History

Before launching Welsummer, I directed the Sustaining Family Forests Initiative at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Through that work, I saw how frustrated ecologists, foresters, and conservation experts are with the limited adoption of best practices among their audiences. I also saw the power of combining academic research about communications and behavior-change with environmental best practices in order to achieve more efficient results. Though this combination is incredibly powerful, I know that many natural resource and sustainability experts are already stretched thin; expecting them to gain additional expertise in communications and human-behavior is unrealistic. With this need in mind, I launched Welsummer to provide practical support and guidance for environmental professionals in need of communication and behavioral expertise.

While my undergraduate and graduate studies led me to embrace scientifically driven approaches, my work experience helped me understand the practicalities and limitations that sustainability and conservation professionals face. From working on nature preserves and dealing with limited budgets, to corralling volunteers and coordinating collaboratives made up of busy professionals, I understand what is reasonable. I also gained valuable exposure to conservation issues across the US, and how they intersect with different regional attitudes toward fire, land protection, water quality, or the role of agencies and non-profits.

The environmental challenges we face today can feel overwhelming, but engaging audiences in impactful actions will allow you to reach your goals more quickly and efficiently. You don’t need to know everything about human behavior and decision-making, but by working with me to understand your audience’s perspective, you can have more powerful, impactful programming.

Publications & Webinars

• Social Marketing Works: Results from Ten Years of Tools for Engaging Landowners Effectively Trainings, with Purnima Chawla, Center for Nonprofit Strategies; and Sarah Butler, UMass Amherst & Family Forest Research Center

• Engaging Landowners in Conservation: A Complete Guide to Designing Programs and Communications, with Purnima Chawla and Ravi Singh, Center for Nonprofit Strategies; Cassidy Dellorto-Blackwell, Sustaining Family Forests Initiative; and Alanna Koshollek and Steve Swenson, Aldo Leopold Foundation

• Planning Your Landowner Engagement Strategy to Reach Your Big Goals - Part 1 | Part 2, with Hallie Schwab, Highstead Foundation

• Finding and Using Landowner Data, with Purnima Chawla, Center for Nonprofit Strategies

• Let Your Program Help (not Hurt) your Outreach, with Purnima Chawla, Center for Nonprofit Strategies

• Applying the collective impact approach to address non-native species: a case study of the Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative, with Heather Braun, Great Lakes Commission, and Kurt Kowalski, US Geological Survey

Education

University of Michigan, School for Environment and Sustainability
Master of Science - Behavior, Education & Communications, 2010

University of Virginia
Bachelor of Arts - Psychology, 2007