Bloomington Chamber of Commerce
  • Business Directory
  • Membership
    • Join Today!
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Business Resources
      • Cost Saving Programs
      • Co-Work Space & Conference Room
      • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training
      • Marketing
      • Networking >
        • Business After Hours
      • Ribbon Cuttings and Milestones
    • Levels of Membership
    • Member Login
    • Member Materials
    • Ambassadors >
      • Welcome Committee
      • Ambassador Toolkit
  • News & Events
    • Chamber News >
      • Sign Up For News
    • Member News
    • Chamber Events Calendar
    • Signature Events
    • Sponsorship
    • Photo Gallery
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Matters Updates >
      • Sign Up for Advocacy News
    • Local Government Advisory Boards
    • Elected Officials Directory
    • Transparency in Government
    • State Legislative Process
    • 2023 Municipal Election >
      • Mayoral Candidates 2023
      • City Council Candidates 2023
    • 2023 Local Public Policy
    • 2023 State-Federal Advocacy
    • Resources >
      • Civic Engagement
      • Gender Wage Gap
      • Housing
      • Taxes
      • Transportation
  • Community
    • #BTownChamberEats
    • Black-Owned Business Affinity Group
    • Bloomington Women in Leadership >
      • BWIL Steering Committee
    • Job Board
    • The Success School >
      • How To Get Involved >
        • 2023 Educator of the Year Nominations
        • 2022 Educator of the Year Awards
      • Programs >
        • Request Programming
      • About Us
      • Success School FAQs
      • Contact The Success School
    • Young Professionals >
      • YPB Steering Committee
      • Ten Under 40
      • YPB Events
      • YPB Pics
    • Community Calendar
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • History
    • Chamber App
    • Contact

Photo Gallery

Business Spotlight: Gnarly Tree Sustainability Institute

8/26/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Stephanie Richards, Managing Principal of Gnarly Tree Sustainability Institute, has lived here in Bloomington, Indiana for about 19 years. Then, in 2009 Gnarly Tree Sustainability Institute was created. Stephanie moved here for graduate school in 1998 and felt right at home. She has a Master’s in Public Affairs in environmental policy and nonprofit management and a Master’s in Business Administration in marketing, which she uses to consult their clients on environmental policy design and sustainability management. They have deep roots in the community. They have built a passive solar lodge-style home near Lake Monroe in 2017, and spend most of their spare time converting their yard into a low-mow botanical garden, volunteering at the nearby Sycamore Land Trust preserve, helping their neighbors eradicate invasive species, enjoying our Labradoodle, and experimenting with plant-rich recipes. 

Questions & Answers

​What motivated you to start your own business? How did you develop the skills to start your own business? I was inspired by my time overseas, meeting people who had founded their own businesses and seemed very happy pursuing a variety of different activities within their “portfolio lifestyle.” I liked the idea of designing my own dream job and have enjoyed creating a great place for my team to work and feel supported in their career goals. I had a solid base of skills from my graduate education at Indiana University. I have built upon that strong foundation of skills by educating myself, taking executive education courses, seeking the wise counsel of others, and recruiting great team members with complementary skills sets.
Picture
What inspires your work and what sets you apart from everyone else? I am inspired by the opportunity to put our skills to work effecting positive social change, to create a work environment where everyone feels valued and heard, and to mentor students so they’re prepared to be the next generation of sustainability leaders. What sets us apart from other organizations is we embrace complex sustainability issues that don’t have a standard methodology. We care deeply about sustainability and our clients, partners, and team members. We lead by example, as the only certified B-corporation in Bloomington, Indiana. We have a broad network of experts in academia, nonprofit organizations, and consulting that we can quickly and nimbly organize around a wide variety of complex sustainability challenges.
Picture
What makes your business stand out from other businesses in Bloomington?
We help our clients address complex sustainability challenges by engaging customized teams of academics, consultants, and students to apply their knowledge of policy and management theory with lessons from real-world experience and best practices to provide clients with cost-effective, creative, and collaborative solutions. We work with clients from the private, not-for-profit and government sectors, and at all levels from local to international.  At the same time, our unique approach to our work helps us prepare sustainability leaders for the demands of tomorrow.
Have you won any awards or had any special recognition or acknowledgement of your business? If so, name them! B-corporation certification 2017 (100.8 points)
 
What has been your biggest success to date? Expanding our firm during the COVID pandemic, when many other companies were downsizing.​
What has been your biggest challenge? Building our brand recognition while trying to keep overhead costs low for the benefit of our clients.
 
What are your plans for the future of your business? Expanding our work to more Midwest municipalities and businesses while continuing to serve our clients at international organizations and federal government agencies. ​
Picture
To learn more about Gnarly Tree Sustainability Institute, you can find them online at:
Website: www.gnarlytreesustainability.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gnarlytreesustainability
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/gnarlytreesustainability
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    The Chamber 

    Take a look at what's been going on at The Chamber!

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    September 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019

    Categories

    All
    Business Spotlight
    Chamber-event
    Ribbon-cutting

    RSS Feed

The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.  All Rights Reserved.
421 W 6th Street, Suite A  |  Bloomington, IN 47404
Phone: (812)336-6381 | info@chamberbloomington.org | sitemap
Office Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Friday: 9:00am-3:00pm

There is a no refund policy for events.  If you need to reassign your ticket to another person we will be happy to update our attendance list. Thank you.
Picture
  • Business Directory
  • Membership
    • Join Today!
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Business Resources
      • Cost Saving Programs
      • Co-Work Space & Conference Room
      • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training
      • Marketing
      • Networking >
        • Business After Hours
      • Ribbon Cuttings and Milestones
    • Levels of Membership
    • Member Login
    • Member Materials
    • Ambassadors >
      • Welcome Committee
      • Ambassador Toolkit
  • News & Events
    • Chamber News >
      • Sign Up For News
    • Member News
    • Chamber Events Calendar
    • Signature Events
    • Sponsorship
    • Photo Gallery
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Matters Updates >
      • Sign Up for Advocacy News
    • Local Government Advisory Boards
    • Elected Officials Directory
    • Transparency in Government
    • State Legislative Process
    • 2023 Municipal Election >
      • Mayoral Candidates 2023
      • City Council Candidates 2023
    • 2023 Local Public Policy
    • 2023 State-Federal Advocacy
    • Resources >
      • Civic Engagement
      • Gender Wage Gap
      • Housing
      • Taxes
      • Transportation
  • Community
    • #BTownChamberEats
    • Black-Owned Business Affinity Group
    • Bloomington Women in Leadership >
      • BWIL Steering Committee
    • Job Board
    • The Success School >
      • How To Get Involved >
        • 2023 Educator of the Year Nominations
        • 2022 Educator of the Year Awards
      • Programs >
        • Request Programming
      • About Us
      • Success School FAQs
      • Contact The Success School
    • Young Professionals >
      • YPB Steering Committee
      • Ten Under 40
      • YPB Events
      • YPB Pics
    • Community Calendar
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • History
    • Chamber App
    • Contact