ISC | United States

United States

United States

Since 1999, ISC has worked with communities in the United States to help them build strong leaders and envision and plan for sustainable futures. Today, ISC's main work in the United States takes place along the Gulf Coast, where we have been working since 2005, just after Hurricane Katrina. ISC is now building a Sustainable Communities Network that will facilitate stronger connections among communities recovering from the hurricanes—helping organizations and leaders access new skills, resources, knowledge and partners.

Tangible Results

As Moss Point, Mississippi city leaders created a new post-Katrina vision of sustainability for their city, they also reached out to residents, who are now actively participating in day-to-day decision-making. Two new community advisory task forces help guide major development decisions and serve as an important new model for the city to engage residents and community in the rebuilding effort and beyond.
After interviewing over 500 people for the New England Futures Project, ISC and its partners published a series of six articles in 2006 examining critical issues facing the region that were published in 27 news outlets in all six states.
From 2001 to 2007, the Leadership for a Changing World program recognized 163 innovative leaders across the United States for their community-based approaches to social change.
Launched with our help in 1999, the Burlington Legacy Project in Burlington, Vermont continues to change the face of the city through such initiatives as bringing youth onto boards of directors, the adoption of an open space protection plan, a rewrite of zoning laws, a no-idling campaign and ordinance change; bringing healthier and local food into schools and an anti-racism action plan.

The Climate Leadership Academy

The Climate Leadership Academy offers state-of-the-art training, technical assistance and mentoring programs to help cities ramp up energy efficiency, create green jobs, and tackle climate disruption.

Gulf Coast Sustainable Communities Network

Building on our work in Moss Point, Mississippi, we launched the Gulf Coast Sustainable Communities Network, which is helping communities make informed choices about their future.

Turning Crisis Into Opportunity on the Gulf Coast

Like its neighbors along the Gulf Coast, the city of Moss Point, Mississippi suffered tremendous devastation during Hurricane Katrina. Today, ISC is helping city officials become stronger leaders, a fledgling nonprofit grow to better serve its community, and the city's poorest neighborhoods—severely flooded by Katrina—engage in the rebuilding process.