Portfolio — Prairie Meadowlark

I’ve chosen some new and highlighted examples of my work to help explain where and how I can be helpful. Much of my recent work, appropriately, doesn’t have my name on it. I’ve been honored to work on annual reports that lift up and celebrate an organization’s achievements and give credit to stakeholders who deserve to be heard. Coaching, facilitating, and research are confidential spaces, and I take that charge seriously – especially in rural communities where it’s more difficult to remain anonymous. I’m always happy to share more examples or provide references if you’d like to learn more.

Kansas Grasslands

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Almost 30% of the state of Kansas is made up of grasslands — and they are disappearing at an alarming rate. Ranchers approached the Kansas Department of Agriculture to help find ways to increase representation and awareness of the resource and those who care for it.

Together with the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, we put together a project that blended facilitated community conversations, input and technical review from subject-matter experts, one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders, surveys, and other engagement activities. It resulted in a multi-faceted “foundational” report with background information and action steps. Essentially co-authored by stakeholders, the document will set the stage for policy conversations and opportunities to conserve and improve the grasslands for years to come.

A respected community leader faced a career crossroads. One road led to new responsibilities within an organization they had helped to grow and transform. Another road led to a new opportunity in a larger community in a different industry. The pros and cons of each were clear. The direction was not.

Moving Forward Together

This is a common situation for individuals and organizations. There were competing values at play: time, money, and purpose being among the top considerations. The structure and process of coaching—not starting with a prescribed outcome, but using questions to encourage deep consideration of different outcomes—helped the leader think through the situation from a different perspective, using their own knowledge and experience to build upon.

"It was helpful to have an outside person with whom to talk, who wasn’t a spouse or a neighbor, but someone who created a space to think, hope and dream in a non-judgement, safe place."

Building Experiences

A small non-profit with a remote staff wanted to hire a facilitator for a staff retreat. They needed to make some decisions about programming and next-steps, but they also needed to spend some time together working in person. The retreat took place in a small rural community, miles away from restaurants and catering options. We made the distance work in our favor by creating an epic pizza-making exercise as part of the day’s activities. They left the meeting with leftovers to enjoy the next day, a to-do list for their programming, and a greater appreciation for their colleagues and their talents.

Engaging New Conversations

A national conference focused on rural communities had a goal to tackle big issues during their breakout sessions. One of the big issues involved the federal Farm Bill, which touches so many different parts of rural communities. The challenge: the breakout sessions were designed months in advance in order to finalize the conference agenda. There was no way to know what legislative action would look like that far into the future!

I designed an interactive session that featured a panel with diverse perspectives - agriculture, food access, and rural utilities. After sharing their perspectives, the panelists took part in a conversation that highlighted their specific challenges - but mostly areas of common connection, in order to prompt new collaborations and opportunities for learning. The attendees of the session were invited at the end to share their own priorities for the legislation, which were shared with all conference attendees and beyond.

Moveable Monument

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A tale of civic pride, industrious and influential women, and the celebration of the amplitude of Kansas agriculture, Moveable Monument chronicles the ups and downs of the Ladies Columbian Corn Fountain now installed at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson, Kansas.

After 19 years of documenting a historic object on the Kansas State Fairgrounds, I realized I knew very little about it. The deep dive into the story of the Ladies’ Columbian Club Fountain, a distinctive corn-and-sunflower-shaped carved limestone fountain, yielded a rich story about civic engagement, agriculture, and public art that has resonated with audiences across the nation in ways I never expected. The story required hours of historic newspaper research, in-person interviews and numerous trips to measure, observe, and fully appreciate the fountain. Eventually the story became published as a zine: Moveable Monument—the title of which is fitting, as I try to treat every story like it’s a monument to something.