Sustainovation is the definitive guide on building sustained innovation in government for your community. Since launching in 2017, Nick has keynoted, trained, consulted or facilitated in over 100 communities across the country, inspiring audiences to get wildly creative, learn how to make their ideas a reality, and build their "Team Us". As the community of Sustainovation practitioners grows, so does the ability of our local governments to change the lives of those they serve. Whether it's inspiration, creation or action, Sustainovation is about employee empowerment built to break the bureaucracy. Nick teaches hands-on creativity techniques you can take to your organization and use to structure more innovative teams, build momentum and implement sustained innovation. Attendees of Nick's workshops will become more creative, more aware of obstacles and how to move around them, and more capable of implementing your program to success. Learn more about the power of Sustainovation®, how to fight the bureaucracy, and the set of skills to make it happen!

I work with government teams across the country on performance and innovation. I believe high-performing governments have a culture that creates and supports effective and innovative teams to develop efficient processes that produce measurable, actionable results. I believe high-performing government is transparent, accountable and engaged with its citizens. I believe this because government is here to do together that which we cannot do alone, and I partner with communities who understand and believe this, and help them take the next steps in their journey.

Led the organizational efforts for innovation, performance measurement, business solutions, sustainability, and employee training and development. A sample of programs includes:•Co-developed "Impact Adams" training and development program, winning the 2017 "Outstanding Achievement in Local Government" award from the Alliance for Innovation. Increased employee attendance by 65%, facilitated over 85 hours of StrengthsFinder and lean process improvement coaching, donated over 400 employee volunteer hours to the community, and turned employees into teachers.•First agency in Colorado to implement Socrata's performance management system, creating a citizen-friendly visual dashboard for publicly tracking progress on 36 of the county's key goals and targets.•Oversaw the high-performing "Business Solutions" team responsible for implementation of Accela and Cartegraph applications--winning the 2015 Excellence in Operations Management award.•First county in the country to implement BuildingEye, creating an interactive, easy-to-use visualization for residents to learn more about planning, zoning and building efforts across the county. •Co-developed Greenfiti, TryLingual, Fitbitters and Steal the Styrofoam programs, pushing the envelope of traditional thinking to enhance citizen quality of life. •Trained 250+ employees in lean process improvement and innovation; process improvements include a 35% reduction in new hire approval time, a 70% reduction in permit processing times, and the elimination of a week-long cash-recording process.•Coordinated, developed and managed the County's Innovation Academy, leading to the implementation of a $50,000 Innovation Fund. Twenty-four employee ideas were funded in three years, including providing basic supplies and work clothes for low-income people trying to get a job, a pool of loaner iPads for use with boards/commissions, and a first-ever foster parent conference to connect people with resources, etc.

Established performance management metrics for the organization and improves accountability to the citizens, contributed to, led and formalized the innovation efforts of the organization, and improved Adams County's relationship with its natural environment while reducing its resource consumption. In short, helping great people do great things.A sampling of my favorite efforts:•Became one of the first counties in the nation to participate in a community solar garden, putting 7 facilities on solar at no up-front cost to the county, with a $301,000 projected utility savings over 20 years. •Converted accounting “cost centers” in JD Edwards to “divisions”, “departments” and “senior leadership” levels for rolled up financial reporting, allowing managers to see high-level budget and financial data in an easy-to-read, consolidated format for the first time. •Performed in-depth operational and financial assessments on the Clerk and Recorder’s office, Animal Shelter and Coroner’s Office. Recommendations reduced citizen wait times by over 40% while improving staff productivity, increased annual revenues by over $200,000 annually, and improved data integrity through automated reporting.•Developed and deployed county's first open-source, automated app (@CutePetsAdamsCo) with the goal of increasing adoption rates and visibility for animal shelter pets through Twitter.•Held first ever “Supply-O-Grab” event, reusing $12,000 worth of office supplies.

I LIVED MY LIFE. I took 9 months in 2013-2014 to focus on life. I climbed Pikes Peak. I jumped out of a plane. I grew closer to my daughter in immeasurable ways. I hiked the incline 7 times to a personal best of less than 39 minutes. I did my first art show and sold 4 pieces. I did my second art show. I did my third art show. I sold my art to a local card store. I sold wind turbine pallet collars as stackable garden beds to a local landscaper. I keynoted at a state conference and received a standing ovation. I was published for my first time. I was highlighted as a leading young professional in the business journal without even having a full-time job. I hit the hot springs. I got as tan as I’ve ever been. I worked out for over 20 weeks straight. I grew facial hair (whoops). I traveled to San Francisco, coastal California, Aspen, Indianapolis, Chicago, Vermont, Breckenridge, Las Vegas (twice) and visited my family across the country. I saw over 30 movies in the theatre. I skied. I worked on restoring Tahama Springs and donated time to three non-profit boards. I helped several friends with their economic development projects. I watched the sun rise and watched the sun set 301 times in 2014. I tracked down and drank the two best beers in the world. I read 10 books, including three to my daughter. I made over 50 pounds of award-winning barbecue—and gave it away. And I played with my little girl—and we laughed. A lot. I may never be a rich man, but I stepped back and lived my life. I hope the same for any of you. And that is experience that counts.

The challenge is implied in the title--and we were up to the task. We created Sustainovation, and helped great people do great things. Our goal was to promote the spirit of innovation and sustainability in the City of Colorado Springs and encourage the financial and environmental sustainability of the community by ensuring that innovations support our citizens, our financial health and our environment. We supported efforts to transform the way government delivers services both internally and externally, and created a front door for entrepreneurs, young professionals, colleges/universities, big thinkers, and those with great ideas to engage their government.Included in this managerial umbrella was operations of the Innovation & Sustainability team, as well as the Procurement, Office Services, Parking and Housing divisions for the City of Colorado Springs, managing diverse functions, 45 staff and 7 different funding sources. Coordinated, managed, partnered and/or led innovative programs like LED re-lamping throughout downtown and north to Colorado College, "free roving parking meters", Rock Island rail sale saving $250,000, alley safety/"arts" project, first bike corral installation, Humane Society contract redesign, 385-INTUITION phone exchange, "Art in the Lobby" program featuring employee art on display, and many more. Pioneered and tracked "Innovation Value" to demonstrate that for every $1 invested in our department, we saved $3.75 for the taxpayers.

Team leader for Transit, Fleet, Streets, Stormwater, Engineering, Traffic and Sustainability functions for the City of Colorado Springs. Managed 400 employees providing diverse operational functions and customer service for a population of 400,000 people living across a 200-square mile city--the largest in Colorado. Oversee and direct a budget with over 30 different major funding sources, totaling $245 M, to deliver a complex variety of services for the citizens of Colorado Springs. Redefining the concept of clear communication, teamwork and innovation to improve service delivery, create community partnerships and improve organizational efficiency. Used data to demonstrate public works needs and prioritize critical infrastructure projects, leading to an increase in PW funding and more efficient use of resources. Experimented with large-scale sustainability projects, including "Commodes to Roads" using crushed toilets as road base (over 300 tons recycled), reused tires in the asphalt (used over 1,094 reused tires in the paving of Pikes Peak) and alternative fuels to reduce 12.8 M tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Engaged in data-driven capital project prioritization, public engagement and previous PW successes to build the case for a renewal of the PPRTA tax, a dedicated tax for infrastructure and transit in a fiscally-conservative community.

•Co-developed, conceptualized, researched, designed and marketed web-based EasySubmittals system, an online construction solution designed to replace the paper submittal approval process with a more efficient electronic one•Reduced approval time on submittals from 7 weeks to less than one, saving millions on construction costs and reducing millions of tons of CO2 from reduced shipping•Sold, marketed and promoted EasySubmittals system to diverse customer base, including architects, engineers, general contractors and project owners such as the State of Missouri•Managed business to annual profit by point of sale to rival firm