Consulting & Facilitation
ajfasdkfj
I will help you envision, create, and implement a needed change process.
Organizations and coalitions sometimes need help moving forward at important moments of change. An organization may be searching for a road to recovery after a crisis. Or a community collaboration recognizes that it needs to step up to meet a serious challenge such as providing high-volume COVID-19 rental assistance or partnering to roll out a vaccination, mustering greater capacity and intention than in the past. These are junctures when skilled facilitation and planning support can channel collective energy and urgency for change into concrete progress.
Working on my own or on small teams, I have guided many organizations, large and small, in setting goals to achieve their aims. We help clients to surface key issues in order to provide strategy and structure at the outset of a project. We work with clients and their partners to identify and articulate joint priorities. I bring in tools to gather and share input, review relevant lessons from other communities, and help leaders to set key metrics. I bring in specialized experts when that seems right.
Thank you! It was an absolute pleasure working with you.
We are well on our way to implementing some of the solutions identified as a result of your work with us, and there is a palpable sense of renewed energy and enthusiasm for this work around city hall.
– Homelessness staff leader,
Salt Lake City Government, February 2020
I truly enjoy working with clients to create an open, collaborative learning mutual-learning experience My varied professional history has given me the skills to create a thorough playbook for teams – and the freedom to work beyond it when needed.
Feel free to contact me to discuss your particular needs.
Recent Projects
Conducted a Board and Leadership Assessment to support Philadelphia's Roadmap to Homes/CoC Board in advance of elections and onboarding for new members
Consulting team administered surveys and interviewed Board members; facilitated focus groups; and compiled responses into a set of actionable recommendations.
Public and Private Clients in Flint, Michigan
I first worked in Flint on a HUD Technical Assistance assignment that “outsourced” the work of administering certain federal programs from a staff-depleted City Hall to high-capacity subrecipient organizations. This was my first major consulting engagement, powerfully spanning homeless and housing/community development activities. Click here for a 6-minute video we produced in 2015.
Since 2019 I have continued to provide periodic guidance and input to the United Way in their role as active members of Flint/Genesee County’s Continuum of Care.
Supporting community information-gathering as a first step in Strategic Planning to End Homelessness in Montgomery Alabama
Working with Community Development and Mayor's Office staff to administer a widely-distributed survey related to an increase in unhoused people. Data from this will undergird strategic planning in 2022 and 2023.
Previously the consulting team supported the community in creating a Spending Plan which exceeded HUD's expenditure deadline for Emergency Solutions Grants-CV (COVID) funds and trained City and local agency staff on the Emergency Solutions Grant program.
HUD Technical Assistance
With certification to work on CoC and ESG projects, I continue to work on HUD assignments focused on homelessness and housing, operating through subcontracts with the Cloudburst Group and LISC.
Current and recent projects include transitioning Collaborative Applicant responsibilities within a Continuum of Care (CoC); assisting a CoC to strengthen its regional approach to Coordinated Entry; and developing tools for ESG-CV operations including a Case File Toolkit, guidance for remote Habitability Standards inspections, and client- and landlord-facing guidance on avoiding Duplication of Benefits.
During this time, I maintained a relationship with United Way leaders. In 2019 they commissioned me to assess the local homeless/housing service system and produce a Gap Analysis as part of a federal HHS grant. The project focused on "innovation options for multi-payer health care delivery and payment systems," and the client was the Greater Flint Health Coalition.
Building Capacity and Strategy to Meet Growing Needs in Lynn, MA
Lynn is one of the Massachusetts communities which has been hardest hit by COVID-19. I’m helping leaders and staff at the Family Success Center of the Lynn Housing Authority to understand and implement a federal Emergency Solutions Grant program tied to homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing. We are also working on strengthening community and referral collaborations and referral systems to bring needed help to residents in need.
In 2009 I moved to The Cloudburst Group, where I worked as a Subject Matter Expert/Housing and Homeless Programs through 2019.
In my role at Cloudburst, I led small teams of experts working closely with community leaders to develop and implement large scale public-private system change initiatives, described on Consulting & Facilitation.
Previous Independent Consulting Projects (since 2019)
Collaborative Planning and Grant Support for Somerville MA
in 2020-2021, I worked with consulting partner Andrea Miller to support the City and its nonprofit partners in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, building skills and understanding of federal homelessness/rental assistance programs, using local data to guide planning and investment and working collaboratively in new ways after the local Continuum of Care merged with the Balance of State. Delivered interactive training, provided guidance, updated mandated Written Standards for the Emergency Solutions Grant Program.
_svg_pn.png)
Helping Local Leaders Create a Balance of State Continuum of Care for the State of Maryland
In 2019-2020 I helped state and community leaders to create and launch a new Balance of State Continuums of Care. These collaborative entities connect different areas of the state into a collective structure for decision-making, planning and resource allocation related to HUD and other public funds. The greater capacity generally brings more funding and housing opportunities into the participating communities. This HUD-funded project worked out extremely well, as following several years of discussion, leaders were ready and eager for change.
Strengthening Rapid Rehousing in St. Louis
In November-December 2019, I led a team of Cloudburst experts in an assessment and skill-building engagement for the City of St. Louis. We helped the City and its nonprofit partners to improve their understanding of rapid rehousing “best practices,” identify ways to make policies and procedures clearer and more consistent, and to review their own data to identify strengths to build on and areas in need of improvement.
Strategic Planning for Young Children and Families in Manchester NH
In collaboration with Pear Associates, I co-facilitated a 2019 Strategic Planning process for a coalition of agencies serving young children in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Leaders from state and local government, nonprofits, foundations, and health care collaborated to analyze data on young children, develop and evaluate programming, and identify four key priority areas to address in the next five years. Click here for a link to LAUNCH MANCHESTER: Five Year Strategic Plan for Young Children and Families, June 2019.
Gearing up to Address Encampments in Salt Lake City
In February 2020 I co-led a two-day community planning process in Salt Lake City. The work culminated in their developing a thoughtful, stakeholder-involved plan to dismantle a downtown encampment of persons living without homes. Drawing on examples from other US communities, Salt Lake’s efforts will involve the public, nonprofit and business sectors in carrying out a transparent, strengths-based effort to link each person to appropriate housing and service options.
Cambridge Health Alliance - Community Health Improvement Team
In 2019 I helped the Community Health Improvement team to articulate both the value they add in CHA's operating communities as well as the contribution this team can make as CHA reshapes service delivery toward community members, as required under new federal mandates.
Assisting five contiguous communities in the St. Louis Area to form a Regional Commission on Homelessness (2017-2018)
Supporting the City of Flint to shift administrative responsibilities to nonprofit agencies to ensure that federal funds for youth recreation, home repair and homelessness were fully expended and reached residents in need (2012-2015)
Helping Nashville to create a single, unified leadership structure to improve outcomes for its homelessness service system (2016-2018)
Selected Consulting Projects while on staff
with The Cloudburst Group through 2019
Between 2009-2019, I was on the consulting staff of The Cloudburst Group, where I worked as a Subject Matter Expert/Housing and Homeless Programs.
In my role at Cloudburst, I led small teams of experts working closely with community leaders to develop and implement large scale public-private system change initiatives. Examples include:
Assisted five contiguous Continuums of Care in the St. Louis Area to form the St. Louis Area Regional Commission on Homelessness, aka SLARCH, in 2017 and2018.
SLARCH subsequently hit 75% of its first-year goal to end Veteran Homelessness and early in the pandemic, established a regional Isolation/ Quarantine facility for persons experiencing homelessness.
Supported the City of Flint to shift administrative responsibilities to nonprofit agencies to ensure that federal funds for youth recreation, home repair, and homelessness were fully expended and reached residents in need (2012-2015).
We documented this project, its results, and community members' experiences, in a 6-minute video.
Helping Nashville to create a single, unified leadership structure within Metro government and with much stronger community involvement between 2016-2018.
Nashville has emerged as a national leader in using data to improve outcomes for its homelessness service system.
# # #
In 2009 I moved to The Cloudburst Group, where I worked as a Subject Matter Expert/Housing and Homeless Programs through 2019.
In my role at Cloudburst, I led small teams of experts working closely with community leaders to develop and implement large scale public-private system change initiatives, described on Consulting & Facilitation.
Assisting five contiguous communities in the St. Louis Area to form a Regional Commission on Homelessness (2017-2018)
Supporting the City of Flint to shift administrative responsibilities to nonprofit agencies to ensure that federal funds for youth recreation, home repair and homelessness were fully expended and reached residents in need (2012-2015)
Helping Nashville to create a single, unified leadership structure to improve outcomes for its homelessness service system (2016-2018)