Blue Nexus Strategies is your partner when something is getting in the way of achieving your mission.
We specialize in solving problems at the intersection of technical knowledge, people, and process for climate and environment-focused organizations.
We work with non-profits, government entities, established companies, and start-ups, providing fractional and project-based senior-level support.
Struggling with a board that needs help with direction—or with identifying and recruiting new board members?
Realizing you need a strategic planning meeting—or full strategic planning process—and don’t know where to start?
Planning an initiative that involves multiple stakeholders and need someone to organize participants and drive forward momentum?
Recognizing you need a third-party perspective to help your team identify process issues and design new systems?
Simply lacking bandwidth and needing a senior-level professional who can get up to speed quickly and execute on a time-limited basis?
Our Services
Facilitation & Process Design
Support for multi-stakeholder initiatives, workshops, and working groups; design and execution of multi-stakeholder reports, including meeting design and report writing; and webinar design and execution.
Board Governance
Strategic facilitation to help boards clarify priorities and resolve impasses. Services include confidential board member interviews, facilitated strategy meetings, board member identification and recruitment, and other governance support including full board “tune-ups.”
Strategic Planning & Implementation
Facilitated strategic planning processes with a focus on ideation and execution. Includes custom-designed process, implementation plans, and related project management.
Process Improvement
Assistance streamlining operations through SOP development, workflow optimization, and knowledge management systems.
Other Services
Have a different problem and are not sure how to solve it? We offer a variety of other services, including subject matter expert identification and thought partnership, and are happy to design something for you. We also keep a list of vetted professionals, including for finance, communications, human resources, technology, and workforce training needs.
We excel at creating custom, nimble solutions without the overhead of a large agency.
About Laura Windecker, Principal and Founder
After nearly a decade working in DC for non-profits and the federal government, Laura couldn’t help but notice how real change often happens at the intersections—of disciplines, perspectives, and ways of doing. She saw that the key action is often bringing together people from different backgrounds— and that these efforts almost always require an entity to take up the mantle of designer of processes and translator of ideas who can simultaneously see the big picture and the critical details. This happens to be one of Laura’s favorite ways of working.
Given the increasing complexity of our world and the need to work across boundaries to solve problems, Laura launched Blue Nexus Strategies to help groups and organizations work better internally and in concert with others to achieve big goals.
With a PhD in Marine Science from UC Santa Barbara and nearly a decade of experience managing environmental initiatives, she brings scientific rigor and systems thinking to organizational challenges, combined with a proven ability to build consensus across diverse stakeholders. Her work spans strategic planning, board management, and a wide variety of multi-stakeholder efforts for diverse organizations, including the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Laura was a NOAA John A. Knauss Sea Grant Fellow and also holds an MS in Oceanography from the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island and a BA in Physics & Marine Science from Bowdoin College.
Connect on LinkedIn
Key Attributes
PhD-level scientific expertise with the ability to speak both technical and strategic language.
Experienced trusted 3rd-party facilitator with ability to work in sensitive environments.
Resourceful systems thinker with the ability to move between big-picture thinking and the critical details.
Track record of successfully engaging diverse stakeholders including academics, federal officials, industry experts, and non-profit leaders.
Washington, DC-based with the ability to travel domestically or internationally.
Free 30-minute consultation to discuss your needs and determine fit
Clear proposal with deliverables, timeline, and budget
Flexible engagement (1099 contractor option, your preferred contracting method)
