Below are presentations from Community Roots, LLC as well as from Melissa Levy’s time at Yellow Wood Associates.

Thriving Downtowns: An Investment Playbook for Rural Appalachia. 2022. Melissa co-hosted an online session in November at the Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit for Appalachia and the South. The session introduced the Thriving Downtowns playbook, while also featuring a panel of community leaders from case studies within the playbook.

Metrics for Success in Rural Economic Development. 2022. Melissa presented a session at NADO’s Annual Training Conference in October 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania about metrics in rural economic development, focused on sharing the You Get What You Measure process as well as wealth creation measurements.

Exploring a Wealth Creation Approach in Nuclear Host Communities. 2021. Melissa presented a webinar for NADO on a wealth creation approach for nuclear host communities. Find the presentation here.

REDI Peer to Peer Virtual Learning Summit. 2020. Participated on the WealthWorks Hubs Panel and facilitated a breakout around Collaboration, Engagement and Participation.

White Mountain Trail Collective. 2019. Melissa gave a presentation on WealthWorks Value Chains and Human-Powered Recreation at this daylong meeting of the White Mountain Trail Collective in Plymouth, New Hampshire.

Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group. 2019. Melissa presented a half-day workshop at NESAWG’s It Takes a Region annual conference on value chain mapping for the food and agriculture sector.

NeighborWorks America Rural Conference. 2019. Melissa facilitated a session showcasing findings from the Rural Learning Community around building wealth.

Vermont Creative Network Annual Meeting. 2018. With Michael Kane of Michael Kane Consulting, presented about goals, process and preliminary findings of the Northeast Kingdom Creative Economy Study and Action Plan. Also facilitated a session to discuss the statewide study being planned for 2019.

New Hampshire Association of Counties. 2018. Presented a workshop with Chuck Fluharty of RUPRI about rural economic development, specifically about WealthWorks.

WealthWorks Northeast Regional Hub Meeting. 2018. Facilitated a two-day meeting bringing together value chain coordinators from around the Northeast, including NY, VT, NH, ME, and MA, in sectors such as food and agriculture, forestry, outdoor recreation, energy efficiency, and more. Supported by the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund of the New Hampshire Community Foundation.

Saving Special Places. 2018. Presented about Community Engagement: What Makes it Worth It? in New Hampshire.

National Good Food Network Conference. 2018. Presented a session, Promoting Local Food Systems Through Value Chain Exploration and Mapping: An Interactive Workshop, with Patty Cantrell, Director Community Wealth Building, and Katie Nixon, Food Systems Specialist, both at the West Central Missouri Community Action Agency.

New Partners for Smart Growth Conference. 2018. Facilitated a workshop, Value Chains In Small Towns And Rural Communities, in San Francisco, California. 

New Economy Summit. 2018. Presented about WealthWorks at the New Economy Summit: Building A Resilient Social Venture Ecosystem at Worcester State University. 

Rural LISC Annual Meeting. 2017. co-facilitated a plenary session, The WealthWorks Toolkit – A Strategy for Success in Economic and Community Development in Rural America, in Big Sky, Montana. 

Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association. 2017. Facilitated a workshop, Food Dollars. Explore how food-based value chains can create community wealth, in Manchester, Vermont.

Land Trust Alliance Rally. 2016. Co-facilitated a session, Up Your Game: How to Assess and Plan for Greater Impact in Minneapolis. 

National Association of Development Organizations Annual Training Conference. 2016. Facilitated a full-day Learning Lab on Creating Wealth in Rural Economies at the Annual Training Conference in San Antonio, Texas. 

New Economy Coalition's CommonBound Conference. 2016. Assisted in facilitating a session on WealthWorks at this conference in Buffalo, New York. 

New York State Land Conservation Summit. 2016. Facilitated a workshop on Strategic Planning and Creating Measures that Matter. Also facilitated a workshop on Measuring the Impact of Community Conservation

Land Trust Alliance Rally. 2015. Facilitated a half day workshop on strategic planning and measurement. Also co-facilitated a workshop on assessing, planning and measuring the impacts of community conservation. This was in Sacramento, California. 

Environmental Protection Agency Community Involvement Conference. 2015. Facilitated a half-day workshop on strategic planning and creating measures that matter in Atlanta, Georgia.

Designing a Strong and Healthy New York Coalition Conference. 2015. Facilitated a workshop on increasing your impact through collaboration in Albany, New York.

Association for Community Health Improvement. 2015. Presented a session on increasing your impact through collaboration at the annual conference in Dallas, Texas.

Land Trust Alliance Rally. 2014. Facilitated a Board Summit on Increasing Your Land Trust’s Impact Through Collaboration in Providence, Rhode Island.

Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs. 2014. Facilitated a workshop on measurement and WealthWorks in Peoria, Illinois.

Connecticut Land Conservation Conference. 2014. Facilitated a workshop on strategic planning and measurement.

Land Trust Alliance Rally. 2013. Facilitated a workshop on Strategic Planning and Evaluation for Land Trusts in New Orleans.

Vermont Nonprofit Conference. 2013. Presented a session on wealth creation.

Slow Living Summit. 2013. Presented a session on wealth creation.

Partners for Smart Growth. 2013. Facilitated and presented a session on wealth creation.

NADO Rural Sustainable Development Workshop. 2012. Facilitated a session on wealth creation for Sustainable Communities grantees in Omaha, Nebraska.

NADO Rural Sustainable Development Workshop. 2012. Facilitated “Social Equity in Rural Communities: Setting Goals and Tracking Progress” with Wayne Fawbush of the Ford Foundation and Noah Dorius of HUD Region 1.

NADO Economic Development Finance Service Peer Networking Conference. 2012. Speaker on Wealth Creation in Rural Communities for the session “Working Lunch: Rural Wealth Creation.”

NADO National Rural Transportation Peer Learning Conference. 2012. Co-presented a workshop titled “Visioning and Beyond: Developing Plans and Measuring Implementation.”

Walton Family Foundation. 2011. Measurement and Wealth Creation Workshops co-presenter.

alt.Consulting, Arkansas. 2011. Measurement and Wealth Creation Workshop co-presenter.

Sustainable Rural Regenerative Enterprises for Families, Alabama. 2011. Measurement and Wealth Creation Workshop presenter.

National Wildlife Federation. 2011. Measurement and Wealth Creation Workshop co-presenter.

Rural Wealth Creation and Livelihoods: A National Conference and Conversation For Practitioners, Researchers and Policymakers, 2011 – Integrating Measurement into Wealth Creation Work.

Minnesota Campus Compact. 2011. Wealth Creation and Campus Connections presenter.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Community Involvement Conference, Arlington, VA. 2011. You Get What You Measure® workshop co-presenter.

Alliance for Nonprofit Management Conference. 2010. “You Get What You Measure: An Alternative Strategic Planning and Evaluation Tool.”

Vermont Environmental Consortium Annual Conference. 2010. “Vermont’s Environmental Sector: Identifying Green Workforce Training Needs and Opportunities.”

Ford Foundation Triple Bottom Line Working Group Meeting. Chapel Hill, NC. June 2009.Presentation to the Working Group: “Sample Indicators of Community Wealth.”

Vermont Law School. 2008. Green Community Technologies® workshop presenter: “Getting Prepared to Save Energy and Reduce Carbon in Your Community— Assessment Tools and Resources: A Hands-on Technical Workshop & Training.”

Adirondack Research Consortium Annual Conference, Tupper Lake, NY. 2007. Participatory Research workshop presenter.

Middlebury College. Middlebury, VT. 2003. Participatory Research workshop co-presenter.

Cornell University, Indicators Project. 2007. You Get What You Measure® workshop co-presenter.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Community Involvement Conference, Jacksonville, FL. 2007. You Get What You Measure® workshop co-presenter.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Community Involvement Conference, Milwaukee, WI. 2006. You Get What You Measure® workshop co-presenter.

What Works! The Future of Rural Entrepreneurship and Community Development in the Northeast. Burlington, VT. 2005. Green Community Technologies® presentation.