Liz Madison

Liz is the Senior Fellow of Partnership and Community Collaboration Academy.

As Senior Fellow, Liz serves as an instructor of the Managing by Network (MbN) course. Liz serves as a SME of applied training in the 22 partnership and community collaboration competencies. She designs and delivers virtual, on-site and self-paced training.

She is one of the founders of the Academy and the MbN course. Since 2007, she has supported curriculum design, instruction, training needs assessments, evaluation, and the interagency partnerships that make this training possible.

Liz collaborates with the Academy’s management team, MbN Federal Coordinators, and MbN alumni to leverage the MbN curriculum in support of a variety of training needs. For example:

Working with her colleagues from the Academy and DOI office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution (CADR) the team transitioned Getting to the Core of Conflict and Communications (GTC3) from an on-site to a virtual course in 2015. GTC3 is now offered in both formats. With a high demand for GTC3 virtual offerings in 2020, Liz supported the GTC3 Train-the-Trainer program in support of DOI CADR, NPS and BLM instructors, facilitators and producers.

USFWS National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) Course Leaders invite Liz to teach MbN competencies as elements of on-site classes. These classes include NWRS Conservation Easements, Recruit, Retain and Reactive (R3) in support of the USFWS and AFWA hunting and angling initiative, and the USFWS Friends Group Academy.

In 2019, Liz, teamed up with Wiley Carr, PhD., Social Scientist, USFWS and Frank Muth, Curriculum Manager, Branch of Applied Landscape Conservation and Policy, NCTC, USFWS to pilot Collaborative Conservation: Partnerships in Practice (C2P2). This course builds on the foundations of the MbN curriculum and peer-learning of course participants. C2P2 features an overview and application of the most recent social science research in the field of conservation management and networking. Instructors and participants take a deeper dive into relevance, diversity and inclusion (RDI) as well as asset-based community development, facilitation, and conflict management resilience skills.

An unanticipated outcome of the Academy’s training activities is the development of the Academy's Community of Practice (CoP) of partnership and community collaboration practitioners. Liz, the Academy team, MbN Federal Coordinators and MbN alumni support this emerging CoP through training, networking, newsletters, meeting facilitation, sharing new resources and informal reunion gatherings hosted during national conferences. MbN alumni are a driving force of this CoP, for example:

An MbN alumnus at the USDA National Partnership Office invited Liz and the Academy team to host a MbN Train-the-Trainer (MbN T3) Workshop to supported team building and research and development to support implementing the One USDA Initiative in 2018. MBN T3 is designed to strengthen instructional skills related to adult learners and features MbN partnership and community collaboration competencies.

MbN alumni from the NPS representing the National Heritage Areas, the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program and the National Capital Area invited Liz and the Academy team to create virtual classes, on-site workshops, and self-paced training featuring MBN competencies as well as strategic and business planning.

For 40 years, Liz has worn many conservation hats: national park ranger, vice president of development and communications, director of conservation boards, trainer, and consultant to nonprofit, profit and public agencies in the areas of management, fundraising, partnerships, public relations and training.

She earned a B.A. with honors in History and Anthropology and M.A. in American Studies from The College of William and Mary. She resides in Sterling, Virginia with her husband, Dwight and German Shepherd, Ranger.