A+ Schools

A+ Schools advocates for equity in Pittsburgh Public Schools. As the organization’s scope expanded, it was essential for the staff to work together more effectively and strategically. Over several years, we facilitated the implementation of team effectiveness practices, the creation of yearlong strategy. We also provided organizational development consultation.

Allegheny Partners for Out of School Time (APOST)

APOST serves as an intermediary and convening collaborative for providers. As a next stage in its development, APOST sought to engage stakeholders in the creation of a policy and advocacy strategy. We facilitated interactive sessions and gathered broad input from the out of school time community. From that input, we crafted a policy plan with priorities, strategies, and tactics for both the local and state levels.

American Institute of Architects (AIA)

AIA Pittsburgh Foundation For Architecture was established to provide leadership development for architects and emerging architectural professionals. To meet this mission, we were engaged to design and facilitate a yearlong program called the Leadership Institute. We created a cohort learning experience where emerging professionals build leadership skills, enhance career trajectory, and increase connection and influence in the civic realm. We have continued this engagement over several years.

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh (CMOP)

CMOP is a family of four diverse, dynamic museums: Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Science Center, and The Andy Warhol Museum that seek to engage audiences in the big ideas and issues of our time. As CMOP sought to develop inclusive hiring practices, we were engaged to advise the museum’s diversity catalyst, build the capacity of the diversity task force, and design and facilitate a day of learning for all hiring managers.

Citizens Crime Commission of New York City (CCCNYC)

CCCNYC serves as a convening intermediary for youth and gang violence prevention organizations. In order to expand their capacity, we were engaged to benchmark best practices from a diverse set of intermediaries. We also engaged the organizations they serve and key stakeholders to clarify the type of support needed. This resulted in the creation of an intermediary model complete with a strategic operating plan and an implementation plan.

Expedient

Expedient is a managed and data center services company with operations in several cities through the Eastern half of the United States. We designed and facilitated a series of trainings and workshops over several years to strengthen leadership development efforts, spark creative problem solving, and improve customer outcomes across business units.

Neighborhood Allies (NA)

NA supports the people, organizations, and partnerships committed to creating and maintaining thriving neighborhoods. We were engaged to conduct an analysis and facilitate a process to deepen collaboration among community development capacity building organizations. We sought to clarify services provided, rebuild trust among stakeholders, and inform future investments to maximize impact on communities.

NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania (NWWPA)

NWWPA is a community development intermediary focused on financial literacy, home ownership, and leadership development. We were engaged on a multi-year basis to design, develop, and implement a leadership development program for grassroots community activists. We generated curriculum and facilitated workshop sessions for several neighborhood-based cohorts.

New Brunswick Tomorrow (NBT)

NBT is committed to building leadership capacity in Central New Jersey through two community focused programs. We benchmarked existing curriculum and engaged alumni in the future direction of the programs. We conducted interviews, facilitated focus groups, and deployed a survey to gather broad input. This resulted in a strategic blueprint and roadmap for the future of the two civic leadership programs.

NextGen:PGH (NGP)

In partnership with NGP, we created the NextGen Innovation Lab. iLab is a social venture incubator designed to provide high school students with the experience, skills, and relationships needed to nurture potential solutions to fruition. Working in teams that cross schools, interests, and diversity boundaries, the students conceive and develop ideas that address our most pressing civic issues while developing competencies vital for success in the 21st Century.

Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC)

PAEYC represents early childhood professionals in the Pittsburgh region. To increase its advocacy efforts, we were retained to direct a multi-sector, collaborative issue campaign providing strategy, stakeholder engagement, and project management. In addition, we organized and facilitated a series of learning tours to benchmark cities for a delegation of business, government, and nonprofit executives.

The Pittsburgh Promise

The Promise promotes high educational aspirations among urban youth, funds scholarships for post-secondary access, and fuels a prepared and diverse regional workforce. We were engaged to design and facilitate a series of workshops to enable the team to function more cohesively and align their programs and initiatives to improve effectiveness.

Presidio Institute (PI)

PI was a government institute housed at the historic Presidio in San Francisco dedicated to cross-sector leadership and collaboration. We were engaged to create a three-day workshop to expose participants to essential learning. In addition, we created an online course on solving problems in which participants worked through their own cross-sector challenges.

Reimagining Career Readiness (RCR)

RCR was a collaborative effort in the Pittsburgh Region seeking to better prepare youth for the future of work. Key stakeholders representing business, education, workforce development, and government convened to focus on the innovations and partnerships required to prepare students for a changing world. We facilitated the collaborative through a series of conversations to generate shared goals, produce a showcase event, and focus on partnership needed beyond the event.

UPMC Children’s Hospital

UPMC is $16 billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 80,000 employees and over 35 hospitals. We worked with key management at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh to implement a peer coaching model. We facilitated exercises that allowed managers to get real-time feedback and strategies for tackling some of their most pressing challenges. By bringing together people from different functions in the hospital, we allowed for unique perspectives and insights on long-standing issues.

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC)

WPC protects and restores exceptional places for the benefit of present and future generations. WPC was engaged in a multi-partner effort - which included government and nonprofit entities - to ensure the future vibrancy of Pittsburgh's urban forest. With the collaborative efforts shifting from planting to maintaining trees, we designed and facilitated a yearlong set of conversations among the partners to think strategically about how to accomplish future goals of working together.