Anyone who has kids, or even has taken kids out on a walk, knows from experience that if there is a ledge, an edge, a walkable border, a curb, or anything just a bit higher than the surface the kid is walking on and it’s walkable, the kid is going to climb up and walk on it.

And anyone who has seen this will know that the kid will walk on the edge until it ends. Even if they can’t see how far it goes, even if the edge meanders, even if there is a huge drop at the end of the edge.

In my experience, the kid will always take the edge over the flat ground on which you’re walking, every time.

At first (if it’s your own kids), it’s cute and fun as they ask you to hold their hand. You … Read More »

For a long time, I thought that I should be more serious when I write these blogs—that they should be work-specific, devoid of my personal musings and life. But I’ve come to realize, over time, that I just can’t do that. Why? Because for me, so much of my work and life ebb and flow together and much of the learning I’ve experienced seems to arise out of the moments between that ebb and flow. So, I’m starting my 2016 blogging with the first work I did this year: mending something very personal.

It’s odd to think about mending in a throw-away world and culture. In college, a dorm-mate from a very rich family was upset one evening because what she had to wear needed a button and some mending, and she didn’t know how to … Read More »

This was a smaller project, but the type we love to work on as it gets us on the ground floor of what’s happening in our communities. This project involved looking at how the Sisters of Charity Health Systems’ Building Healthy Communities program might be able to better organize and collect data to begin formal evaluations for their programs.  These wonderful Building Healthy Communities programs focus on increasing the health of Cleveland neighborhoods though participation in farmers markets, dance/exercise classes, and health education. It was a pleasure working with the staff at Building Healthy Communities, Sisters of Charity Health System, and St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.  Our final report included a comprehensive review of their program details and looked at how surveys, better attendance tracking, and using the hospital’s existing CRM could streamline what they needed for reporting, evaluation, and operations.

As David O’Neil pointed out in my interview with him a couple weeks ago, one of the great things about this international public markets conference is being able to talk to other people who are passionate about markets. I had a chance to sit in on a discussion surrounding farmers markets. It was a great setting where people who run farmers markets or who organize them got a chance to hear the issues that other markets were having and offer advice, and in many cases, commiserate and encourage.

This discussion group was a true example of the international nature of the conference. There were at least four individuals from Canada and one from Poland. The rest of the discussion participants were from all over the United States with nine states represented altogether. That’s pretty good for a total of about 20 … Read More »

Session one of the 8th International Public Markets Conference, “Connecting a market to it’s community.” Tools and techniques from the Rust Belt to the Pacific Rim. An Illustration by Julia Kuo.

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