Becky is a private consultant with an emphasis in group facilitation, strategic planning, issue resolution, and policy development. Drawing upon multiple disciplines, Becky has designed and facilitated a wide range of meetings, retreats and strategic planning processes for both the public and non-profit sectors, and has over 25 years experience in non-profit management, coalition building, and policy change.
During her career, Becky has previously held positions with the WV School-Based Health Assembly and the Governor’s Cabinet on Children and Families, and has served as a government relation’s specialist at Tonkin Management Group to advance public health and child welfare policy issues.
In addition to facilitation and consultation, Becky serves as co-coordinator of Our Babies: Safe and Sound, a statewide educational campaign on infant safety sponsored by TEAM for West Virginia Children. In this position, she is responsible for research, program design, implementation, technical assistance, and facilitation. Most recently, Say YES To Safe Sleep for Babies, an infant safe sleep parent educational program, has been implemented with 16 birthing hospitals and 20 home visitation programs across West Virginia.
Becky is a certified trainer in the Standards of Excellence for the Non-Profit Sector, is a member of the International Association of Facilitators, and has served on numerous non-profit boards. She is a graduate of West Virginia University and Marshall University College of Graduate Studies, and holds a master’s degree in counseling and guidance, with an emphasis in community organization.
Collective Impact is working with faculty members of the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Center for Sustainable Business and Development, Department of Political Science, and Department of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management to conduct a research project to better understand Appalachian tourism and identify opportunities to grow tourism activities and encourage business development throughout the region. The project is funded through a competitive grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) - a federal economic development agency. The project is the largest and most comprehensive study of tourism ever conducted by the commission, which covers 205,000 square miles across 420 counties in 13 states. Results of the study will help us better understand the state of tourism of the region, new growth areas for tourism in Appalachian communities, and best practices and successful strategies to help the communities succeed. The project will use research, surveys, site visits, and focus groups as part of the research method. The project also will identify communities to use as case studies to illustrate local tourism success stories and best practices for tourism business development.
Angels’ Place contracted with Collective Impact to conduct an organizational assessment resulting in a report outlining options for short-term implementation and long-term operational sustainability of the agency. The organizational assessment included a review of past experience and performance and current trends in early childcare education and nonprofit management, as well as current financial realities facing the agency. Utilizing the organizational assessment findings and recommendations, Collective Impact facilitated a strategic planning process with Board of Directors and key staff leading to the development of a three-year strategic plan and action implementation plans. Angels’ Place provides exceptional family support and quality early childhood education to help parents in need and their children become lifelong learners to create a brighter future.
"As a large center, we collectively set out to begin our strategic planning process knowing there would be many levels of detail to consider and the need for objective, thoughtful, and creative ideas and assessment processes. Immediately, Bruce Decker listened to our needs and considered what our center was “all about”. He took the time to invest in this effort so that he could respond to participants’ needs along the way. He provided detailed materials that efficiently and effectively helped us focus on what we needed to accomplish at the upcoming sessions. During the sessions, he creatively kept our attention while making all pieces of the session pertinent to our goal. In the end, people loved Bruce and what he was able to accomplish. Repeatedly, I heard that our sessions were not “typical strategic planning” sessions. Positive reviews have come in from our center team AND our partners. Finally, the summaries Bruce provided to us after each session are crucial documents to us as we build new materials and the plan for the next 5 years!!!! We are very grateful to Bruce and Collective Impact!" ~ Lesley Cottrell, Director, West Virginia University Center for Excellence in Disabilities (WVU CED), Morgantown, WV
