New Directions Collaborative is pleased to partner with the The Food and Health Forum in launching the “Food for Thought” dinner seminar series featuring Gary Hirshberg, the Chairman, President and CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm on Monday, January 23 at 6:30 p.m. Participants will enjoy a three-course dinner and a glass of wine at the Blue Moon Evolution restaurant in Exeter, NH, an award-winning restaurant serving local and organic food. Gary will share his thoughts about the myths around the production of “cheap” food including the nutritional, environmental and social costs that consumers don’t see at the check-out line. He will present a “win-win-win-win-win formula” for sustainable food production which protects all stakeholders including shareholders, employees, farmers, consumers, even livestock.

Following Gary's talk, New Directions Collaborative will facilitate conversations among participants on why and how organic and local food supports a healthier society and what we as consumers and as a community can do to play our part. This event is sponsored by Veris Wealth Partners.

To register and/or see future events in the series: please click to Food and Health Forum

Food and Health Forum is a new venture between the owner of Blue Moon Evolution, Kathy Gallant and nutritionist and health coach, Tracey Miller, to convene doctors, policy makers, farmers, CEOs, citizens and other visionaries who are revolutionizing our food system from the ground up. They want to inspire and educate communities to help reestablish the link between what we eat, where our food comes from, and how it affects our health.

In early October, 150 people from all parts of Vermont’s food system gathered for two days in Fairlee, VT to launch a network to implement the Farm to Plate Strategic Plan, a 10-year plan to build the local food system. New Directions Collaborative and Curtis Ogden of Interaction Institute for Social Change helped design and facilitate the gathering.

View local TV news coverage by Lyndon State College

Check out these videos from participants:

Allen Freund of Upper Valley Produce and VT Fresh Network:

Jean Hamilton, Northeast Organic Farming Association of VT:

Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund's web site has more videos and links.

Beth Tener of New Directions Collaborative and Curtis Ogden of Interaction Institute for Social Change were selected as the team to assist the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) in creating a state-wide Farm to Plate Network to collaboratively implement and monitor progress on the recently issued Farm to Plate Strategic Plan. The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, with input from 1,200 stakeholders, developed this comprehensive 10-year strategic plan to strengthen Vermont’s food system. The Farm to Plate Strategic Plan contains 33 goals and 60 high priority strategies that will lead to job creation, greater economic output, and increased access for Vermont and regional consumers to healthy, fresh food over the next 10 years. We will advise on the network governance structure and provide two network trainings to enable the momentum of the F2P Strategic Plan’s development to be carried forward into collaborative action among a diverse range of entities to achieve the goals. 

We are pleased to announce that Patti Anklam has joined New Directions Collaborative, bringing over 30 years of experience working at the intersection of collaboration technologies and networks and communities. The growth of social media and on-line connectedness offers many new ways to collaborate; yet most of us have heard tales of failed efforts to adopt these tools, e.g., investing significantly in building on-line systems that people do not use, dealing with information overload. Patti helps clients to “get it right the first time,” selecting the most appropriate strategy and tools, providing training/coaching, and implementing on-line connections for networks in ways that people will use.

With roots in high-tech companies like Digital Equipment and Nortel and a knowledge management, writing and communication background, Patti is a master at helping people understand and apply technologies for collaboration and communication. She works at the executive level to help set strategy and select technologies and is equally comfortable and effective one-on-one helping people adapt and use technology to help them work more effectively. Patti is also a widely recognized leader in the field of organizational/social network analysis (SNA/ONA) for knowledge management and is a frequent speaker, writer, and trainer on the topic. Her book, Net Work: A Practical Guide to Creating and Sustaining Networks at Work and in the World, was published by in 2007. As an independent consultant specializing in ONA/SNA since 2001, Patti has supported dozens of projects for both commercial and nonprofit/NGO clients, including using SNA in the context of program evaluation for a UN organization (IFAD) that promotes solutions to rural poverty in Asia/Pacific.

Beth Tener of New Directions Collaborative is honored to be part of the faculty and to participate in planning the curriculum for a Certificate in Corporate Sustainability offered by the new Institute for Corporate Sustainability, which is a joint project of the University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business, New Hampshire Business for Social Responsibility, and UNH's Sustainability Academy. The Institute will be held October 4 - 6, 2011 at UNH in Durham, NH.

The Institute for Corporate Sustainability is a three day “boot camp” on practical topics within corporate sustainability. Participants will learn the “why, what, and how” of corporate social responsibility program implementation for their organization. The program is designed for mid- to senior-level executives within small, medium or large businesses. Our experienced, recognized instructors come from a variety of fields and areas of expertise. The sessions are team-taught to maximize academic content with practical application in the field.

For more information and to register, please see this link.   

Beth Tener, Principal of New Directions Collaborative, was interviewed on Green Screen TV (click on the Episodes 1-4 tab) on the MyTV New England channel on Sunday, April 3rd, 2011. The show featured several sustainability case study videos that were produced by Sustainable Step New England, which Beth was involved in helping to create.

One video shares the story of how Mt. Wachusett Community College went from a sustainability laggard to a leader through a large energy efficiency upgrade and shift to biomass, solar and wind to power the campus. The other story features Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston and Health Care Without Harm as they share the hospital's success in adopting green initiatives that engage employees from "bottom to top." Bill Rogers of Green Screen TV interviewed Beth about these stories and the work of New Directions Collaborative.