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Our Clients
COMMUNITIES
Texas Low-Income Housing Forum
Designed and facilitated this inclusive, statewide meeting:
‘Working together to make affordable housing and community
development a priority in Texas’. Multi-stakeholders
included affordable housing consumers, citizens and advocates,
community institutions and foundations, financial institutions,
local government leaders, nonprofit housing organizations,
private industry housing developers, state government leaders.
Results have included a new funding mechanism for affordable
housing and new coalitions.
http://www.texashousing.org
The Coming Together Conference: Assuring The Quality
Of Life In Lincoln County, NE
Designed and facilitated a 3-day meeting of 60 citizens and
officials to produce a community plan that prioritized goals,
assigned responsibilities and charted plans of action in the
areas of health, education, recreation, economics and human
services. This meeting catalyzed positive actions in the community,
including the establishment of a Schools-as-Centers program
that has garnered more than $1 million in private and public
grants and the establishment of a Wal-Mart distribution center
that has created many jobs in the community.
Colorado Foundation for Families and Children, Denver,
CO.
Facilitated planning retreats for Board of Directors; facilitated
planning meeting to launch a national education initiative;
facilitated large-scale, whole-system community and education
planning events which resulted in establishment of community
organizations, community pride, economic development, more
inclusive educational programs, over $1 million in grant awards.
Rocky Mountain Children’s Choir, Denver, CO
Designed and facilitated inclusive, interactive strategic
planning process that included choir members, parents, staff,
community members, Board of Directors, alumni. Process served
to motivate action as well as to guide the future direction
of the choir.
Poudre Fire Authority, Ft. Collins, CO.
Designed and facilitated a community-wide strategic planning
process for this large fire district: Citizens for a Fire
Safe Community: PFA Fire Prevention in 2013: The Next 10 Years.
Stakeholders included fire officials at all levels, businesses,
local university, home owners, rural community, law enforcement.
New collaborations were formed among many of the entities
involved. The process provided an opportunity for learning
about others’ needs and perceptions and to design fire
services to meet those needs.
Indonesia UNICEF: Future of Women & Children,
Jakarta, Indonesia
As part of UNICEF’S effort to involve community members
in a first decentralized planning effort, co-trained 45 Indonesian
facilitators in a participative planning methodology. Coached
some of the newly trained facilitators during district planning
meeting on the future of women and children. Participants
included children, health workers, teachers, religious leaders,
and government officials.
ENVIRONMENT
Washington Summit for Communications Initiative on
Global Sustainability at the National Geographic Society in
Washington, D. C.
Designed and facilitated meeting of environmental and communication
leaders who were launching a global communications initiative
to change attitudes and stimulate action and solutions to
environmental challenges.
Water Quality in the Upper Colorado River Basin,
Grand County, Colorado
Designed and facilitated meeting of historically litigious
stakeholders involved in a struggle over water quality in
the Colorado Rockies. Stakeholders reluctantly met for 3 days
to investigate whether they could find any way to work together
to produce a state-required water quality plan. In this meeting,
participants did discover common ground and issues on which
they could work collaboratively. They collaboratively produced
a strong water quality plan and also established the Colorado
River Headwater Forum to continue to work together. Today,
many years after that initial conference, this group continues
to work together to sustain fresh-water quality and quantity
in northwestern Colorado.
Governor’s Front Range Water Forum for Colorado
Designed and co-facilitated a meeting for a group of diverse
stakeholders who were stalled in an effort to design and implement
a mandated study on potentially collaborative approaches to
the use, storage, and delivery of freshwater for Colorado’s
Front Range. After the 3-day meeting, these stakeholders realized
that they could work together. They quickly mobilized to implement
and successfully complete their study that provided the basis
for understanding water delivery and storage strategies.
International Ecoagriculture Conference and Practitioners'
Fair, Nairobi, Kenya
Led the facilitation team for The International Ecoagriculture
Conference and Practitioners’ Fair, held in Nairobi
with more than 200 participants from at least 46 countries.
Stakeholders represented diverse sectors, including farmers,
community members, scientists, conservationists, policy makers,
land-use planners, technical advisors, and the private sector.
Participants were able to assess the state of international
ecoagriculture practices and systems and to develop strategies,
partnerships, and networks to promote and support ecoagriculture
around the world. Outputs from this conference include the
Nairobi Declaration, a summary in the Earth Negotiations Bulletin,
and numerous partnerships and action plans.
http://www.iisd.ca/download/pdf/sd/sdvol96num2e.pdf
http://www.ecoagriculturepartners.org
Vail Environmental Plan, Vail, CO.
Designed and facilitated a community, participative process
to develop an environmental strategic plan for this exclusive
mountain resort town that had neglected environmental planning.
The 50 public and corporate stakeholders agreed that strong
action was needed to protect the environment from further
degradation. The town council adopted the plan that has served
as the blueprint for a sustainable environment and continues
to be implemented after 10 years.
Implementation Conference at the United Nation’s
World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South
Africa
Facilitated a meeting to implement actions related to the
World Summit on Sustainable Development. Specific assignment
produced a UN-sponsored partnership which continues to work
on the goals of increasing agriculture production and rural
livelihoods while protecting the environment.
http://www.iisd.ca/download/pdf/sd/sdvol96num2e.pdf
http://www.ecoagriculturepartners.org
RELIGION/SPIRITUAL
Council for the Parliament of the World’s Religions,
Barcelona, Spain
Helped design and facilitate this international, inter-religious
experience that encouraged participants to commit to ‘simple
and profound acts’ to address the issues of supporting
refugees, access to safe water, reducing third world debt
and overcoming religiously motivated violence.
Generations of Giving, Aspen, CO.
Facilitated a conference of women philanthropists who explored
the interconnections among three key topics—women, philanthropy,
and faith—with the goal of increasing the effectiveness
of their public and private philanthropy. Additionally, the
women considered intergenerational issues that arise between
mothers and daughters. The seeds of the conference were planted
at the Women's Studies in Religion Program at Harvard Divinity
School. The women explored the connection between their religious
and spiritual beliefs and their philanthropy.
Columbine Unity Church, Boulder, CO.
Designed and facilitated a participative strategic planning
process to help this community church affirm their beliefs,
visions, activities and relationships. They found agreement
on their spiritual focus, fellowship, their sacred home, youth
education, music, volunteering, prosperity, and growth
EDUCATION
University of North Florida, Division of Engineering,
Jacksonville, FL.
Co-designed and facilitated a 3-day participative
strategic planning process for the Division of Engineering:
”Superior Engineering Education to Drive Economic Development
in Northeast Florida." The outputs of this meeting were
formally accepted by the University and serve as the blueprint
for growth and development. Additionally, new partnerships
greater enthusiasm for the future resulted.
Ute Mountain Utes, Cortez, CO.
Designed and facilitated a strategic planning process for
The Ute Mountain Ute tribe to create a better future for their
youth who mainly had unsuccessful experiences in the larger
community school system. Stakeholders included tribal leaders,
parents, youth, educators, criminal justice staff, elders.
Immediate outcomes from the future search included
- Regular monthly meetings between the school district
and the tribe
- School officials attend tribal events
- Coordination within the judicial department to better
serve youth in trouble
- School success
- Establishment of a truancy plan and agreed to support
mandatory school attendance
The future search prompted participants to dream about providing
a healthy atmosphere for children and youth on the reservation.
They hoped for a youth center, a tutoring program, a jobs
program, field trips, and positive expectations for all youth
on the reservation. Some of the tribal leaders realized that
they would need significant funding to reach their desired
outcomes. When a member of another tribe visited, she became
intrigued with the strategic planning dream. She enlisted
a few tribal members who together applied for and received
a $10,000,000 five-year grant from the Department of Labor.
The tribe established a Youth Opportunity Program with counselors
meeting with each student once/week and with parents every
other week. Also, the tribe has established a Teen Center
which is fully staffed and equipped. Dreams have become reality.
Alamosa 2020: Creating our Vision for the Future,
CO.
Facilitated a large, community-wide strategic planning process.
Participants included youth, adults, educators, political
leaders, and businesses. In addition to building new understanding
and relationships, community members agreed to focus on life-long
learning and staying technologically current.
The Coming Together Conference: Assuring The Quality
Of Life In Lincoln County, NE
Planned and facilitated a 3-day meeting of 60 citizens and
officials to produce a community plan that prioritized goals,
assigned responsibilities and charted plans of action in the
areas of health, education, recreation, economics, and human
services. This meeting catalyzed positive actions in the community.
One example is the establishment of a Schools-as-Centers program
that has garnered more than $1 million in private and public
grants. The superintendent of schools enlisted community members
to establish a joint effort to pass a school bond to build
a new high school, after 2 bond initiatives has previously
failed to gain the support of the voters. The new school will
open at the beginning of the school year in 2003.
SpeciaLink of Canada, The National Centre for Childcare
Inclusion, Nova Scotia, Canada
Planned and facilitated a national planning meeting of diverse
stakeholders for this organization which is dedicated to expanding
the quality and quantity of inclusion in child care for young
children with special needs. Meeting participants shared experiences,
learnings, challenges, frustrations, and plans for increasing
services.
Rita Schweitz Facilitating & Consulting
800 Washington Street #909
Denver, CO 80203
303-300-2200
303-756-0307 fax
rita@schweitzfacilitating.com
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