“People adopt things that they play a role in shaping”
Jennifer Liebermann
A creative, visual approach —that encourages participation, interaction and collaboration — creates the space for strategic conversations and breakthrough insights.
Building Community Support for a $500M Infrastructure Investment
Role
Designed and facilitated a Customer Advisory Committee (CAC) to create structured, ongoing dialogue between district staff and customers as the district navigates a $500M infrastructure program. Developed highly interactive meeting formats enabling community members to provide meaningful input on complex technical and financial decisions.
Impact
CAC members became true advocates—attending Board meetings and speaking publicly in support of rate increases they helped shape. When community members participate with the district rather than having decisions made for them, they see themselves in the solution and are willing to stand up for difficult but necessary decisions.
Client
Northern California Water District
Services
Engagement Design, Advisory
Year
2024 - 2026
Aligning 30 Board Members Around a Shared Vision
Role
Under new executive leadership, a 30-member board needed to align on organizational identity, strategic priorities, and a future vision. Conducted board member interviews, then designed and facilitated a full-day retreat using highly participatory activities to surface insights, generate breakthrough thinking, and build consensus among diverse stakeholders.
Impact
Produced clear alignment around advocacy as the organization's next strategic chapter, with three prioritized initiatives and detailed action steps. Generated a compelling shared vision while ensuring all voices were heard—creating the foundation for the organization's strategic planning process.
Client
Coalition of Affordable Housing Developers
Services
Strategic Planning, Engagement Design
Year
2025
Launching A Citizen’s Advisory Committee
Role
Designed a Customer Advisory Committee (CAC) to create structured, ongoing dialogue between the district and its customers during a period of significant infrastructure investment. Led discovery interviews, facilitated staff workshops to establish the CAC's purpose and authority, and designed a five-meeting Year One program that progressively builds member understanding—from water quality and infrastructure to financial sustainability—culminating in meaningful community input on rate options.
Impact
Established a community engagement model that moves beyond one-way communication to genuine partnership. CAC members serve as two-way communicators—bringing community concerns to the district while helping neighbors understand operations. The program builds the foundation for community support on difficult decisions while creating ambassadors who can speak credibly about the district's challenges.
Client
California Foothills Water District
Services
Engagement Design, Advisory
Year
2025 - 2026
Launching Federal Food is Medicine Movement
Role
Designed and facilitated 20+ workshops to engage several hundred federal and private sector partners. Surfaced needs from states, community-based organizations, federally qualified health centers, researchers, educators and other implementers.
Impact
Insights from workshop were used to launch the HHS Food Is Medicine website, a toolkit of federal resources and an analytic framework adopted across researchers, care delivery organizations & industry.
Learn More
Client
US Dept of Health and Human Services
Services
Engagement Design, Advisory
Year
2023- 2024
Connecting A Strategic Plan to Budget and Action
Role
Led a strategic plan refresh focused on implementation, not just vision. Conducted interviews with staff, leadership, and community members, then facilitated collaborative sessions to develop SMART objectives hardwired to budget and staff accountability. Designed a process that connected strategic priorities directly to resource allocation—so the plan drives decisions rather than sitting on a shelf.
Impact
Delivered a strategic plan distinguished by its intentional connection to budget and operations—and by the inclusion of community input, which is unusual for utility strategic planning. Staff have clear, measurable objectives tied to the district's 3-5 year horizon. The process broke down departmental silos and created shared ownership across the organization.
Client
Northern California Water District
Services
Strategic Planning, Engagement Design, Advisory
Year
2025
Unifying Two Teams into One
Role
Integrate a new research and innovation team tasked to transform the charitable food experience. Developed a shared purpose, charter and culture action plan to integrate the disparate teams. Conducted executive team interviews to uncover strengths and growth areas, providing insights for partnerships.
Impact
Positioned the integrated team to tackle the organization’s strategic transformation imperatives. Eighty five (85%) of the team agreed that the integration journey “helps us define and align around a future state vision” and “identify opportunities to work better together”.
Learn More
Client
Non Profit with $5.2B in revenue FY23
Services
Strategic Planning, Engagement Design, Advisory
Year
2024
Developing the Oncology Workforce
Role
Designed and facilitated workshops to develop and retain the oncology clinical and research workforce. Sourced and interviewed expert thought leaders. Surfaced insights to reframe health professions careers as highways with multiple on and off ramps.
Services
Engagement Design, Advisory
Impact
Work contributed to "Ensuring a Strong Future for America's Cancer Workforce," a report to the President of the United States with actionable recommendations in three priority areas: efficiently delivering high-quality cancer care, improving access to cancer clinical trials, and conducting cutting-edge cancer research.
Learn More
Client
National Cancer Institute / President’s Cancer Panel
Services
Engagement Design, Advisory
Year
2024