Underlying all the work of Tamarack Communication is my foundation as a writer, editor, teacher/coach and public speaker. At the heart of everything I produce for my clients, regardless of the purpose, genre or audience, is facility with words and a sterling command of the English language. It has been my privilege to help authors of all ages and backgrounds bring their books to publication, but I’ve also had the thrill of developing and strengthening brands. Today I spend most my time helping individuals with their writing and public speaking.
The Mauthe Center at the University gets a New Look
Looking for a brand with broader appeal to the student body and the community, The Richard Mauthe Center for Faith, Spirituality and Social Justice asked Tamarack Communication for some help. It was our privilege to work with the staff, administration and board of directors to develop a look and the right language to attract students of all faiths – and no faith at all. They carry on their good work now looking less like a place of Christian worship and more like a center for personal and spiritual growth.
A New Brand for a Colorado Community Health Consultant
It was our privilege to return to the community health world for a short time to develop an exciting new brand for this experienced, respected enrollment consultant.
“Lynn helped me with the complicated task of renaming and rebranding my consulting business. Her attention to detail and experience were both instrumental in presenting me and my company in a fresh way. The new brand has already had a positive impact on my business. I highly recommend Lynn for her communication and coaching skills.” Joe Rivera, Principal Consultant, Enroll IQ Consulting
A Total Rebrand for a Green Bay Nonprofit
After 30 years of community service, Bay Area Community Council asked Tamarack Communication to manage its total rebranding effort, ultimately becoming Envision.
"Lynn Gerlach and the team she assembled produced a first-class rebrand for our organization. Her work was characterized by high quality, professionalism, collaboration and on-time delivery of exactly what we need. She was focused on the end goal and making sure it met our needs!” Dave Wegge, PhD, President
Embrace the mission - ensure the Margin
Flipping Prisons - We’re Learning How it’s Done
Tamarack Communication is proud to have been chosen by The Greater Sum to mentor one of its 2019 grantees, Growing Change! This is a North Carolina-based nonprofit that “flips prisons”! Under the direction of Noran Sanford, Growing Change is developing an open source toolkit to help nonprofits around the country turn abandoned prisons into de-carceration centers - positive, productive sites that give local citizens a chance to learn skills and earn money as an alternative to incarceration.
Fund Development Help for one of Alaska's Best
Southcentral Foundation’s Nuka System of Care in Anchorage, Alaska is an Alaska Native owned and operated health care system and a two-time Malcolm Baldrige Award recipient. Southcentral Foundation recently began offering trainings and consulting opportunities for other organizations under its newly created Learning Institute. With Lynn’s help from Tamarack Communication, they were able to launch a successful sponsorship program supporting their annual conference and other events.
“Tamarack Communication helped us develop, implement, and execute a sponsorship program from the ground up. We are thrilled with not only the financial support, but also the new relationships we now have with companies we wouldn’t have collaborated with otherwise. Lynn is thoughtful, driven, and thorough, and she has impeccable follow-through. She has become an extension of our team and we’re sure she can handle anything that comes her way.”
League Gets Sponsorship Help
One of the largest League of Women Voters chapters in the nation, the Seattle/King County League still needed help in establishing funding support relationships. It was our privilege to solicit fund support for the local League's first annual Voices of Democracy gala, held in Sodo, Seattle, on May 12, 2017. We brought the Washington Education Association to the table as our generous Leadership Sponsor, and both Starbucks and Pacific Continental Bank provided seed money to sweeten the "ask" at this fund raiser.
"Lynn helped us secure more sponsorships for its spring fundraising event than we have ever had before. But more than that, she guided us and educated us in what’s needed and counseled us on developing lasting relations with sponsors and donors, including a complete calendar of all events. And she did all this with patience and graciousness, when I’m sure we frustrated her mightily at times. I recommend Lynn without reservation for any developmental work you need.” Amanda Clark, Chapter President
Web Site Spruce-up
Community Link Consulting had a workable web site that was getting the job done when they contacted us for help. What they needed was some help clarifying their brand, making their "about us" section more meaningful to viewers, and beefing up their presentation of the wonderful services they offer health centers. It was our pleasure to work with their responsive and capable team to accomplish all that in short order.
Jean Gets a New Resume
Jean brought us an interesting resume challenge. Having worked for the same employer for 28 years, now ready to change jobs for the first time, she hadn't prepared a resume since she was an undergraduate. And it was hard to identify the critical high points of an entire career! She needed our help.
"After 28 years in the same job, I’ve been wanting to make a change, but I was overwhelmed by the daunting task of building my first real resume since college. I looked online and in books, and I asked friends for advice. Still, I struggled to make 28 years of employment within the same company look and feel like something. When I asked a friend who’d recently changed jobs to share her resume with me, she referred me instead to Tamarack Communication. I now have a beautiful, professional resume that gives me confidence. I am overjoyed with the results. It just goes to show that, with the right help, building the perfect resume isn't impossible after all!"
Merces Consulting
Merces Consulting Group asked us to help them rethink their broad marketing strategy. As often happens, we ended up with all kinds of improvements they didn't even know they needed, including new branding, a highly focused campaign for a new market segment, and even some plans for writing and publishing.
"I'm working with Lynn Gerlach on a book. Any aspiring business author should talk to her — somehow she is managing to provide critique in a very supportive way but has also managed to make her editorial suggestions in my own writing style. I still feel like I have written every word, but now it's simply — better." Edmund B. Ura, President and CEO, Merces Consulting
EyePACS, LLC
"EyePACS, LLC is a small company with an international reach, providing telemedicine services for eye care. Tamarack's help with communication strategy and implementation is tremendously important to our growth and development. In a short time since we started with Tamarack Communication, the brand new web site, all new trade show materials, survey design and reporting, and leadership for our small staff has already made a great difference in our business." Jorge Cuadros, OD, PhD, CEO
Montana Primary Care Association
"The team of Tamarack Communication has been instrumental in helping our member association step up our game in putting forward our brand in a cleaner, crisper, more professional way — everything from our e-newsletter to our web content to our annual symposium to how we present ourselves and our work to the general public. Their advice is solid and their follow through unimpeachable". Bob Marsalli, Executive Director, Montana Primary Care Association
A Plan for the Grange
The Bainbridge Island (WA) Grange asked for help developing a communication plan to better connect this historic building to the community. The board wanted to bring the Grange to life again and fill its rooms with vibrant community activity that would also develop rental revenue. Our research on their behalf uncovered a delightful surprise: The Grange was just months away from its centennial year. What a communication bonanza! We facilitated a high-level brainstorming work group that led to a communication plan built around a full year of centennial celebration. The board took the plan and ran with it.
"Lynn’s thorough research and preparation for a community workshop with the Bainbridge Grange, as well as her excellent skills in facilitating the group, set the stage for a resounding success. Following the workshop, she created a roadmap to set our organization on the path to increasing usefulness and financial sustainability. We were delighted to be able to work with her." Sallie Maron, President, Bainbridge Island Grange, Washington
Institute for Socio-Financial Studies
Founding Director Lois Vitt sought editing for a nonfiction manuscript way back in 2005. The publisher was waiting, and Lois wanted to be sure her copy was ready for prime time. That successful project led to collaborative opportunities to develop entire chapters of upcoming books on the sociology of finance, scripting a presentation for an international gathering, and a variety of other projects aimed at a better educated American consumer.
" Lynn is a pleasure to work with. Not only is she an outstanding writer and editor of both fiction and nonfiction, she can handily turn out a speech, create a presentation, or write a technical report. Most important, Lynn delivers on time and will nudge you to do the same. I heartily recommend Lynn for her broad writing expertise, serious attention to detail and commitment to helping her clients succeed." Lois Vitt, Founding Executive Director, ISFS
"Reverie" and more
Skip Birong's initial request was help updating a brochure aimed at attracting donations to a family foundation. That project successfully completed, we worked together on fine-tuning serious articles for submission to business journals. Next came editing services for both a sci-fi manuscript and a memoir, and then "Reverie" was born. Skip turns to Tamarack Communication to edit his essays before posting them online because he wants to be correct, but he also wants to post in his own voice, maintaining the integrity of his personal perspective.
"I have been posting to my blog site (“Reverie”) for over two years as of this writing and only on the rarest of occasions have I published an essay without first having Lynn review it. Not only does she keep my grammar in line but her insight regarding inconsistencies in content and other problems that sometimes arise when I have written and rewritten a piece too many times is invaluable. In other words, I rely on Lynn to keep me from embarrassing myself (although, granted, there is only so much she can do). You won’t find anyone more capable of giving you the confidence to know that your material is properly polished and ready for prime time." Skip Birong, Reverie
Presentation coaching
Northwest Regional Primary Care Association needed to provide instruction and guidance to presenters contracted to speak at its three major annual conferences. Lynn was the logical choice to present a “speakers’ webinar” several times a year. In 2014 NWRPCA asked Lynn to develop her webinars into an actual online, interactive course appropriate for public speakers of all kinds interested in engaging their audiences and delivering effective presentations that can truly make a difference.