Our network relies for its success on members sharing their expertise. We’re nothing without that. And so, at the 2025 Annual Meeting, the Exchange started a new tradition of recognizing the people who go the extra mile to advance the mission of the Exchange as GSI Ambassadors. We continued that tradition this year.
What is a GSI Ambassador? It is someone who, through their (unpaid) words and deeds, demonstrates a substantial commitment to advancing the Exchange’s mission of equitable GSI implementation.
What we mean by advancing the mission can be summed up with our theory of change diagram, shown below. It includes FIRST, efforts to support the implementation pillar of our theory of change through projects that help to frame best practices and share them with others through training, SECOND, efforts focused on building the evidentiary case for GSI, and THIRD those who are leading and directing various aspects of our work.
We began the 2026 awards ceremony recognizing efforts we were involved in over the last year to frame principles and best practices. They include our work to build out the GSI Framework of Practice, an Asset Management Project to advance our understanding of asset management concepts, the Kresge CREWS convening to build climate and equity knowledge that leads to action, the Maintenance Workforce Task Force, which is working on principles for training the maintenance workforce, the Parks and GSI Project, which is developing strategies for expanding the implementation of GSI in City Parks, and the Social Mapping Project, an effort to scale GSI in the Great Lakes Region through practitioner mapping and closing gaps in knowledge and coordination. Our Framing Ambassadors are listed and pictured below.
For the last two years, the Exchange has been focused on the development of courses and customized training to meet the needs of members and nonmembers. This year, we began work on an asynchronous version of our GSI Foundations Course, created a short course on how to use the GSI Impact Hub, presented on that tool at the One Water Summit and developed a customized training program for the Rural Community Assistance Partnership. Claire Maulhardt and I were also fortunate to have been invited to participate on a panel on nature-based solutions at World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden last August. Our Training Ambassadors are listed and pictured below.
Last but certainly not least, we want to recognize those who have gone the extra mile as leaders, serving on committees, our governing board, as co-chairs of learning circles and being regular attendees of our Primary Member Council.
We’re always looking for worthy GSI Ambassador nominees. If you have someone in mind, please contact Nina Baldwin, Program Manager.
