Marc Smiley
Principal
The big room. The tough nut. The difficult conversation. The most vexing problem.
This is what gets Marc up in the morning – usually very early – and drives him through the day: working with leaders of community organizations to make a difference. The bigger the challenge, the better.
For more than 30 years, Marc has served as a guide, a resource, and a partner with hundreds of organizations committed to healthy communities, vital nature, and equitable systems. As a founder of Solid Ground, Marc has cobbled a team designed to empower and embolden leaders to make their communities better places for everyone.
Marc has often been there at the start of things. He was an initial staff member for the Land Trust Alliance, River Network, and the Yakima Greenway Foundation. Other employment stints include United Way and Oregon Wild (then known as the Oregon Natural Resource Council). And in 1999, Marc guided the rollout and start-up of what is now Oregon’s fourth largest nonprofit organization, the Energy Trust of Oregon.
As a volunteer, Marc has likewise been there in the beginning of things small (like the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy) and big (like the Land Trust Accreditation Commission). He also has held leadership roles at REACH Community Development and Columbia Land Trust.
Through a consulting career traveling actually (and now virtually) across the entire U.S., Marc has worked extensively with groups focused on conservation, climate and sustainability, historic preservation, affordable housing, and health and human services. He has published books on board governance, strategic planning, and fundraising, as well as dozens of articles in journals and periodicals. His workshops are spirited, memorable, and brimming with relevant tools and information. Challenging facilitation is his forte.
College includes a degree from the University of Oregon in Eugene with education spanning the communications arts – from journalism to classical rhetoric. Eugene is also where he found his professional stride and fell in love.
Marc is a native Oregonian whose efforts to migrate elsewhere can’t overcome a homing instinct. Marc’s head is full of music that spans an eclectic mix, and he can find the perfect lyric from an obscure song from the last century if the circumstances warrant it. Sadly, it seldom does. Family is important, and raising two boys with his partner Amy may be his most important role. Sam and Tucker are now men, and a new generation of community service continues what Marc and Amy have been doing throughout their own lives.
