Anne encourages workshop participants to articulate what is important to them about Lake Winnebago and its watershed.
David Sibbet, Brandy Agerbeck, and Jennifer Landau work with Anne on "sense of place" design at an open space session at the International Forum of Visual Practitioners in 2002.
My name is Anne Forbes. My business, Partners in Place, LLC, offers a range of consulting services that focus on topics of resource stewardship and growing a sense of place. I specialize in interactive meetings and events that build environmental partnerships and community collaborations.
Specifically, this means that:
- I am a skilled facilitator and an inventive designer of workshops, forums, and other participatory events.
- I coach leaders and planning teams through carefully designed strategies that are place-based, inclusive, innovative, and grounded in high quality local knowledge and scientific information.
- Central to these designs is my commitment to innovation in building respectful, results-oriented collaborations between citizens and experts.
- I am also known for being pragmatic and working with clients to understand their timelines and establish a quality process that meets their needs.
- I strive to create stimulating learning environments where results are made visible through large-scale recording that ensures accountability and builds consensus.
- My efforts enhance the capacity of groups to achieve effective, systematic, long-term environmental stewardship through:
- Assisting individual groups to articulate and effectively respond to their unique purpose or mission.
- Assisting partnerships or collaborations among groups within a geographic region and/or with a common set of priority issues.
In addition to formal training (B.A. Biology; M.S. Zoology; M.S. Continuing Adult Education), I have over 30 years of experience in natural resources research, planning, and collaboration including 7 years at the Center for Limnology, UW-Madison, and 17 years at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The clients of Partners in Place, LLC, are nonprofit groups, including land trusts, watershed groups, community foundations, and professional organizations; natural resource agencies at local, state, and federal levels; educational groups, including retreat centers, churches, and schools; and private landowners. For specific examples, view selected projects and clients.
Colleagues and consultant teams
I frequently collaborate with others to put together consulting teams or make referrals that best serve clients’ needs. Among these are:
- Barbara Hummel Consulting
- Clark Forestry, Inc.
- Denise Jess Consulting
- Kathy Germann Consulting
- Madison Environmental Group
- Real World Research, LLC
Professional Membership
I challenge myself by meeting new colleagues and learning through professional memberships in:
- International Association for Public Participation
- International Association of Facilitators
- International Forum of Visual Practitioners
- North American Association for Environmental Education
Related Volunteer Work
I share my experience and commitment by volunteering in my home community as:
- Co-founder, Friends of Lake Wingra, a grassroots community partnership in my home watershed.
- Member, Local Groups Assistance Advisory Team, River Alliance of Wisconsin