Westcott Initiatives is the trading name of Shawn Westcott. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Westcott Initiatives work with innovators to catalyze and accelerate sustainability initiatives. We provide inspiration, support, and connections that help them make their contribution to a sustainable society.
A FOCUS ON INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION
We believe that transforming to a sustainable society requires a collaborative and strategic approach across sectors. As practitioners with expertise in a range of services, we work with clients of all sizes, including businesses, municipalities, regional authorities, community development corporations, and non-governmental organizations. It’s through this collaborative approach that allows Westcott Initiatives to serve its mission to deliver innovative solutions that lead to more healthy, environmentally sustainable, economically competitive, and socially-connected communities.
DRAWING FROM A NETWORK OF EXPERTS
We work with a talented and experienced international network of experts and practitioners to deliver tailored solutions. Sustainable development encompasses a range of service and expertise areas; our network of practitioners allows us to bring the best people together to meet our clients’ needs.
ABOUT SHAWN WESTCOTT
Shawn Westcott is a visionary social-entrepreneur, catalyzer, & initiator who works to inspire, connect and collaborate toward a more equitable and sustainable society. As an expert in Strategic Sustainable Development, and a former US political adviser, he has expertise in a range of services, including political affairs, strategic planning, education, project management, stakeholder engagement, and communications.
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More About Shawn
As founder of Westcott Initiatives, Westcott focuses on providing community and regional sustainable development strategy, stakeholder engagement collaboration, and sustainability education and training across sectors. He works with an international team of advisers providing high-impact consulting services to clients across sectors and around the world through various training programs, assessments, and practical tools.
Shawn previously worked for the international sustainability consultancy, the AtKisson Group. He spent 7 years as a political and governmental affairs consultant and strategist in the United States, providing strategy advise, media relations, and political management. He has managed or consulted for dozens of local and national contests, including work with the Al Gore for President, Howard Dean for President, and Gavin Newsom for San Francisco Mayor campaigns, as well as managing multiple legislative campaigns in Pennsylvania. He has also provided environmental affairs consultation to Pennsylvania legislators, and consulted several communities on development plans, including the creation of a community-driven sustainable development planning tool kit.
Shawn holds a Masters of Science degree in ‘Strategic Leadership Towards Sustainability’ from the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden where his studies focused on a systems-approach to planning toward sustainable development. His thesis, entitled “Organizational Networks as Catalysts for Strategic Sustainable Development,” examined how complex networks work today and how they can help become a larger driver towards a more Sustainable Society.
He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. While in university, he also helped launch a national, student-led workforce development agency called National Student Partnerships (now called Lift), and he later co-founded its Alumni Association and was elected its first President. He is also a veteran of the US Marine Corps.
Shawn currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Social Entrepreneurship Forum (SE Forum), Sweden’s leading organization promoting social entrepreneurship. He has served on several Boards of Directors or Advisory Boards for not-for-profit organizations in the US, and was an original co-organizer of the Green Drinks professional networking sessions in Pittsburgh. He was the founder of Karlskrona Blossoms, a community arts and music festival in Karlskrona, Sweden. He is also an alumnus of the Tällberg Forum New Leader Program (2008). Shawn is a frequent lecturer to universities, colleges, and professional groups.
A citizen of both the United States and Ireland, Shawn lives with his wife in Stockholm, Sweden.
