2021: A Year in Review for Bellwether Consulting
Happy holidays from Bellwether Consulting! We have so much gratitude for our community of changemakers, and the work we have been part of in 2021.
Our Team
We added a full-time employee to the team! Welcome, Mike Bell!
We rounded out several projects with our dynamic and super-talented associates Joanna Hubbard-Rivera, Vincent Frazier, Rachel Speck, and Rachel Brummel!
We brought on Piper Wood to lead communications efforts such as this one!
Our Work
We did lots of transportation equity work this year, including:
Forming and facilitating the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)’s Equity Work Group to inform long-range planning;
Applying an equity lens to the Minnesota Electric Vehicles Assessment in partnership with Great Plains Institute;
Applying an equity lens to the Highway 77 Study; and
Applying an equity lens to the Metropolitan Council’s Electric Vehicles Study in partnership with Great Plains Institute.
We partnered with the Humphrey School of Public Affairs to build leadership skills among 36 senior leaders across the State of Minnesota through a 10-week program.
We worked with regional partners to build and operate a Federal Funding Hub, and helped to secure a Build Back Better Regional Planning Grant.
We did two cohort-based workforce projects with the Department of Labor and Industry:
An intensive DEI workshop that brought together changemakers from 27 companies to discuss strategies, share experiences, and produce action plans, and
A comprehensive Train-the-Trainer workshop aimed at building up equitable training infrastructure and best practices at 22 healthcare and manufacturing companies.
We supported an assessment of the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ Integrated Service Delivery.
We conducted focus groups and interviews with people experiencing homelessness, people with a history of incarceration, refugees, and other Ramsey County residents to understand and document their barriers to wellness.
We featured 9 Herocrats from 7 states who are leading with courage, creativity and connection in their communities.
What’s Next?
Our team is energized for the work that we will be a part of in the new year, and we plan to lean on our “simple rules” in order to see bigger, work deeply, and build more just and equitable communities together in 2022 and beyond.