I consider myself a for-profit individual not driven by profit. My purpose is to assist communities and organizations of all sizes and types to do what they do better by taking on social, economic and environmental opportunities as a platform for innovation and success.

Expertise

I’ve worked since I was eight years old and am fortunate to have had a broad range of experiences -- from welder and deckhand to environmental project manager and international liaison delivering disaster assistance. My blue collar experience supports my professional expertise and wherewithal to effectively connect a diverse set of people and organizations to achieve a common goal.

Passions @ Work

What’s exciting for me is helping a client to shift their perspective to see opportunities and then transforming the best ideas into action and results.

Experience              22 years professional experience

Innovator: developing and leading programs and projects that improve society, local economies, and the natural environment (1999-present).

For the past seven years I’ve served as an “innovator for hire” jumping into situations and finding a way to use sustainability principles as a means to create opportunities and new forms of value for my client.  Recently, I repackaged my services into three steps that can be either progressive or cyclic:  Sustainability Assessments, Sustainability Roadmaps, and Collaboration across Open Networks.

Currently, I am working with others to develop the following initiatives: 

v  Building community platforms for sustainability

v  Supporting education for sustainability in K-12 schools

v  Assisting Indigenous Peoples as they determine how best to pursue sustainable tourism on their lands

v  Exploring the connection of values, science and business pragmatism in building sustainable communities

My most recent long-term project (2008-11) was with the Lakota Language Consortium (LLC), a Lakota-led community serving organization with the mission of totally revitalizing the Lakota language.  The LLC supports over 50 high-need Lead Education Agencies in the Dakotas, partners with institutions of higher education, and pursues other creative ways to meet its mission.  Highlights of this work include: 

v  Documentary:  I drafted the treatment for a forthcoming documentary on Native American language revitalization and wrote a successful proposal ($25k) to kick start the project, currently being developed by an Emmy-winning producer.

v  Language Programs:  Working with the LLC, and in behalf of Sitting Bull College and the University of South Dakota, I took the lead role in writing two successful grant proposals to the Department of Education that in 2010 awarded a total of $2.4m over a four-year period to establish state certification programs in teaching Lakota as a second language.

v  Sustainability:  Working alongside a contributing author of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples we developed a concept for integrating “sustainability” principles into Lakota language curriculum.  This concept now serves as the framework for developing initiatives to support indigenously-driven efforts in the sustainable tourism industry.

Other Work and Activity from 2005 to present includes:

v  Provided vocational training in soft business skills to casino workers

v  Provided logistical support to the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in preparation for a visit by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

v  Participated in Leadership Bloomington Monroe County—a 7-month program that prepares emerging leaders to shape the future of the community.  My team delivered a stakeholder analysis and recommendations for engaging local artists with the Bloomington Entertainment & Arts District. 

v  Trained as a National School Reform Faculty “Critical Friends Group Coach” to prepare myself to support teachers and schools provide kids with a 21^st century education.

v  Initiated and led a project that resulted in a partnership between Youth Venture and Youth As Resources, United Way of Central Indiana that launched 43 community-benefitting ventures led by teams of young people within about six months

v  Trained in fundraising and development for small nonprofits and trained in sustainable tourism. 

Innovation @ Indiana University:  (1999-2005). 

My responsibilities involved managing and implementing essential components of a comprehensive multi-campus environmental health and safety (EHS) program.

Examples of this work include:  Conducting a multi-campus EHS compliance gap analysis and then strengthened existing programs and established missing ones, developing SOPs, and providing associated training and oversight.  Also, I led the first internal Environmental Management System (EMS) assessment at IU and worked with others to improve performance.

Key Achievement: I conceptualized, wrote the grant proposals, and served as principal investigator in two IU-funded projects to use advanced information networks to improve EHS management across IU’s campuses and support education.  The first round focused on decentralizing EHS expertise and harmonizing EHS operations across seven campuses.  This model of engagement saved time and money while increasing performance; and, non-EHS units quickly adapted the tool.

The second round scaled the model to achieve the following:  collaborate with US and NL benchmarks to improve IU performance in EHS management and awareness of sustainable practices, assist EPA-New England with regulatory outreach to colleges and universities, and co-lead a multi-national effort to provide EHS technical assistance to the Czech Republic in the aftermath of the devastating flood of 2002.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Best Management Practice based on my work. Scroll to Indiana University, under “Transportation Solutions.”

Consultant & Environmental Project Manager:  (1990-95, 1997-99). 

As a consultant and project manager in the environmental industry, I worked with a wide range of clients—businesses, property owners and/or buyers, law firms, financial institutions, and municipalities—to achieve compliance and systematically improve environmental performance.

I gained comprehensive experience in project management—from strategic planning through budgeting, implementation, training and leading teams, evaluation, reporting and close-out.  I gained proficiency in stakeholder engagement, building collaboration, contract development, and media relations.  I worked with several small companies, two of which I helped start.

Working independently in Moscow, Russia (1997-98), I assisted Russian, Japanese, and U.S. organizations in business policy and development as well as business venture evaluation.  Working in Russia during this period of its history was a worthwhile challenge that provided the opportunity to involve myself with different people, perspectives, and situations.

Taking on a wide range of projects enabled me to develop the skills and abilities to address the project-at-hand as part of the complex system of my clients’ business and relationships with stakeholders.

Pre-professional:  factory worker, welder, deckhand, photographer.

I gained valuable knowledge about workflow and union-employer relations on the factory floor; and as a “lead man” of a welding crew at a dry dock I learned to make quick and effective decisions in adverse and stressful situations.  As a deckhand on the Mississippi Queen Steamboat I learned how to effectively listen to and work with people from many different backgrounds; and as a photographer I developed a keen understanding of how perspective can shift understanding and opinion. 

Education

Masters of Public Affairs (MPA), concentration in Comparative and International Affairs: School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington.

Bachelors of Science (BS) English, emphasis in Writing:  University of Southern Indiana, Evansville. [just a few courses shy of a double major in biophysics].  Golden Key National Honor Society.  Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society.  Dean’s List.  President of the Environmental Club 1989-1990.

Associate of Science (AS) Commercial & Industrial Photography: Indiana Vocational & Technical College, Evansville.  Honors student.

Training