We are a consulting firm specializing in social sustainability. This pillar of sustainability is often underlooked, but is crucial for organizational success. It not only considers how to sustain the flow of resources across social networks, but also how to sustain the needs and priorities of the people who can keep those resources flowing, especially in times of GREAT need. The more connected social networks are, the more collaborative, equitable, and efficient they become.
Why “Community Kinetics”?
Communities are the foundation of life, co-dependence, and coming together around a common interest. Community Kinetics was founded with the idea that social networks must be in motion in order for a community to be “active” or “alive,” even kinetic.
“Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who sets the planets in motion.” Isaac Newton
My services
Workshops: We design and facilitate inclusive and engaging problem-solving workshops that bring together scientists, community groups, and professionals to collaborate and find alignment in their efforts toward a common goal.
Meeting and Coalition facilitation: We facilitate meetings in ways that honor everyone’s right to be heard, elevating overlooked perspectives and fostering shared growth.
Social Network Mapping: We map existing and future stakeholder relationships within a community network.
Qualitative data collection: Collecting and cataloguing stories from stakeholders using co-design processes, including immersive engagement, surveys, workshops, and focus groups.
Social Sustainability Consulting: We advise on how to strengthening stakeholder relationships by tapping into existing networks and resources, rather than creating new ones.
Contact rosie@communitykinetics.com for more information.
Our founder, me!
Hello! My name is Rosie Russell and I am the founder of Community Kinetics. I am here to uplift the work of community and organizations, especially those supporting basic needs for our most vulnerable. My expertise is in sustainability, equity, engagement, and planning, so I like to ask the prying big-picture questions, like, what are you trying to sustain and how will you do it?
In my work, I collect and analyze qualitative data (in response to questions like that), empower connections through social network mapping, co-design equitable stakeholder engagement methodologies, and build shared language across multi-disciplinary networks.
I am curious and enjoy learning. About anything really, but mostly intriguing ideas, concepts, and ways of thinking. Which is one reason I earned my B.S. in Sustainable Development from Buena Vista University and my M.S. in Bioproducts & Biosystems Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
I enjoy taking what I learn and presenting it back in a way that provides a new vantage point to view one’s world. I have over six years of watershed management planning experience; I have co-founded and co-facilitated numerous organizations aiming to support collaboration, systems thinking, and social equity; and I routinely present about my work and research at conferences, universities, and schools. I am open to working almost anywhere, but thoroughly enjoy connecting with people in person, a profound experience!
Email: rosie@communitykinetics.com
Location
Community Kinetics is based in the St. Croix River Valley, a beautiful region that supports a diverse network of plants, animals, people, institutions, and infrastructure.
Water, food, energy, and clean air are consistently threatened by unsustainable, inefficient development, which disproportionately impacts our most vulnerable residents.
I love this region, and am committed to its sustainable prosperity for generations to come.
the view from Interstate State Park in St. Croix Falls, WI, photographed by Rosie Russell
