Craig Freshley

 

Biography - Short Version

Through his writing, teaching, and meeting facilitation services, Craig Freshley has helped hundreds of groups make good decisions. He is the author of The Wisdom of Group Decisions and dozens of one-page Group Decision Tips. Craig Freshley has a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Management and has developed a lifetime career studying behaviors and attitudes that contribute to group productivity, efficiency and peace. He lives in a cohousing community in Brunswick, Maine.

Biography - Long Version

My first attempt to make a living and help the environment at the same time was after graduating from the University of Maine in 1985 when I started a bicycle courier service in Portland called Intown Courier. After a few years I sold the company and pursued a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management which led to a job at the Maine State Planning Office. I staffed the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment which exposed me to how Canadian policy makers were responding to Agenda 21, one result of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. I studied how to bring sustainable development principles to the states and I helped write a booklet called Sustainable Maine. I also wrote an editorial called Earth’s Wake-up Call and another called Tribute to Donella Meadows.

In 1996 I began work at the Maine Development Foundation, a non-profit organization based at the state capital. I was the principal researcher and author of nine editions of Measures of Growth, an annual report of quality-of-life indicators. I prepared public policy reports on several topics and I staffed Governor King’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care. In 2001, I started the Maine Downtown Center and became its first director. The annual editions of Measures of Growth continue to be a valuable resource for Maine policy makers and the Maine Downtown Center continues to help our community centers thrive.

As a volunteer in the mid-1990's I was active in a group called Sustainable Maine. In 2004 I served as the start-up board chair of GrowSmart Maine. From 2006-2008, I chaired the board of the Merriconeag Waldorf School in Freeport, Maine and today I serve on the Advisory Committee of the Friends School of Portland. I currently do volunteer training sessions for the Maine Association of Nonprofits and volunteer facilitation for Common Good Ventures.

Today I continue to try and make a living and help the environment at the same time. My part is to help groups make good decisions. I have facilitated the meetings and decisions of hundreds of groups of different types, large and small, formal and informal. My clients have included government agencies, non-profits, and corporations. Here is an annotated list of all current and past clients.

I have written a book called Tips to make Good Group Decisions and more recently, The Wisdom of Group Decisions. Here is a complete list of publications.

I live in a cohousing community where we strive to make decisions by consensus. I am a Quaker. I am married with two daughters. In addition to my family, other diversions from work include keeping up an old house and barn, a dog, three sheep, a small flock of chickens and The Common House Band.

Send me an e-mail by clicking here.