Competition for ocean resources continues to expand, with wind and tidal energy, aquaculture, fishing, recreational boating, utility construction, mining and conservation of ecosystem services the subject of increasing controversy in New...
A colleague of mine is designing a leadership training program for women leaders in the non profit sector. What advice would you give her when designing such a program? What leadership challenges do women in non-profits face? What aspects...
I recently posted a summary of the results and trends from our Annual survey of Fellows. This survey and the Foundation’s interest in updating our goals and strategies to meet our 20 year Vision have inspired us to use the ongoing feedback...
For the last four years, the Switzer Foundation has surveyed Fellows who are 5,10,15,20 and 25 years out from their Fellowship year. This annual survey allows us to get an annual snapshot of Fellows’ accomplishments, challenges, employment...
Many of you know that the Switzer Foundation through our Fellowship Program and Network activities, believes in the power of collective action, networked approaches to environmental leadership and that organizations of all kinds can learn...
A month ago I was pleased and proud to be in attendance at the Portland, Maine stop for Bill McKibben’s “Do the Math” tour. His month long series of rallies helped build a campaign that is rapidly gaining attention – to recognize that if we...
Once again it was thrilling exciting and fun to meet the new 2012 Switzer Fellows, and share leadership lessons, current topics and engage in a deep learning experience about communicating clear messages to different audiences. We are...
In early October, I participated in the annual retreat of the Environmental Grantmakers Association, the professional association for environmental funders in the US. Each year, the retreat offers funders an opportunity to hear from big...
Like many of our workshops, our central message to the participants focused on the importance of understanding your audience when communicating your work. That includes formatting your work into clear and succinct messages, but it’s also about understanding the culture in which your audience exists, so as to make your work relevant to them and what they most care about… their “so what?”
Leadership grantee Sarah Reed (Associate Conservation Scientist, Wildlife Conservation Society) and her colleague Lindsay Ex (Environmental Planner, City of Fort Collins) discussed their effort to build a collaborative learning network for...