Testimonials

After we launched PRE4CLE, we hired ACS twice more to help with communication and building further support. They know this work and we know their quality.”

Eric Gordon

CEO/Superintendent,
Cleveland Metropolitan School District

When the majority of the children being served by unrated providers are children of color living in some of the lowest asset neighborhoods in our community, that’s something I take personally.

The team at ACS really helped us realize our vision and put it into action. We’ve made great strides, but we certainly still have work to do—and those children and their families are counting on us for that.”

Joy Bivens

Director, Franklin County Department of
Job and Family Services

We can find other firms that can do this work, but we wanted someone we trust who could work both thoroughly and expediently.

Our story is appropriately shared and told, opportunities are created or presented to us, existing business is protected and we have a solid understanding of the ever-changing political and policy landscapes.

ACS gets deeply immersed in your community, and brings a set of values that transcend geographic boundaries, points of view, or politics. It’s a value of their organization to be respectful of multiple perspectives. You can tell when that’s genuine, and it is with them. They share your stake in the project. They are able to remain objective and aren’t shy about speaking their minds when there needs to be a course correction, but they really become part of your team.”

Marcia Egbert

Program Director for Thriving Families and Social Justice, The George Gund Foundation

With ACS’ leadership, the SWAG [Career Pathways] work team has been able to innovate and adapt in the face of unexpected challenges, generating rich lessons that our city can apply moving forward in support of the next generation of workers.”

Helen Williams

Program Director, Education, The Cleveland Foundation

ACS listened to us very deeply and helped us find a way to bring more input and partnerships into our work, both internally and externally.

In just six weeks of listening sessions with community, staff, and board, they gave us a foundation to realign our work.”

Susan DeVenny

President & CEO, Arras Foundation

With ACS’ help, we took our time to understand how we could accomplish our goals by starting at a local level. ACS was, and continues to be, a trusted thought partner to help us figure out which steps to take and how to make it happen with the resources we have.

In addition to providing strategic guidance on the research, outreach, and communication elements of our work, ACS worked alongside us to expand our internal capacity by hiring a top-notch program director.”

Beth Oppenheimer

Executive Director, Idaho AEYC

ACS is able to take things one step further after the meetings are over and create communication plans and documents to tell the story. In the beginning, they were our communication partner. They would do it for us and then staff would edit internally.

Now we have a communications coordinator, a young person doing a great job, and ACS serves as mentor, coach and editor.”

Pam Temple

Program Director, Arras Foundation