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 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…
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…
Shanna Ratner presented on “Creating and Retaining Wealth: Connecting Assets with Market Demand for Lasting Livelihoods” at the 21st Annual Conference on the Adirondacks. Her presentation was titled…
Shanna Ratner and Jackie LeBlanc co-presented a half-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Raleigh, NC. Attendees came from the Research Triangle Foundaton, Hudson Varick Resources, and the North Carolina Fourth Sector Resource…
Yellow Wood Associates designed and implemented a study for the Nature Conservancy on the economic impacts of invasive species on a variety of economic sectors in the Adirondack Park. This study provided a preliminary assessment of the present day…
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…
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.
Samantha Dunn presented “Understanding the Potential of Thermal Biomass for the Adirondack North Country Economy” to the Adirondack North Country Association Board of Directors on June 15, 2010. This presentation was made as part of a panel discussion…
Yellow Wood partnered with the Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC) to develop the Community Roadmap to Renewable Woody Biomass Energy: A step-by-step decision-making tool for NH communities through a contract…
Yellow Wood assisted the North Country Resource Conservation and Development Area Council and Roadmap development partners in planning for dissemination of the Community Roadmap to Renewable Woody Biomass Energy.
Yellow Wood was the local evaluator for Workforce Central, an initiative of the Community Foundation of Greater South Wood County (now Incourage Community Foundation) and its strategic partners funded by the National Workforce Solutions Fund (NWSF).…
Yellow Wood worked with the Vermont Community Foundation and the United Way of Addison County to use You Get What You Measure® with each organization’s grantees, a diverse group of organizations operating in Addison County, Vermont, to learn more about…
As part of the 9th Annual Catskills Local Government Day, Samantha Dunn gave an interactive presentation on a unique process for rural municipalities to inventory their infrastructure and evaluate the potential for applying sound alternative…
This You Get What You Measure® workshop was designed for community stakeholders to assist them in coming together to recognize their own and each other’s roles in moving toward their goal, “Lives are enriched in our community as retiring boomers reengage…
Shanna Ratner and Rob Petrini of Yellow Wood Associates worked with a group of regional participants from the Central Minnesota Cultural Planning Steering Committee applying the You Get What You Measure® process to a Cultural Plan previously worked…
Within this session Yellow Wood Associates worked with a diverse group of eleven nonprofit organizations within Central Minnesota. Each group was asked to identify a specific goal related to their organization at which time we facilitated them through…
The You Get What You Measure® workshop presented on May 11, 2009 for Workforce Central of the Community Foundation of Greater South Wood County, Wisconsin was well attended by participants ranging from staff, committee members, funder representatives…
Shanna Ratner and Rob Petrini presented a You Get What You Measure workshop for the Community Foundation of Greater South Wood County, WI on March 5, 2009. This half day session was the first of two, the second presented on May 12, 2009. The first…
The You Get What You Measure® workshop presented by Shanna Ratner, Melissa Levy, and Rob Petrini on April 28 and 29th, 2009 for the Spartanburg, South Carolina Community organized through the Spartanburg County Foundation, was a two-day You Get What…
In this workshop Yellow Wood worked with the West Central Initiative Management Team and applied the You Get What You Measure® process to the Business and Employment portion of their strategic plan. During this process they revealed the key leverage…
West Central Initiative, a regional economic development group in Minnesota, hired Yellow Wood Associates to bring our Green Community Technologies® tools and perspective to bear on water resource issues in small Minnesota communities. The cities of…
Yellow Wood worked with Maine Rural Partners and the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship to design and facilitate a two-day training based on the award-winning Home Town Competitiveness framework for rural community economic development. The first…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce to identify seven key sectors – Industry, Tourism, Real Estate, Cultural Affairs, Retail, Financial and Professional Services, and International Border Businesses…
Yellow Wood helped the Middle Peninsula Planning and Development Commission to define and assess the feasibility of economic development activities and opportunities that sustain traditional land uses and which minimize adverse impacts on the natural…
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…
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…
Shanna Ratner provided coaching and mentoring for 2002 Measurement Guide Karen Affeld from Rural Action, a nonprofit organization that builds model sustainable development projects and encourages a broad civic conversation around Appalachian Ohio’s…
Yellow Wood Associates facilitated a two-day Navajo County Forest Health Strategic Planning Workshop for town, county and tribal participants, using You Get What You Measure®. The workshop focused on forest health and reducing threat of catastrophic…
Facilitated one-day application of You Get What You Measure® for the Community Foundation of Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa focusing on clarifying the definition of “assets” using indicator analysis in a systems context for self-organizing…
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…
Yellow Wood designed and delivered, “You Get What You Measure®: Becoming a Learning Community,” for the staff and 31 Vista volunteers of Rural Action in Athens, Ohio. Staff and volunteers used the workshop to develop goals, indicators, and measures…
In the second phase of our work with the Agriculture Committee of the Union County Chamber of Commerce, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. conducted a survey of independently owned food stores for a six-county region in Central Pennsylvania to determine…
On behalf of Funding For Our Future of Potsdam and Canton, New York, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. prepared an independent analysis of the potential economic and fiscal impacts of the proposed Wal-Mart on existing business in and around Potsdam and…
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. worked with the Agricultural Development Council of Chenango County, New York to assess the feasibility of establishing a milk-based, value-added manufacturing enterprise to support the local dairy industry. Phase 1 of…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked in conjunction with Robert J. Turner Co. to assemble data on timber production, markets, and price trends to evaluate the financial feasibility of a forest land bank in western New York. The work was conducted on…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with the Northern Community Investment Corporation and the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund to identify opportunities for establishing a telecommunications call center employing welfare-to-work individuals in the Northeast…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with Planning/Environmental Research Consultants of Ithaca, New York to profile and assess the actual and potential contributions of agriculture and forestry to the economy of Chenango County. Research focused on…
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 worked with The Adirondack Council to identify and assess the cultural, economic and social factors in the Adirondacks that provide both obstacles and opportunities to the emergence of strong, thriving communities. Work included detailed…
With input from an advisory group of farmers, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. performed market research and a producer survey to determine the feasibility of starting a hay marketing cooperative in central Vermont. Results included the preparation of…
Presented the Wood Products Development Strategy for Northern New York to Utilization and Marketing Foresters from across the United States at the Vermont Wood Energy and Recycling Conference, Farm Credit Bankers from across the Northeast, the Adirondack…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. prepared a successful proposal to the Regional Economic Development Strategy Council of Northern New York on behalf of the Development Authority of the North Country to study the potential for further development of the…
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…
On behalf of the Adirondack North Country Association, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. prepared a detailed primary and secondary wood product development strategy for six counties in northern New York. Work included extensive field and phone interviews…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with the Harlem Valley Planning Partnership to explore alternatives in order to diversify and strengthen the agricultural base of the Harlem Valley in Dutchess County, New York. The work emphasized developing direct…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with the Lewis County Industrial Development Agency to prepare a business plan, with recommendations for organizational development, for the Northern New York Maple Producers Cooperative, Inc. of Lewis County, New…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. prepared a detailed feasibility study for production and intra-regional marketing of fresh fruits and vegetables in a six-county region of northern New York for the Town of Champlain Local Economic Development Corporation.…
