top of page
Boos & Brews (Blog Banner) (37).png

Community & Organizational Work

The relationship between a municipality and its community is where I work - from both sides ofit. stronger municipalities.

Helping municipalities engage their communities more genuinely. Helping communityorganizations navigate their municipalities more effectively.I have spent my career watching what happens when municipalities and communityorganizations understand each other well — and what happens when they don’t. When therelationship works, services improve, partnerships form, and communities feel genuinely heard.When it doesn’t, both sides feel the gap.This area of my practice is rooted in something I have lived, not just studied. Thirty years insidea municipal organization gave me a deep understanding of how decisions get made, howrelationships are built, and what it actually takes to work effectively across that boundary.

My Community Practice

_MG_7141.jpg

Beyond my consulting practice, I am actively involved in community development work.

​

  • GenWell | Facilitator

    • A national movement dedicated to building human connection and belonging in communities across Canada

  • PACE Canada | Chief Community Development and Programming Officer

    • Adapting a proven model of coordinated care so that older adults across Canada can age in place — staying in their homes and communities rather than moving to long-term care

​

This work keeps me grounded in what community actually looks like from the inside — not from a boardroom or a report, but from the relationships and the people doing the work every day.

​

Asset-Based Community Development

Everything I do in this space is rooted in Asset-Based Community Development — a methodology that starts from what is already strong in a community rather than from problems to be solved. The question that drives this work is: what strengths and gifts does this community ororganization already have that can be leveraged to achieve their vision and goals?

 

I led ABCD implementation inside a municipal organization that became recognized as aninnovator in community engagement. The outcomes were community-owned and staff-supported — not top-down programs delivered to residents:

  • Community gardens designed and maintained by residents

  • Neighbourhood rinks kept alive through volunteer networks

  • Little libraries established and curated by local residents

  • Love My Neighbourhood events that built pride and belonging at the block level

  • Joint ventures that brought community organizations into municipal spaces as genuinepartners

​

The municipality didn’t build these things. The community did. The municipality created the conditions.

For Municipal Organizations

Many municipal organizations want to engage their communities more genuinely — moving beyond consultation and feedback loops toward something that truly reflects what people care about and builds on what already exists. This work supports municipal teams to make that shift — practically, sustainably, and in a way the organization can actually hold.

 

Using an Asset-Based Community Development approach, we work together to:

  • Map community assets and build relationships with local connectors

  • Design engagement processes that reflect genuine partnership

  • Support staff to shift their role from expert to facilitator

  • Build internal buy-in and sustain the approach over time

​​

This is innovative work. It changes how a municipality relates to its community — and communities feel the difference.

Website Event Images (4).png

For Community Organizations

If you lead a community organization, a non-profit, or a recreation or social service agency, youmay already know how hard it can be to get your voice heard inside a municipal organization —to get your proposal in front of the right people, to build a relationship that actually goessomewhere, or to negotiate a partnership that works for everyone.

 

I spent my career on the inside of that relationship. I know how municipal decisions get made,who holds what authority, and what it takes to build the kind of partnership that actuallyproduces something.

 

I work with community organizations to:

  • Understand how municipal governance works and who holds what authority

  • Identify the right relationships to build and how to build them

  • Frame their work and proposals in ways that resonate with municipal decision-makers

  • Prepare for specific meetings, presentations, or partnership conversations

  • Navigate joint venture negotiations and long-term municipal relationships

  • Every engagement is shaped around your organization, your goals, and what you are trying toachieve.

​

Interested in exploring this work from either side?

Launching May 2026

bottom of page