If you were unable to attend, or were present but looking to re-engage please check out this video:
“Creative Instigation: The Art & Strategy of Authentic Community Engagement” with Fern Tiger
By Micah
In April 2026, Good Work Institute welcomed Fern Tiger to the GWI Greenhouse for an author talk. Fern Tiger is the founder and creative director of Fern Tiger Associates (FTA), based in Oakland, California. The firm is grounded in the belief that “with reflective strategy and innovative design, positive and constructive social change is not only possible—it is inevitable.”
Trained in art and media, with advanced study in human–environment relations, and art and cognition, Fern Tiger built a transdisciplinary approach to strategy and research—one that bridges creative inquiry with policy and systems thinking. Her work has led to professorships in diverse departments from art to public policy and urban studies; she has served on the faculties of Pennsylvania State University, Washington University in St. Louis, Arizona State University, and the University of Washington Tacoma. Fern has published and lectured broadly on topics related to the nonprofit sector, authentic community engagement, and the dynamic intersections of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
We want to amplify voices that are not always heard, and to shine a light on ideas that are not always seen, joined together by a vision of a regenerative and just economy. In the Illumination series, we invite members of our community to share their thoughts, to describe their Good Work, and to provide an inside view of what Just Transition looks like in action.
We believe in the life-affirming, connecting, inspiring power of hearing each other’s stories. Please get in touch if you’d like to submit an idea for an article about your Good Work.