http://www.ronmilam.com/component/jb2/rss description http://www.ronmilam.com/component/jb2/post/255 I love facilitating retreats. I also love exploring Southern California. I'm combining these two passions of mine into a new list of retreat locations within 150 miles miles of of Downtown LA. Starting with sites in Downtown, this list expands ever outward into the hills, mountains and oceans that make for fantastic settings to host your retreat. Locations with stars*** after their name are sites I have facilitated retreats at. If you're your the first client of mine to schedule a meeting at one of the locations I have not marked with a star, I will give you a discount on my services. If I missed a great retreat site, please share it with me. http://www.ronmilam.com/component/jb2/post/254 The Board of Directors plays a critical leadership role for any nonprofit organization. General responsibilities of Board members include strategic planning, financial oversight, fundraising, selecting/supporting/evaluating the Executive Director, ensuring programs are carried out, ensuring the organization acts ethically, representing the organization in public and recruiting new Board members. Over the years, I have worked with numerous Boards of Directors to help them recruit new members, undergo strategic planning processes, raise money and hire an Executive Director. I do this by facilitating decision-making processes, leading trainings and/or providing coaching. If you and your Board need support with any of the areas, please contact me and we can discuss further.  http://www.ronmilam.com/component/jb2/post/252 In 2011, I’m pleased to report: I served 32 organizations as a consultant, the most organizations I have ever served in a year! (11 returning clients and 21 new clients). See the bottom of this blog post for a detailed list of clients. I facilitated 35 retreats or meetings I led 25 trainings attended by over 800 people Here’s what some of my clients this year said they valued about my consulting:  http://www.ronmilam.com/component/jb2/post/253 Strategic planning answers the question where do we want to go and how do we want to get there for your organization. Note I emphasized the “we” because this is a decision-making process that the entire leadership of an organization needs to make together. This process can vary in length and intensity. As a consultant and facilitator, I really enjoy working with the leadership of organizations to make these key decisions to chart an organization’s future. These decisions often include: Mission: Describes what the organization will do, who it will do it for and how it will achieve the vision. Your mission guides your work. Usually a mission is one to three sentences. (click "read more" below to read rest of post) http://www.ronmilam.com/component/jb2/post/239 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Guest Blog Post from Aurisha Smolarski, Ron Milam Consulting’s newest Associate specializing in Mediation Are you tired of those same tensions playing out at every meeting? Is your organization or board loosing momentum? Unresolved tension between co-workers, board members or board and staff gets in the way of productive meetings, wastes valuable time and energy and creates unpleasant office environments. These tensions often come from stress, misunderstanding, lack of communication or follow up, differences of perspectives, changes in leadership, and/or interpersonal resentments. Oftentimes when Ron facilitates retreats, some tension arises between participants. In his role as a facilitator, Ron can manage any conflict that arises within a group but in order to truly transform the conflict, Ron recommends the parties in conflict work to resolve their differences outside of a retreat during a mediation session. Click the "Read more" link below to view the rest of this post... http://www.ronmilam.com/component/jb2/post/203 (I'm having some fun with Kevin from the LA Poverty Dept. during a strategic planning retreat I facilitated with their leadership) Since launching my own consulting practice in 2005, I have served 70 organizations. Through my work I interact with passionate leaders working on a variety of issues throughout Southern California. Here's a list of all of the great organizations I have worked with (and here's a link to another blog post I wrote mapping my clients in Southern California). Click the "Read more" link below to see Ron's list of clients. http://www.ronmilam.com/component/jb2/post/235 Way back in 1997, before I launched the LA County Bicycle Coalition, I helped create another social change initiative. It had a manifesto. It had a global network of supporters. It had t-shirts. And now, it has a webpage! With a goal of restoring our oceans and usining some humor along the way, we named this organization People Opposed to Offshore Pollution, otherwise known as POOP. I invite you to check out the website. If you like what you see, I encourage you to support the cause by wearing a POOP t-shirt. Enjoy! http://www.ronmilam.com/component/jb2/post/251 I recently created a facebook page for my consulting practice and invite you to check it out. I uploaded a bunch of photos from various rereats I facilitated and like how they are all in one place. In the future, I will share best practices I learn of, reflect on my own practice, ask questions and celebrate the work of the fantastic organizations I get to work with. I like the ease of which information and conversation can be shared on the site (much better than this website!). If you like what you see, I encourage you to press the "like" button. Feel free to also post questions on my wall or share your work with me. I look forward to hearing from you. http://www.ronmilam.com/component/jb2/post/250 Earlier this year, I blogged about the potential benefits of cars that drive themeselves. I just expanded upon that idea with my submission to the LA/2B engagement project that the City of Los Angeles just launched. I encourage you learn more about this concept and if you like the idea, "second it". I also encourage you to submit you own ideas. This whole process looks like a good example of how social media can support a public engagement process.  http://www.ronmilam.com/component/jb2/post/245   I'm facilitating the third public workshop for the Park to Playa Trail Feasibility Study on November 2nd and I invite you to join us. I'm thrilled to be a part of this project that has explored the possibility of creating one trail with so many fantastic scenic vistas connecting the various parks in Baldwin Hills and eventually out to the sea via Ballona Creek. Here's the link to the full meeting flyer. Thanks to Alta Planning and Design who brought me on to facilitate these meetings along with the MRCA and Baldwin Hills Conservancy who are both key partners in this process.