EngagingCities Podcast Featuring Mark Sherman, President of Community Heart & Soul

EngagingCities promotes outstanding work by their network of planners and changemakers, who actively involve their community in creating better places and a brighter future. On Fireside Chats we talk to the people behind the plans and learn how community engagement helped bolster the planning effort. On their latest episode, host Kelly Hickler, AICP, speaks with our very own, Mark Sherman, on how Community Heart & Soul empowers residents to shape their towns’ futures and build stronger communities based on what matters most.

Listen to the full episode below or watch it on EngagingCities YouTube Channel by clicking here.

Episode 7 – Community Heart & Soul: Building Stronger Small Towns with Mark Sherman

Mark Sherman is the President of Community Heart & Soul, a nonprofit organization based in Vermont dedicated to community development in small towns. Mark shares his personal journey from Vermont to Seattle and back, and how he became involved with Community Heart & Soul, founded by Lyman Orton of the Vermont Country Store. The organization focuses on a resident-driven process to identify what residents love about their town, their future goals, and how to achieve them. The program follows three principles—engage everyone, focus on what matters most, and play the long game—and is structured into four phases: Imagine, Connect, Plan, and Act. Mark describes the program’s impacts, including increased civic engagement and economic revitalization, citing examples from Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and Biddeford, Maine. He also discusses the costs involved and how communities can apply for a seed grant and participate in the program. The episode concludes with advice for larger communities and the importance of engaging all community members in the process.

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