Our Projects
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LD 814 The Older Mainers Act, 2024-2026
Challenge: Older Mainers experienced long waitlists for core services such as Meals on Wheels and Medicare counseling statewide due to insufficient funding to meet growing need. Legislators and officials often undereducated about AAA services.
Project Overview & Strategy: Fiddlehead led a statewide coalition with AgeWise Maine, AARP Maine, and Maine Council on Aging to educate legislators and advocate for LD 814 The Older Mainers Act to increase funding for core aging services.
Impact:
- Shorter waitlists for core services.
- $3 million appropriation to address surging waitlists, a surprising and impactful win.
- Stronger collaboration amidst AgeWise Maine members and other organizations statewide.
- Additional $600k from Gov. Mills office to provide additional food to older Mainers amidst Government Shutdown in Fall 2025 due to higher profile of AgeWise Maine and their services.
Resources:
Front-page news in the Maine Sunday Telegram on June 29, 2025.
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LGBTQ+ Coalition Retreat Facilitation, Fall 2025
Challenge: Coalition members needed space to align priorities, strengthen collaboration, and chart a unified advocacy strategy.
Strategy: Fiddlehead Strategies designed and facilitated a retreat that centered equity, structured dialogue, and consensus-building, ensuring diverse voices were heard and integrated into planning.
Impact: Produced a shared understanding of the coalitions’s mission, deepened coalition cohesion, and recommendations for continued alignment.
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Board Retreat & Staff Strategic Implementation Session, Fall 2025
Challenge: The Maine Women’s Lobby needed to strengthen board connections and clarify its 2026 strategic priorities for Board and Staff. Board members and staff sought a deeper understanding of their role in advancing these priorities and a clear path for implementation.
Project Overview & Strategy: Fiddlehead Strategies designed and facilitated a full‑day retreat in China, Maine for the Board and Executive Director. The session combined relationship‑building, stakeholder data review, and structured workshops to refine 2026 strategic priorities. Through small‑group activities and consensus‑building, participants surfaced opportunities, urgent needs, and organizational strengths.
Following the retreat, Fiddlehead led a staff session to translate board recommendations into actionable steps, ensuring alignment across leadership and staff.
Impact:
- Final draft of 2026 Strategic Priorities and their connection to the MWL Strategic Plan.
- Stronger board relationships and connection to the 2026 strategic priorities.
- Clear ownership and drafted goals structure for advancing MWL’s 2026 strategic priorities.
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Statewide Vaccination Initiative, 2023-2025
Challenge: In 2022, Older Mainers faced barriers to COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, including misinformation and logistical hurdles.
Project Overview & Strategy: Led statewide initiative to create partnerships, coordinate messaging, and launch website and media campaign to support vaccination efforts. Managed $1M grant from USAging.
Impact: Through the project, Maine’s Area Agencies on Aging and their partners
-Hosted 330 vaccination clinics in over 50 towns statewide.
- Administered over 15,000 vaccinations to older adults statewide.
- Strengthened collaboration between aging services and healthcare providers.
Resources:
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Systems Overhaul and Studio Expansion, 2023-2024
Challenge: Portland Pottery had extremely high demand and many inefficient systems holding them back from expanding. The organization sought to strengthen its operations structure while continuing to serve as a creative hub for hundreds of artists and students.
Project Overview & Strategy: Led operational overhaul to respond to long-standing feedback from staff and students.
Impact: After just 18 months, Portland Pottery had
- Expanded to a second building.
- Grew student body from 350 to 520.
- Increased net profit by 33%.
- Increased revenue by 16%.
- New website and online registration system for thousands of registrants annually.
- Improved communication within staff and with students via student handbook and feedback loops.
- More equitable hiring and registration practices.
Resources:
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Volunteer Services Redesign and Interim Leadership, Spring 2024
Challenge: Volunteer roles and reporting systems were fragmented across programs, making it difficult to sustain engagement and align the organizations 400+ volunteers with agency priorities.
Project Overview & Strategy: Reviewed risk assessment report and gathered feedback from volunteers and staff to develop and implement a strategic work plan to revamp the policies and practices of Volunteer Services to improve volunteer experience.
Impact: Laid foundation for new Volunteer Leadership to step in and improved volunteer experience amidst leadership transition.
- Refreshed and launched volunteer policies and handbook.
- Revamped new and returning volunteer training content and process.
- Collaborated with the leadership team to restructure the department to more effectively support volunteers and staff.
- Created departmental stability amidst leadership transition and developed recommendations for incoming Volunteer Director.
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Union Farmers Market Development, 2023
Challenge: Farmers in the Midcoast region sought to activate a shared space in Union, Maine to strengthen local agriculture, but needed a clear vision, feasibility planning, and consensus among diverse stakeholders.
Project Overview & Strategy: Fiddlehead Strategies partnered with the Micoast Farmers Alliance to gather input, conducted a feasibility study, build business model financial projections, and facilitated alignment meetings with Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Maine Farmland Trust, and the Alliance members.
Impact:
- Established a unified strategy for the space among across farmers and partner organizations.
- Launched weekly farmers markets beginning in 2024, creating a lasting hub for Midcoast agriculture.
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Cabinet on Aging Statewide Initiative, 2024-2025
Challenge: Fragmented service delivery across Maine between Maine’s Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and Age-Friendly Communities. The initiative, funded by Governor Mills' Cabinet on Aging, intended to expand collaboration amongst organizations and Age-Friendly Communities to more effectively support older adults in Maine.
Project Overview & Strategy: Fiddlehead created and led the statewide implementation for the AAAs. We supported and managed AAA subgrantees statewide and collaborated with the University of Maine's Center on Aging to align efforts across the project. Fiddlehead built consensus and implemented the plan to leverage funding to create sustained impact beyond the 1 year grant. Managed $750k grant.
Impact:
- Created stronger connections among aging service providers
- Provided new tools to staff to engage communities more effectively, such as stronger cultural competency and public speaking.
- Laid the groundwork for a more sustainable, statewide approach to supporting older Mainers.
Resources:
Carly interviewed on WMTW in Fall 2023 about the statewide vaccination initiative.
Other Experience
Director of Operations and Strategy, Panorama Education, Client Success Team
Customer Services Manager, Panorama Education
Program Manager, Chicas Dinámicas
Regional Director, Strive for College
Special Projects Coordinator, City Bar Justice Center