For many years, I worked with dozens of clients per year—often in collaboration with talented teams of colleagues. While that scope and pace of work was exhilarating, and the chance to support so many important initiatives was incredibly rewarding, it proved unsustainable without making changes to significantly scale my business and the systems that power it.
Instead, I took the opposite approach.
2019 marked the beginning of an intentional process of scaling back client engagements to no more than five to six deeper collaborations per year. Currently, they include:
- coaching + thought partnership related to communications and fund development strategy implementation for Kua‘aina Ulu ‘Auamo, a backbone organization that works in partnership with cross-sector networks to restore Hawai‘i communities’ traditional role as caretakers of their lands and waters
- providing communications planning + support to the team at EPIC ‘Ohana, Inc., a nonprofit that works to strengthen ‘ohana (families) and enhance the welfare of children and youth through transformative processes that are respectful, collaborative and solution-oriented
- partnering on the marketing + promotion of several new products produced by the Reef Resilience Network, a global learning and exchange network led by The Nature Conservancy
- supporting the Pacific Seabird Group with technical advising and thought partnership to adapt its annual regional conference to a virtual format that successfully delivers scientific program content and creates meaningful attendee experiences
- serving as the network facilitator for the Hawai‘i Environmental Funders Group, a network of philanthropic individuals and institutions committed to grantmaking and other investments that promote environmental and community sustainability in the Hawaiian Islands
- providing thought partnership + facilitation support to the Hawai‘i Community Foundation as it establishes and on-boards the inaugural members of an advisory committee for its Marine 30×30 Fund.
The remainder of my time is now directed to developing a growing suite of self-paced, do-it-yourself training materials and planning guides, as well as done-with-you peer learning programs. Initial offerings include:
- Social Media Planning Notebook – available for purchase
- Comms For Causes – currently underway; doors will open to new members in December 2021
- Comms Strategy Lab – inaugural cohort launching in the Spring of 2022