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Heather Keam

Heather Keam
Heather works with municipalities and organizations to build strategies that put people at the center using Asset-Based Community Development. With over 22 years of experience in community development, she uses an ABCD approach to center people and belonging in the development of community plans and strategies through coaching and training staff teams, facilitation, and writing about ABCD and Belonging. She has a passion for the power of people and believes that people and communities are the solutions to local problems. She believes that we need to build a sense of community belonging so that people are connected to their community, and their place within it and get involved in decision-making. She also believes that municipalities need to shift the way they show up in community from doing “for” to supporting communities to do themselves.

Recent Posts

Eight Touchstones to Asset-Based Community Development

Posted by Heather Keam on February 12, 2018

“A gift is not a gift until it is received” - Cormac Russell

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Knowing Where You've Been to Know Where You're Headed

Posted by Heather Keam on January 12, 2018


I was reading an article in the Philanthropist, How social service agencies can help build a collaborative and caring economy, where Rob Howarth speaks to the trends of growing economic inequality and geographic segregation in Canadian communities.

If you are like me, I click on the links as I read them. In doing so, I landed on a great website about building community change and building inclusive communities from within: the Neighbourhood Change Research Partnership.

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Top 10 Examples of the Growing Movement to Deepen Community in 2017

Posted by Heather Keam on December 15, 2017

There is some amazing work that is being done in neighbourhoods all across Canada. In this article, we wanted to highlight some of the inspiring stories about work that happened in 2017, and provide resources to fuel your own neighbourhood initiative.

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Collective Impact- A Piece of Cake

Posted by Heather Keam on May 11, 2015

For those of you who have been to any of Tamarack’s workshops you hear great speakers, find new resources and learn lots.  You now have the difficult task of communicating what you have learned back to your community and figure out how to implement your learning in your community. I have been in your shoes.  I have attended several of tamaracks events trying to find the answer to one question.  How do I do Collective Impact in my community?  I wanted someone to give me step by step instructions, but at the end of each event I was left with a head full of great tools and ideas but no recipe.

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