ORGANIZATIONAL CLIENTS AND PARTNERS

We work with a variety of organizational clients by providing a range of tailored services to help build a more just and equitable world. Explore our current and former clients to get inspired about the possibilities of working together.

ADDISON CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

EMStrategies worked in collaboration with co-consultant Lisa Ryan to support this school district to launch a first-time community advisory committee and action team to inform their strategic planning process. We worked together to use an equity-informed approach, identify new methods of community engagement and support the school board and district in designing a final strategic plan informed by the district's new definition of educational equity.

VERMONT SCHOOL COUNSELORS ASSOCIATION

The client requested organizational development support in moving from an all-volunteer organization to a structure to support their first paid staff person. The project initially started as a strategic planning effort with leadership coaching services to secure philanthropic support. We successfully secured a multi-year grant to fund the growth of the organization. We are now working together again to implement the strategic plan, launch an equity-informed component of their program work, and provide leadership coaching to their first-ever professional Executive Director.

KING STREET CENTER

Offered equity-informed strategic planning services, anti-racism/anti-oppression organizational assessment, and leadership coaching. Work resulted in staff leadership restructuring informed by the new strategic plan and organization’s commitment to racial equity

NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION - RHODE ISLAND (NEARI)

EMStrategies provided leadership coaching to design and implement a multi-year campaign to elevate the aspirations and organizing skills of ESP (educational support professionals) within the union. The work included researching and developing a livable wage methodology to inform bargaining proposals and community campaigns, designing and facilitating trainings, and providing analysis of existing contracts for the state.

VERMONT COMMISSION ON WOMEN

EMStrategies designed and facilitated a racial equity strategy session in collaboration with Ita Meno from CQ Strategies to support the Commission in identifying common ground and a collective approach to integrating racial equity and anti-racism principles within their work.

VOICES FOR VERMONT'S CHILDREN

In collaboration with Ita Meno from CQ Strategies, we offered strategic leadership coaching, facilitation and organizational analysis for the group's work to move towards becoming an anti-racism and anti-oppression organization.

MAPLE RUN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

EMStrategies offered strategic facilitation and process design services to the district to support the work of a community study committee on the district's School Resource Officer program.

BAY AND PAUL FOUNDATIONS

Bay and Paul and EMStrategies engaged in a multi-year partnership to provide strategy, leadership, and equity coaching to grantees, support the development of a community schools blueprint strategy resource, and develop/launch strategic learning collaborative project to support transformative learning and equity to proliferate in the Vermont education system.

VERMONT PRINCIPALS' ASSOCIATION

EMStrategies is engaged in a year-long partnership to assist the VPA in developing its educational equity initiative with school leaders and refining its strategic approach to improving equitable outcomes for students.

ALDRICH PUBLIC LIBRARY

We are working to build a community education campaign to increase public understanding of the role of modern-day libraries in communities and general support for municipal funding of library services.

CITY OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT

We've worked with various partners within the City, including the Parks and Recreation Commission and Cemetery Commission to design and lead an annual retreat for commission members charged with overseeing the department's operations and also assisting a city councilor in facilitating a neighborhood community engagement meeting.

VERMONT EDUCATION EQUITY PROJECT

We provided monthly strategic and leadership coaching to Public Assets Institute and Voices for Vermont's Children on their joint project VtEEP to expand their community outreach work and broaden their grassroots network to bolster education policy discussions on the local and state level with a deep commitment to equity.

CHANGE THE STORY

The project consulted with EMStrategies to design a critical leadership discussion on strategic paths forward in its work as a gender equity campaign in 2020. CTS worked again with EMStrategies in 2022 to assist in facilitating a campaign debrief among staff.

GRANITE CITY GROCERY

We designed a community assessment and assisted the organization in conducting an analysis of its community engagement work to launch a cooperative grocery store in Barre, VT.

NATIONAL END OF LIFE DOULA ASSOCIATION

The client requested EMStrategies' support exploring initial racial justice, inclusion and equity work as an organization.

CHAMPLAIN HOUSING TRUST

EMStrategies provided annual meeting agenda design and facilitation services for the Thelma Maple Cooperative.

KINGDOM EAST SCHOOL DISTRICT

This client approached us to assist the newly formed district in designing and leading a multi-month community engagement project to educate and build public support for a capital improvement bond to address the needs of several school buildings.

MONTPELIER ROXBURY SCHOOL DISTRICT

EMStrategies conducted a district-wide assessment of past equity work completed by each school, designed and supported the district in launching a district-wide equity team, and facilitated equity team meetings with multiple stakeholders including educators, administrators, community members and students.

NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

This client approached EMStrategies to lead the development of a national toolkit to assist state affiliates and local associations develop modern day strike strategies, including innovative organizing models that broaden the impact of workplace actions to build member engagement and rank and file leadership.

VERMONT RURAL EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE

EMStrategies designed and facilitated a day-long session among rural education stakeholders on the state and future of rural education in Vermont.

JUST BASICS, INC.

EMStrategies worked with RE:WORK to design and facilitate a multi-year organizational strategic plan focused on financial management, program sustainability, and organizational development.

VERMONT NETWORK AGAINST DOMESTIC & SEXUAL VIOLENCE

The Network approached EMStrategies to design and facilitate strategic discussions among state leaders and activists regarding policy and political movement issues. Topics included the #MeToo movement and criminal justice reform.

MASSACHUSETTS TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

The MTA Training and Professional Learning Division partnered with EMStrategies to revamp organizing, membership recruitment and leadership training curriculum to meet the political challenges facing unions in a post-Janus climate.

OUR REVIEWS

Word on the Street

“Emma, of EMStrategies, is a smart strategist. She builds creative social movement campaigns while building leaders within those campaign. We've worked on several campaigns over the years in Vermont and across New England. She is my go-to colleague when we need innovative ideas and advice."

Sarah Markey, UniServ Director, National Education Association - Rhode Island

"Emma possesses deep knowledge of Vermont's local and statewide preK-12 education system after working a decade working in the field. She weaves her knowledge into her strategic thinking on how to affect local and state policy through a lens of equity, anti-racism and anti-oppression principles. Our work together to develop a Vermont-based community schools concept paper helped to level up new ways of thinking about our communities and the role of schools. Emma's engagement in this work helped produce a document that is responsive to the field and visionary in naming what is possible."

Dr. Kathleen Kesson, Author Vermont Community Schools Blueprint, Professor Emerita, Department of Teaching, Learning, and Leadership, School of Education, LIU-Brooklyn

"I just wanted to say that you were so 'true north' in your work with us, in the inspirational way we all seek for. Thanks for supporting our school district's effort to examine the use of School Resource Officers (SROs). May your compass be a blessing to us all."

Martin Kattam, Maple Run Unified School District

"Emma spent the better part of the last two years building a strategy with us to rebuild our organization. She helped us develop first-time internal practices and policies, develop leadership and capacity within our governing board and build stronger communication practices with our members. We also launched our first community engagement efforts to connect with the surrounding community on matters of public education. Emma's guidance was critical to our recent successes."

Beth Fialko Casey, Burlington Education Association

"My organization has benefited from policy development, internal capacity building, and strategy development under Emma's tutelage. I was lucky to have Emma as a coach and mentor. I now develop new leaders using the skills I learned from her. Partnering with Emma to grow our organization is a major highlight of my time working with this organization."

Josh Wronski, Executive Director

"Emma is truly a gem in our labor movement. It is not hyperbolic to say that she sets a standard (one which all around her explicitly acknowledge) of professionalism, competence, high ethics, tenacity, intelligence, creativity and accomplishment. Her ability to juggle a dizzying array of commitments – both vocational and avocational – with elan and steadiness is remarkable."