Projects and Results
U.S.F.S. Urban and Community Forestry Program
Ernst Consulting is partnering with Keystone Policy Center and American Forests to develop the 2027-37 Ten-Year Urban Forestry Action Plan for the United States, bringing decades of collaborative plan development, strategic planning, and urban and community forestry expertise. The Ten-Year Action Plan supports strategic investments, policy and programmatic priorities for urban and community forestry. The National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC) is required to prepare a National Urban and Community Forestry (UCF) Action Plan every ten years based on the statutory requirements of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978. The plan is scheduled for release in early 2027.
American Forests
Ernst Consulting has been leading American Forests’ national initiative to create a Forest Innovation Platform to support climate vulnerability assessments and adaptation planning - a public-private partnership funded collaboratively through the US Forest Service and the Doris Duke Foundation. She has served as a convener, facilitator, and project manager, engaging forest ecologists, climate scientists, software developers and other experts to ensure the platform builds on the best available science and is designed to effectively meet user needs.
As part of the process, Caryn led extensive technical interviews, a national workshop, the selection of a software developer, the engagement of working groups in platform design, and oversight of development. She also engaged national indigenous scientists in leading Indigenous Talking Circles to ensure the platform meets Tribal forest planning needs.
Results
American Forests was able to secure significant private funding to match USDA Forest Service investments at a key moment in the planning process, and the effort has garnered the support and enthusiasm of a wide range of partners and experts, as well as the interest of top software developers in the field.
“Caryn has been a critical partner in American Forests’ efforts to support climate vulnerability assessments and adaptation planning for forests across the country through development of the Forest Innovation Platform. As the lead convener and facilitator, Caryn has effectively engaged leading scientists and technical experts, including indigenous climate scientists and forest ecologists, to ensure the platform builds on the best available knowledge and meets a wide range of forest management and planning needs. Caryn’s expert guidance of the planning process has been essential to the success of the Forest Innovation Platform.”
Jad Daley, President and CEO, American Forests
Montgomery Parks Foundation
Ernst Consulting led the Montgomery Parks Foundation’s strategic planning process with the Board of Trustees and staff to build their fundraising capacity, strategically focus their grantmaking, strengthen their partnerships, and develop an effective and equity focused Friends of Parks network throughout the county.
Results
The process resulted in a 3-year strategic plan and one-year action plan, which the organization is using to guide implementation, including staffing and program planning.
“Caryn’s vast wealth of knowledge on not only park foundations, but on strategy, impact, metrics, and board relations, was simply invaluable in the process. Caryn had to do a fair amount of education to help bring some stakeholders along and she went out of her way to construct workshops and resources that would better guide the Foundation in its decision-making process. I cannot recommend Caryn enough – especially if you are nervous about undertaking a project like strategic planning. Caryn is patient, kind, thorough, and attentive. She will guide you by the hand if that is what you need, or she will gently kick ya in the pants if you need that as well. Her expertise and experience are truly valuable assets that make the whole process that much easier and results in a product you can be proud of and confident it will move your organization forward.”
Katie Rictor, Executive Director, Montgomery Parks Foundation
Prevention Institute
Ernst Consulting supported the Prevention Institute’s Parks, People and Power (P3) initiative from 2023 to 2026, advancing community-driven solutions to park and greenspace inequities by supporting power-building and self-determination in historically marginalized communities. Caryn developed strategic communication tools and provided technical assistance and policy analysis for the 14 local partners in the P3 network. She also advised Prevention Institute on policy and systems change strategies and researched and wrote policy briefs on topics such as parks and anti-displacement and Public Land for Public Good.
Results
Prevention Institute was able to secure a second round of multi-year funding to support the work of their local partners and their efforts to build the field. Local partners advanced new policy and systems change agendas, explored organizational frameworks to support their goals, and worked with partners to transform vacant land for community-serving purposes.
“Caryn provided policy research and analysis for our People, Parks, and Power (P3) initiative. Working closely with 14 BIPOC-led community organizations across the U.S., Caryn provided tailored, culturally effective, actionable technical assistance. Her knowledge of park and land use policy is encyclopedic, but she offers her expertise in digestible ways with practical insights. She developed policy briefs, led learning sessions and helped make the case for the park equity movement, helping us secure a second funded phase of the initiative. More so, working with Caryn brings our team hope and energy, and we’re proud to call her a partner.”
Sandra Viera, Director, Prevention Institute
Acorn Outdoor Learning
Ernst Consulting worked with Acorn Outdoor Learning to create program and organizational evaluation tools to enable them to measure how effectively they are achieving their mission and meeting the needs of their participants. Caryn designed performance measurement tools and questions that align with existing enrollment, IT, participant tracking, and family engagement processes, ensuring they could be implemented and analyzed within existing staff capacity.
National Recreation and Park Association
Ernst Consulting, along with its partners Horizon Advisory Group and Inspirit Coaching and Consulting, developed a systems change framework for NRPA, parks and recreation agencies, and their nonprofit partners, designed to advance equitable and high quality park and recreation systems. The framework and case studies demonstrate how to effectively address complex societal problems by shifting the conditions that hold problems in place.
Results
NRPA is using the framework to train staff, develop effective capacity building programs for its members and promote examples of systems change in action to inspire and support field building.
“Caryn’s subject matter expertise and connections with local communities informed meaningful and thoughtful conversations to identify the conditions necessary for systems change and several case studies. Caryn and her consulting partners were well organized, detailed in their deliberations and execution, and stayed on track with timelines.”
Kellie May, VP for Partnerships, National Recreation and Park Association
Student Conservation Association
Ernst Consulting led multiple strategic planning and program design processes with SCA, including developing a curriculum and design for a new Urban Forestry Program to build the next generation of diverse urban forestry professionals, and designing their national Urban Green Program focused on advancing climate justice. Ernst Consulting has helped strengthen SCA’s ability to more effectively serve BIPOC youth from low-income communities, diversify funding sources and partnerships, and advance environmental and climate justice.
Results
The Urban Green program design was used to help secure a multi-year, multimillion-dollar grant and to guide the rollout and hiring for the program. The new staffing structure integrated and aligned SCA’s programs within cities, supporting strategic local and national partnerships.
"Caryn has been a terrific asset to the Student Conservation Association. She is a thoughtful and expert facilitator who led a seminal leadership retreat for us and then played a central role in crafting a foundational strategy document that was its product. I have no doubt that her contributions will yield both immediate and long-term benefits for our organization.”
Stephanie Meeks, CEO and President, SCA
Gettysburg Foundation
Ernst Consulting co-led a strategic planning process for the Gettysburg Park Foundation in partnership with Onyx Strategies Group. The planning process focused on diversifying audiences for Gettysburg National Park, increasing revenue for the visitor center and improving the organizations financial sustainability.
Results
Gettysburg Park Foundation has a 3-year Strategic Plan, one-year Action Plan and Organizational Assessment Matrix with performance metrics and benchmarks, which the organization is using to measure its progress and adjust its annual workplan to advance its goals.
Greater Easton Development Partnership
Ernst Consulting developed and led a workshop series to build the capacity of public housing residents to lead and represent their community, drive planning initiatives and elevate resident voices. The workshops focused on skills for building relationships and trust with residents, facilitating community conversations, managing change, and navigating conflict.
Results
Residents formed a resident council, started regular community gatherings with fun activities and discussion, created a community garden, and joined the Choice Neighborhoods planning team. GEDP added resident ambassadors to the core planning team to ensure they have a voice in important decisions, such as the selection of a private developer and property manager for their community.
“Ernst Consulting was fundamental to the success of our project. Caryn helped us engage with residents of a Choice Neighborhood and understand their priorities and concerns through a series of workshops. She facilitated conversations and taught culturally appropriate strategies to residents that increased their engagement and empowerment and created a more cohesive and connected community.”
Andrea Gonzalez, Urban Planner, COLLABO Planning + Design
City Parks Alliance
In order to build the capacity of public agencies and nonprofits to create and lead more effective and sustainable cross-sector partnership, Ernst Consulting developed a workshop approach and curriculum for teaching the principles and skills for successful park partnerships. Caryn researched and wrote the Principles for Successful Park Partnerships and developed interactive case studies to enable workshop participants to apply the principles to their unique context and support replication of innovation.
Results
The workshops were piloted in Detroit and Flint, MI, which led to the replication of Philadelphia’s successful Landcare program in Detroit. The new workshop approach was used as the model for a multi-year grant to fund replication in four cities, as well as a second multi-year grant to incorporate creative placemaking concepts and replicate in two additional cities, becoming the basis for a new CPA program. During the pandemic the curriculum was used to create a virtual workshop series.
KaBOOM!
Ernst Consulting was engaged to serve as Senior Policy Advisor to the COO for one year to support the organization’s shift to driving policy and investments that advance play equity. Caryn worked across departments to develop new strategic initiatives, pilot programs and institute new systems, including updating KaBOOM!’s database and GIS systems, as well as their Playful Cities USA criteria to reward public investments that address play equity, and piloting play equity analyses.
Results
KaBOOM! was able to deliver Play Desert Maps for cities to identify areas where children lacked access to play, provide Play Equity recommendations that identified policy, programmatic and capitol investments that cities could make to address inequities, and reward cities taking action as part of the Playful Cities USA recognition program.
American Friends of Canadian Conservation
Ernst Consulting was hired to lead AFCC’s Strategic Planning Board Retreat. Through a series of interviews with board members and partners, Caryn identified key challenges in building a financially-sustainable business model and an operationally-sustainable board structure. She redirected the retreat from a long-term strategic planning effort, to a short-term action-planning process designed to establish the financial and organizational groundwork for long-term success.
Results
The strategies developed during the retreat were implemented over the next 12 months. The organization is continuing to grow and thrive over 10 years later.
Trust for Public Land
TPL hired Ernst Consulting and KBL Consulting to lead a two-day strategic planning retreat for the national Conservation Vision Team, identifying where the team’s strengths and interests align with the organization’s new strategic plan and funding opportunities, and building consensus on 5 Strategic Focus Areas and a mission statement for their work.
Results
The Action Plan developed during the retreat guided the Conservation Vision Team’s fundraising, internal and external partnerships, and program development efforts over the next two years, and the retreat process and format built trust and strengthened relationships between team members, enabling them to collaborate more effectively.
“Caryn brings a wealth of experience in nonprofit operations, facilitation, planning and fundraising. We needed to align the direction of the conservation innovation team’s work at The Trust for Public Land with the newly developed organizational strategic plan. She helped us create a common vision through an inclusive process that enabled us to align our values, culture and diverse expertise with an implementation plan. The plan resulted in the evolution of the team’s planning and geospatial innovations that supported more land protected, parks created, more funding streams and communities engaged.”
Breece Robertson, VP, Chief Research and Innovation Officer, TPL
Global Electronics Council, EPEAT, EcoLabel
GEC, a consortium of environmentalists, leading industry associations, major manufacturers, and government agencies, hired Ernst Consulting to lead their Spring and Fall Board meetings during a year when they were facing critical decisions regarding the long-term financing and structure of the global EPEAT EcoLabel program.
Results
Through a series of interviews and facilitated board meetings, Caryn negotiated agreement between environmental and industry board members to revise the standards development process, update third party verification processes, and establish new rate structures, which improved GEC’s long-term sustainability and enabled an increase in the accreditation of small to mid-sized green electronics manufacturers.
“Caryn Ernst played a highly skillful role negotiating and securing agreements among very diverse interests on the GEC board to create consensus on contentious issues and strengthen our coalition. Her adept facilitation helped us successfully resolve challenging issues and build a strong organization, which has made a major difference in the greening of the electronics industry.”
Jeff Eagan, former GEC Board Member and official at the Department of Energy
Oregon Health and Sciences University, Center for Excellence in Womens Health
OHSU hired Ernst Consulting to guide the planning process to create a new national nonprofit accreditation organization for Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health. Caryn facilitated a strategic planning retreat with women’s health experts from around the U.S. and developed recommendations for implementation that included developing criteria for excellence in women’s health, creating a staffing, governance and rate structure, and 5 year profit and loss projections.
Results
The 5-year profit and loss indicated that the ROI was lower than anticipated, so implementation was delayed and reconsidered.