…

2014 Connecticut Land Conservation Conference Workshop: Strategic Planning, Measurement and Evaluation Using “You Get What You Measure®”

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…

What Works III and National Value-Added Agriculture Joint Conference in Baltimore, “Developing Measures that Matter”

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…

Becoming a Measurement Guide Coaching, Molly Anderson, Farm to Institution New England

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…

Farm to Institution New England (FINE) Planning Retreat

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…

Appalachia Funders Network, Pre-Conference Session at the Second Annual Gathering, June 2011

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.

Minnesota Campus Compact Webinar: Supporting Rural Economic Vitality through Campus-Community Partnerships

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…

Vermont Community Development Association Annual Meeting, April 2010, "Chart Your Community’s Future: The Role of Planning in the Current Crisis"

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.…

Central Appalachian Network, Evaluation and Strategic Planning

The Central Appalachian Network (CAN) is a group of seven nonprofits in the Central Appalachian states of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia focused on transforming Central Appalachia’s economy by creating economic opportunities…

Maine Community Forest Workshops

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…

National Network of Forest Practitioners

Shanna Ratner, principal of Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. was a founding member of the National Network of Forest Practitioners, serving on the organization’s Executive Committee, and as Chair of the Research Subcommittee.

Evaluation of the Advantage Valley Entrepreneurial Development System Collaborative

Yellow Wood Associates was selected as the evaluator for the Advantage Valley Entrepreneurial Development System. Advantage Valley was one of six initiatives funded by the Kellogg Foundation to experiment with a variety of approaches for encouraging…

Alpha Community Leadership Network Peer-Learning Institute II, Driving for Community Leadership Impact

Shanna Ratner delivered a You Get What You Measure® in Use workshop to staff and board members of community foundations seeking to become leaders in their communities. The Community Leadership Network Peer-Learning Institute in Georgia was sponsored…

NNFP New England Forum, Marketing Alternative Forest Products and Benefits: A Forum for Urban, Suburban, and Rural People

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…

Workshop on Participatory Community Problem-Solving, 11th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks

Shanna Ratner presented a workshop on Participatory Community Problem-Solving at the 11thAnnual Conference on the Adirondacks.  The workshop topics included everyday research, the National Community Forest Center initiative and how participatory…

New York State Association of Towns Annual Training

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…

National Community Forestry Center Northern Forest Region

Citizens and communities of the Northern Forest region have demonstrated the power of local knowledge and participatory research thanks to a grant from the US Department of Agriculture. Over the course of four years, the National Community Forestry…

See The Forest® – Phase II

The Southern New England Forest Consortium sponsored development of materials and implementation of See the Forest for communities in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Participants learned about forest health, forest economics, and institutional…

Workshop on Participatory Research presented in cooperation with the Middlebury College Alliance for Civic Engagement and Vermont Campus Compact

Shanna Ratner presented a participatory research workshop at Middlebury College on November 20th, 2003. The workshop was presented by the National Community Forestry Center Northern Forest Region in cooperation with the Middlebury College…

Workshop in Participatory Community Problem-Solving, 10th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks

Shanna Ratner presented a workshop on Participatory Community Problem-Solving at the 10th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks.  The workshop topics included everyday research, the National Community Forest Center initiative and how participatory…

Northern Forest Alliance Annual Meeting

Shanna Ratner spoke as a panelist on the subject of economic forces shaping the Northern Forest Region and the region’s place in an increasingly global economy.

Thanks for being a part of the day one doings.…

ACEnet Consulting on Measurements and Networks

Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. provided feedback to ACEnet staff on ACEnet’s strategic plan, and introduced Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.’s measurement process along with the business network evaluation model developed with the Vermont Sustainable Jobs…

New York Sustainable Forestry Survey

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.

Lake Champlain Byways

Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. provided an inventory and assessment of hiking and walking resources in the Lake Champlain Basin. The work was undertaken as part of a bi-state Lake Champlain Byways Management Plan, and produced a database and maps with…

NNFP - Under One Roof: Exploring New Ways of Working Together in the Northern Forest

Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. facilitated three workshops entitled “Under One Roof: Exploring New Ways of Working Together in the Northern Forest,” sponsored by the National Network of Forest Practitioners. These workshops brought together small groups…

Vermont Wood Manufacturers Association

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.

Keynote Speaker: Northeast Sustainable Communities Project

Ms. Ratner spoke on the topic of "Creating Learning Communities" to community development practitioners in six communities who have been working for four years to promote community sustainability.

World Bank Workshop

Invited by the World Bank to participate in an international workshop on “Indicators and Methods to Measure Participation, Demand Orientation, and Local Organizational Capacity in Community Driven Projects.” Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. represented…