ute mountain ute tribe

One Surefire Ingredient to Help Anyone Thrive: What We Learned at the Ute Mountain Housing Workshop

No matter who you are, having a safe place to call home makes everything a little easier. Recovering from illness or addiction, finding a stable job, raising a family, taking time to process an emotional experience, or taking the first steps toward a healthier life by getting enough sleep or cooking a meal – each of these things is easier when you have a place to call home.

At the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Housing Workshop convened by Santicola & Co., Tribal Leadership and partners shared resources, case studies, and funding mechanisms, then created a strategic roadmap toward more resilient and abundant housing on the reservation.

The Tribe used graphic recording to synthesize a day and a half of presentations, then selected priorities and began creating a strategic plan for the following months to achieve the goals. The visuals play a key role in the summary document from the Santicola grant-writing team and will help the Tribe share their vision with Council and Tribal Members to garner more support.

Thank you for your collaboration, humor, and what you do to make the world a better place.

Cheers,





Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Durango, Colorado: With the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, who I’ve had the honor of working with for the past 10 years.

Denver x 3: Farm labor economics, aging and HIV, and student housing management brought me to the big city to create visual stories of science, lived experience, and best practices.

Remote: Supporting a team from construction and architecture firms during client listening sessions as they put together a bid for a creative arts building.

Camping in the high country: Getting ourselves and the kids out for a few nights under the stars and among the wildflowers! Nothing says Type 2 Fun like camping with two-year-olds…but the small wonders and smiles are worth it.

Collective Impact

Last week was my first on-site job since the twins arrived! I had the delight to work with long-time clients the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Santicola & Co. to bring together tribal leaders and potential funding partners in a unique workshop.

The first two days were a smaller group - the tribal leaders and consultants that support different priorities for grant funding in the community ranging from housing to expanding a solar farm. Small groups worked through focused rounds to clarify their needs and a story that painted the picture of why it matters for the tribe. Then, each group created a pitch, which was presented to potential funding partners on the third day.

Whenever I get to work with the Ute Mountain Ute, I am struck by the generosity, intention, and systems approach that is taken. Each piece is approached in a way that can create a collective impact that is greater than the sum of the parts.

I created a visual summary the work of all 8 project groups over the first two days, as well as making custom flip charts for each group to present their needs and requests to the funders. It felt so great to be in the room with the group, stretch my body and mind, and using markers and chalks to visualize and synthesize the ideas shared.

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers,



Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Westminster, Colorado: With the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Here’s a close-up of part of the drawing from the 3-day workshop.

Wildfire Policy Landscape Mapping: In a virtual workshop with the Federation of American Scientists, I helped map out the complex political landscape of wildfire legislation and initiatives to help the coalition guide a cohesive path forward.

UNICON 2023: Hosted by CKGSB University in China, this year’s Executive Education forum focused on collaboration between East and West and what technology means for the ever-evolving landscape of education.

Spring - Nature's way of saying "Let's party!"

I love this quote from Mr. Robin Williams, it just encapsulates the energy of spring and the music of the earth waking up after winter. 

This spring has been particularly full of energy and life for ConverSketch...meaning the blog updates have been thin but I've been on the ground (or the paper, if you will) with several big projects. Here's a snapshot of what I've been up to!

Visual facilitation for the Colorado State University Dryland Collaborative Knowledge and Learning Network:

Partners from Kenya, Mongolia and the Western US visualize their successful collaborative.

Illustrating the City of Fort Collins' Journey to World Class video:

Coming soon to the Internet near you!

Graphic recording the Colorado State University Agricultural Innovation Summit

A lively and challenging discussion on water and agriculture in the West.

Months of planning and research went into the two-day visual facilitation for the Colorado State Forest Service Strategic Planning meeting. All the charts I created are proprietary, but here's a nice shot of the Nokhu Crags, an area managed by CSFS and near and dear to my heart:

Photo: Aaron LaVanchy. Rippin' snowboarder: Spencer Branson

Graphic recording for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Native National Partnership meeting:

A synthesis graphic done during the two day retreat.

Graphic recording the University of Colorado Denver's Food Justice Symposium:

 

There's plenty of other exciting projects in the works, including the launch of a quiet and helpful email sent to you regularly (but not too regularly) for drawing tricks, inspiration and updates from me! Stay tuned!