A working hub · The Neighborhoods Network 2026

From a single question
to a visible ecosystem

The retreat is built as a network that grows. Each activity is a node. Every node keeps everything before it, then adds one new layer of understanding. This is the place to find what each step produced.

The journey · local & lived → strategic
Phase 1 · Defining
Starts with place
What we know, what thriving means, in the language of lived experience.
Phase 2 · Systems
Expands understanding
What sustains thriving, and what undermines it.
Phase 3 · Ecosystem
Makes relationships visible
The actors, the bridges, the gaps, and who touches what.
Phase 4 · Integration
Identifies possibility
Leverage points, recurring patterns, and what carries forward.
Local & lived More systemic More relational More strategic
Explore the roadmap →
Step through how each activity builds on the one before it.
The activities

Eight steps, four phases

Jump straight into any activity below, or explore the journey → to see how each step builds on what came before.

1
Complete
What is your "neighborhood"?
Phase 1 · Defining
2
Complete
What do you really care about?
Phase 1 · Defining
3
Complete
What keeps those things alive?
Phase 2 · Systems
4
Complete
What undermines them?
Phase 2 · Systems
5
Complete
Who is in the ecosystem?
Phase 3 · Ecosystem
6
Complete
Who touches the conditions?
Phase 3 · Ecosystem
7
Complete
Where are the leverage points?
Phase 4 · Integration
8
Complete
What are we leaving with?
Phase 4 · Integration
What's here

Three things on every activity page

Assets

The polished visual outputs of each activity — diagrams, summaries, interactive pages. Embedded inline where they work, downloadable as PDF or PNG where useful.

Artifacts

The raw and working materials. Synthesis memos, breakout notes, sticky CSVs, source documents. The evidence layer behind the assets.

Status

Where each activity sits — upcoming, in progress, or complete. What it produced, what comes next, what carries forward.

Most recent

What just landed

Activity 8 · Phase 4 · Complete

What are we leaving with?

The Thursday close. The cohort worked through where each person landed, what sustains the components and what matters most, then pulled it into a consolidated synthesis with recommendations and a first read on what each member will commit to next. The leverage-points work planned as Activity 7 was taken up here. The synthesis is live as an interactive page, with PDF and the block-by-block working materials alongside.

Open Activity 8 → View the Thursday synthesis
Who runs this

Conveners

Co-founder, C4C
George Schuler

George is a systems strategist whose work starts from a simple observation: in complex systems, there is rarely a shortage of activity. What is missing is a clear view of how things actually connect. He previously served as Director of Water at The Nature Conservancy in New York and held leadership roles supporting the CEO Water Mandate, working with companies, NGOs, and global institutions on water stewardship and collective action. He is the architect of C4C's intelligence platform and graph tool suite.

george@connectingforchangellc.com
Co-founder, C4C
Dr. Sarah Whateley

Sarah is a water resource engineer whose work sits at the intersection of technical systems and human decision-making. She brings a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering and a track record of translating complex data into tools, frameworks, and training that communities and organizations can actually use. She currently serves as a Program Manager at the Waldo County Soil and Water Conservation District, keeping one foot in applied, place-based work that grounds C4C's approach.

swhatele@gmail.com
Questions or corrections
Get in touch

This hub is a working document. If anything needs correcting, or if you want something added, write to us.

info@connectingforchangellc.com