STRATEGIC PLANNING
Lead or assist organizations in developing long-range strategic plans.
  • Strategic direction;
  • Strategic analysis and
     issue identification;
  • Strategic programming.
PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Assist organizations in analyzing, developing, and expanding their partnership networks.
  • Partnership strategies;
  • Social network mapping;
  • Branding/marketing strategies and materials.
COLLABORATIVE SOLUTIONS
Lead or assist organizations in collaborative problem solving and consensus building.
  • Stakeholder analysis/problem definition;
  • Alternative solution generation/evaluation;
  • Decision making.

REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS

Friends of the Angeles Strategic Plan
Client(s): NorthStar Technology Corp/USDA Forest Service, Angeles National Forest/National Forest Foundation
Year of Completion: 2014

The Angeles National Forest is one of the most urban national forests in the nation, located within an hour's drive of downtown Los Angeles. More than 4 million people visit the Forest each year for a variety of recreation activities. The Forest is home to important threatened and endangered plant and animal species. The Forest provides critical infrastructure to the city, including power and gas lines, telecommunications, and flood control. The USDA Forest Service, in partnership with the National Forest Foundation (NFF), hired KJ Peterson Consulting to help form a Friends organization that would garner support for this mega-urban Forest. Over a period of three years, Kathy Peterson conducted community sensing sessions; collaborated with interested partners to articulate a collective vision/mission; developed and implemented a strategic plan; recruited founding members; designed a website; and guided the new group through initial organizational steps, including writing a formal charter and election of officers. Our company used social networking software to assist the group in identifying and engaging a more diverse community of partners. We also led the newly formed group in planning and hosting their first Forest Community Forum - a celebratory gathering of more than 25 volunteer groups and partner organizations - to introduce the Friends' mission, members, and projects; to acknowledge the contributions of the volunteers; and to provide a networking opportunity for the community to "Discover the Angeles!"

Friends of the Angeles Transition Plan
Client(s): NorthStar Technology Corp/USDA Forest Service, Angeles National Forest/National Forest Foundation
Year of Completion: 2015

In October 2014, President Obama designated a portion of the Angeles National Forest as the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. This presented a compelling opportunity and need for the Friends of the Angeles to redirect its efforts to include serving the newly designated Monument and the surrounding communities. Soon after, the founding members voted to restructure their group as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, to more effectively achieve their expanded mission. KJ Peterson Consulting was hired by NFF to develop a transition plan that would serve as a framework for action in attaining non-profit status. Our company guided the group in setting goals and objectives, researched suitable format and content options, designed the document's organization and layout, wrote the text, and created attractive graphics. We incorporated into the planning process a branding exercise, enlisting the help of a professional branding/marketing specialist to help the group articulate their evolving identity; the result was a professional logo that captures the juxtaposition of the Forest's natural environment with the mega-urban setting of the Los Angeles Basin. The completed 40-page transition plan includes a history of the organization, as well as a description of tasks and activities that would need to take place over a 2-year period to efficiently move the group from a coalition to a functional, sustainable non-profit organization. An appendix contained funding model options, position descriptions, organizational guidelines, a budget template, and a proposed annual program of work.