SWB Consulting Services

10/04/2026

I learned a lot at the Land Use training sponsored by NYSERDA and Pace University https://www.pace.edu/law/centers-and-institutes/pace-energy-and-climate-center

09/09/2026

https://www.syracuse.com/business/2025/11/leadership-rewind-with-meg-oconnell-when-a-door-opens-walk-through-it.html

Excellent leadership guidance!

As O'Connell steps down from the Allyn Family Foundation, we revisit a 2020 conversation about her approach to leadership steeped in Catholic social teaching and serving others.

08/27/2026

🛍We are evolving the way we give back! The Party for the Pantries is officially transitioning from a single-night fundraiser into a year-round, community-wide donation effort.🫂

💲Instead of waiting for one evening, local OEC member businesses will feature donation buckets and run custom mini-campaigns—like Match Months, Raise-Up Days, and point-of-sale round-ups—January through May. Every drop of small change adds up to a massive impact for our local community pantries.

🗓️Save the Date (Either May 11, or May 25): The Grand Finale

To wrap up the year-round push, we are ditching the traditional silent auction dinner for a high-energy, casual community gathering!

📍Location: Goodwood Tavern (catered by Trappers II Pizza & Pub - T2) 🍷

🪅The Fun: Casual event featuring trivia with the infamous Spice Master himself, Josh Amidon

🏆The Highlights: The big reveal of our total year-round collection, impact stories from our pantry partners, and the presentation of the John Goodfellow Community Impact Award.

👀Keep an eye out for official donation buckets at your favorite OEC establishments, drop in your spare change, and get ready to celebrate with us on the courts! Together, we can turn small change into a big impact for our neighbors.

‼Membership - please reach out if you want to participate in hosting a bucket to collect for our pantries from January to May 2027.
* Every OEC member receives an official "Party for the Pantries" prominent counter signage.
* Establishments are encouraged to run custom mini campaigns to drive bucket engagement:
-Match Months: The business matches all change collected during a specific month.
-Raise-Up Days: Dedicating a percentage of a single day’s sales to the bucket.
-Point-of-Sale Push: Staff asking patrons if they'd like to "round up" for the pantries.
o The "Friendly Rivalry" Angle: Introduce a leaderboard to track which business raises the most (bragging rights are a great motivator). Whoever creates the coolest-looking donation box (i.e. Spill the Tea: a coffee bag, Trappers II: Pizza/Chicken Wing)

08/10/2026

Congratulations Suzi!

This feature is coordinated by The Post-Standard, Syracuse.com and InterFaith Works of CNY. Follow this theme and author posted Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

08/08/2026

See NYS Comptrollers Report on that shows the importance of Women, Minority and Veteran owned businesses.
https://www.osc.ny.gov/files/reports/pdf/business-owners-in-new-york-state.pdf

08/02/2026

Great to see Suzy Conmy for lunch. Friends since we worked together at Transitional Living Services, now Access CNY.

07/24/2026

https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/07/16/how-americans-are-engaged-with-news-politics-religion-and-civic-life/

Americans’ engagement with others is not one-dimensional. Instead, they sort into four distinct groups that reflect different patterns of participation in society.

07/15/2026

As many parts of the U.S. experience sustained high temperatures and humidity, and wildfire smoke waves approach, we wanted to share a few resources with you.



New York’s DEC presents a strong forecast. Check out the Air Quality Index for today and tomorrow: https://appfactory.dec.ny.gov/AQI/. You will note:
Smoke is forecast for Wednesday July 15 to bring parts of NYS into Orange AQI (unhealthy for sensitive groups).


Take a peek at U.S. EPA’s real-time measures of air quality related to wildfire and smoke: https://fire.airnow.gov/Watch.
Check out the Real-Time Air Quality Index (across the U.S.) to inform activities, including for sensitive populations.


To learn more about Wildfire Smoke and Air Quality, including how to interpret the Air Quality Index, what to do when, and which populations are more at risk, check out our Wildfire Smoke + Air Quality Toolkit.


Finally, our Extreme Heat Toolkit compiles resources to help you prepare, plan, and protect health.


Protecting and promoting public health in partnership with you,

https://appfactory.dec.ny.gov/AQI/

https://blogs.cornell.edu/wildfire/

Cornell Health Impacts Core

Cornell Public Health

07/02/2026

To deliver vital public services, rural communities depend on a network of dedicated organizations such as local health departments, nonprofits, planning agencies, and behavioral health providers. If you work in a rural public service organization (such as a local government agency or a local non-profit) in New York, your perspective is essential.

Take the survey — it takes less than 10 minutes:
👉 https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bK1rQHnmyne640S

Behind the scenes, many of these organizations are quietly struggling with workforce burnout, turnover, and
shrinking capacity.
A new research study led by Adam Howell, MPA candidate at Cornell University's Brooks School of Public Policy, is examining workforce resilience in rural public service organizations (PSOs) across New York State. The study attempts to discover what helps rural PSOs maintain effective, stable workforces and
what barriers currently exist.
The research draws on the lived experience of the professionals and leaders doing this work every day.
The survey is anonymous and IRB-approved. Results will inform recommendations for policy, practice,
and funding to better support the rural workforce.
Please share this link with colleagues and networks. Thank you for your time, dedication, and
perseverance serving local communities across NYS.
For questions, contact Adam Howell at [email protected]

06/18/2026

Please join the New York State Association for Rural Health for this important event - Behavioral Health is more important than ever.

https://nysarh.wildapricot.org/event-6715873