Blog

We enjoy sharing our experiences through blogs posts, as we continuously seek new ways to serve our clients.

Lots of Good News

Part of my role at Highlands is to post articles that are meaningful to our clients and colleagues. However, researching industry developments and good news can be challenging sometimes. But as an eternal optimist, I’ve found some great sources including Good News Network and Beautiful…

Rediscovering the Value of In-Person Team Meetings

Since May 2020, I’ve been part of a large team working on California’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over countless virtual meetings, chats, and emails, we’ve spent long days and occasional weekends “together” sharing many experiences and successes over the past years. Earlier this month,…

Personal Growth from Giving Back

“Leave the world a better place than when you came into it” – it’s one of the teachings that I tried to instill in my step kids when they were growing up. Life is about more than simply existing; we can be more. One of…

Communicating Scientific Information

Since the pandemic began, the vast amount of online information has been difficult to filter. We all seek “just the facts” but opinions win our attention (and are rewarded with clicks). Unfortunately, the most reliable sources are often the least visited, so they fall to…

The Many Benefits of Internships

This summer, I was pleased to design an internship to enable a college student the chance to gain valuable skills outside of the classroom. Catarina has been studying at Columbia University and came to us with a positive “can-do” attitude. We were also fortunate to…

Increased Productivity Through Vacation

It’s taken me 15 years to take a vacation. Even when taking one or two days off, I’ve felt afraid to fully switch off my computer and cell. My work ethic and fear has kept me tethered to electronic devices. What if something happens? What…

Tactics for Developing High Quality Reports

One of the most common deliverables we produce as consultants are written reports. In public sector consulting, report types can vary widely, from open-ended “Blue Sky” reports (such as this program findings report) to more standardized, structured products (such as IT planning documentation). Each has…

Translating Transportation Legislation into Action

On November 15th, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This landmark law includes federal policy direction and funding for climate action, zero-emissions vehicle deployment, social equity, and multi-modal transportation investment – all critical initiatives for our State. In January 2022, the…

Celebrating 20 Years!

This month we celebrate our 20th year in business and now coming to the realization that our firm is no longer a teenager. At the ripe age 20 we are just now coming into our own. We continue to improve our methodologies based on real…

Three Steps to Finding a Supportive Work Culture

Almost everywhere we look – LinkedIn, Twitter, and the news – we see mention of a trend called “The Great Resignation.” Large publications like the Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review are evaluating why people are leaving their jobs. These articles reach similar…