About BERK

BERK is an interdisciplinary consultancy integrating strategy, planning, and policy development; financial and economic analysis; and facilitation, design, and communications. Founded in 1988, our passion is working in the public interest, helping public and nonprofit agencies address complex challenges and position themselves for success.

Our Mission is: Helping Communities and Organizations Create Their Best Futures.

We do this by:

  • Integrating the art of effective decision-making with the science of rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis;

  • Bringing people, ideas, and analysis together to generate understanding and consensus on the best strategies and decisions; and

  • Bridging across disciplines to synthesize diverse information and facilitate relationships.

Guiding Principles

New_Space_06.jpg

Since 1988, BERK has worked with local communities and organizations on complex and sometimes messy projects. Over that time, we’ve learned a thing or two about what it takes to manage and complete projects successfully, and to create lasting relationships with our clients and communities.

  • We listen, collaborate, and communicate.

  • We do our job, so our clients can do theirs.

  • We remain flexible and adapt as needed.

  • We work hard, tailor our approach, and aim to do our best work each and every time.

BERK’s Origins

The BERK lore goes that Bonnie Berk started the firm in 1988 at her kitchen table, in the pre-Internet era, making cold calls and explaining how innovative public-private partnerships could be designed to accomplish much more than the sum of their parts. Her concept was that the public, private, and nonprofit sectors could be brought together to implement impactful projects that would not otherwise be possible. For the next 25 years, she worked across the spectrum of major public policy issues, developing long range strategies and facilitating agreements among diverse communities.

In 2013, Bonnie retired from the firm. She’s enormously proud of the consequential work that BERK continues to lead, while enjoying a completely different life chapter, traveling, and experiencing the richness of new challenges and experiences.