Month: August 2025

With its tree-lined streets and green spaces, Atlanta lives up to its nickname—the “City in the Forest”—making it a fitting home base for Allyson Prokes, Stewardship and Sustainability Manager at Georgia-Pacific Corrugated.

As Allyson starts her workday, she’s intentional about her choices—from carrying a reusable water bottle to commuting with her husband to reduce their emissions in the busy Atlanta traffic. These small, everyday actions reflect the same values she brings to her role.

At Georgia-Pacific, Allyson’s mornings begin with purpose. Her work bridges the gap between responsible sourcing and broader environmental impact. Whether she’s guiding conversations on waste reduction, leading fiber recovery efforts, or helping others understand sustainable packaging, Allyson brings her passion for stewardship to every part of her work.

She thrives on connecting environmental priorities across the organization and reinforcing the real-time impact her team delivers. For Allyson, sustainability isn’t just a job—it’s a lifestyle. After a fulfilling day at the office, she returns home to her family, investing in quality time and living out the same values she champions at work.

As Georgia-Pacific continues to innovate and optimize for a more sustainable future, Allyson’s story is a testament to the power of conscious living and working. It’s about small choices, meaningful conversations, and the shared goal of nurturing our planet.

We spoke with Allyson to learn more about how her passion for sustainability shapes her role and how she helps customers make smarter, more responsible decisions.

Q&A With Allyson Prokes

Q: What’s one way your work has helped a customer reduce waste or improve efficiency?

A: A customer once approached us with a goal to shift volume from one box plant to another to increase recycled content in their packaging. After evaluating the full environmental impact, we discovered that the change would have increased transportation emissions by 600%. Instead of focusing on a single sustainability metric, I worked with the customer to take a broader view—balancing recycled content with emissions and sourcing proximity. Together, we found an approach that prioritized an informed and holistic decision for stewardship.

Q: Which Principle-Based Management^™ (PBM) principle most influences how you create value for customers?

A: Being contribution-motivated is the principle that guides me the most. Collaborating to create the greatest value for customers is at the heart of everything I do. In PBM, being contribution-motivated means focusing on how I can use my abilities to help others succeed—whether it’s customers, teammates, or the company as a whole. I’m always looking for ways to create mutual benefit and achieve shared success.

For more information about PBM, you can visit the Principle-Based Management website.

Q: What’s something unique about our corrugated solutions that customers often say, ‘I didn’t know you could do that’?

A: Many customers are surprised to learn that Georgia-Pacific doesn’t cut down large, mature trees to make boxes. Instead, we use residuals from forest thinning. I enjoy showing customers how this process works during in-person and virtual forest tours. These tours illustrate how thinning at 10, 15, and 25 years helps maintain forest health while providing raw materials for corrugated packaging. It’s always rewarding to share how environmental stewardship is built into our stewardship. For a closer look, check out our virtual forest tour.

Q: What symbol or animal best represents your team and why?

A: My team has adopted the gopher tortoise as a meaningful symbol of who we are and what we stand for—it’s even become our unofficial mascot. For me, it reflects our contribution-motivated mindset and the importance of creating space for others to thrive. The gopher tortoise is also a protected species near one of GP’s mills, so it’s a meaningful symbol of our commitment to stewardship and environmental responsibility.

Q: How does your personal passion, as featured in the video, enhance your professional life?

A: I love working for a company I feel passionate about because I know we’re doing the right thing simply because it’s the right thing to do. In the video, I appear with my family, which serves as a powerful reminder of what fuels my commitment to stewardship. I want to help create a better, healthier planet for future generations—including my children. My personal passion for helping others help themselves drives me to share knowledge and empower people to feel confident about the work we’re doing at GP.

Georgia-Pacific Corrugated isn’t just about making boxes—it’s about aiming higher. In her role, Allyson embodies that commitment. As the total package, GP Corrugated is making thoughtful choices today to help shape a smarter, more sustainable tomorrow.

View original content here.

With its tree-lined streets and green spaces, Atlanta lives up to its nickname—the “City in the Forest”—making it a fitting home base for Allyson Prokes, Stewardship and Sustainability Manager at Georgia-Pacific Corrugated.

As Allyson starts her workday, she’s intentional about her choices—from carrying a reusable water bottle to commuting with her husband to reduce their emissions in the busy Atlanta traffic. These small, everyday actions reflect the same values she brings to her role.

At Georgia-Pacific, Allyson’s mornings begin with purpose. Her work bridges the gap between responsible sourcing and broader environmental impact. Whether she’s guiding conversations on waste reduction, leading fiber recovery efforts, or helping others understand sustainable packaging, Allyson brings her passion for stewardship to every part of her work.

She thrives on connecting environmental priorities across the organization and reinforcing the real-time impact her team delivers. For Allyson, sustainability isn’t just a job—it’s a lifestyle. After a fulfilling day at the office, she returns home to her family, investing in quality time and living out the same values she champions at work.

As Georgia-Pacific continues to innovate and optimize for a more sustainable future, Allyson’s story is a testament to the power of conscious living and working. It’s about small choices, meaningful conversations, and the shared goal of nurturing our planet.

We spoke with Allyson to learn more about how her passion for sustainability shapes her role and how she helps customers make smarter, more responsible decisions.

Q&A With Allyson Prokes

Q: What’s one way your work has helped a customer reduce waste or improve efficiency?

A: A customer once approached us with a goal to shift volume from one box plant to another to increase recycled content in their packaging. After evaluating the full environmental impact, we discovered that the change would have increased transportation emissions by 600%. Instead of focusing on a single sustainability metric, I worked with the customer to take a broader view—balancing recycled content with emissions and sourcing proximity. Together, we found an approach that prioritized an informed and holistic decision for stewardship.

Q: Which Principle-Based Management^™ (PBM) principle most influences how you create value for customers?

A: Being contribution-motivated is the principle that guides me the most. Collaborating to create the greatest value for customers is at the heart of everything I do. In PBM, being contribution-motivated means focusing on how I can use my abilities to help others succeed—whether it’s customers, teammates, or the company as a whole. I’m always looking for ways to create mutual benefit and achieve shared success.

For more information about PBM, you can visit the Principle-Based Management website.

Q: What’s something unique about our corrugated solutions that customers often say, ‘I didn’t know you could do that’?

A: Many customers are surprised to learn that Georgia-Pacific doesn’t cut down large, mature trees to make boxes. Instead, we use residuals from forest thinning. I enjoy showing customers how this process works during in-person and virtual forest tours. These tours illustrate how thinning at 10, 15, and 25 years helps maintain forest health while providing raw materials for corrugated packaging. It’s always rewarding to share how environmental stewardship is built into our stewardship. For a closer look, check out our virtual forest tour.

Q: What symbol or animal best represents your team and why?

A: My team has adopted the gopher tortoise as a meaningful symbol of who we are and what we stand for—it’s even become our unofficial mascot. For me, it reflects our contribution-motivated mindset and the importance of creating space for others to thrive. The gopher tortoise is also a protected species near one of GP’s mills, so it’s a meaningful symbol of our commitment to stewardship and environmental responsibility.

Q: How does your personal passion, as featured in the video, enhance your professional life?

A: I love working for a company I feel passionate about because I know we’re doing the right thing simply because it’s the right thing to do. In the video, I appear with my family, which serves as a powerful reminder of what fuels my commitment to stewardship. I want to help create a better, healthier planet for future generations—including my children. My personal passion for helping others help themselves drives me to share knowledge and empower people to feel confident about the work we’re doing at GP.

Georgia-Pacific Corrugated isn’t just about making boxes—it’s about aiming higher. In her role, Allyson embodies that commitment. As the total package, GP Corrugated is making thoughtful choices today to help shape a smarter, more sustainable tomorrow.

View original content here.

Originally published on July 22, 2025 on LinkedIn.

Big things are happening for sustainable seafood! 

Last week, Seaweedish™ Meatballs were served at the United Nations Headquarters in NYC, spotlighted at the UN Conference on Trade and Development as a product advancing key Sustainable Development Goals — from ocean health to gender equity.

This moment wouldn’t have been possible without our incredible partners at North Coast Seafoods. Thanks to their innovation and our national rollout through Sysco’s Cutting Edge Solutions program, this kelp-powered product is now making global waves.

About Sysco

Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. With more than 76,000 colleagues, the company operates 340 distribution facilities worldwide and serves approximately 730,000 customer locations. For fiscal year 2024 that ended June 29, 2024, the company generated sales of more than $78 billion. Information about our Sustainability program, including Sysco’s 2023 Sustainability Report and 2023 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report, can be found at www.sysco.com.

 For more information, visit www.sysco.com or connect with Sysco on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SyscoFoods. For important news and information regarding Sysco, visit the Investor Relations section of the company’s Internet home page at investors.sysco.com, which Sysco plans to use as a primary channel for publishing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information. In addition, investors should continue to review our news releases and filings with the SEC. It is possible that the information we disclose through any of these channels of distribution could be deemed to be material information.

View original content here.

 

Originally published on July 22, 2025 on LinkedIn.

Big things are happening for sustainable seafood! 

Last week, Seaweedish™ Meatballs were served at the United Nations Headquarters in NYC, spotlighted at the UN Conference on Trade and Development as a product advancing key Sustainable Development Goals — from ocean health to gender equity.

This moment wouldn’t have been possible without our incredible partners at North Coast Seafoods. Thanks to their innovation and our national rollout through Sysco’s Cutting Edge Solutions program, this kelp-powered product is now making global waves.

About Sysco

Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. With more than 76,000 colleagues, the company operates 340 distribution facilities worldwide and serves approximately 730,000 customer locations. For fiscal year 2024 that ended June 29, 2024, the company generated sales of more than $78 billion. Information about our Sustainability program, including Sysco’s 2023 Sustainability Report and 2023 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report, can be found at www.sysco.com.

 For more information, visit www.sysco.com or connect with Sysco on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SyscoFoods. For important news and information regarding Sysco, visit the Investor Relations section of the company’s Internet home page at investors.sysco.com, which Sysco plans to use as a primary channel for publishing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information. In addition, investors should continue to review our news releases and filings with the SEC. It is possible that the information we disclose through any of these channels of distribution could be deemed to be material information.

View original content here.

 

By Candace Higginbotham

Nonprofits across the country are facing a new set of challenges in the current economic environment.

Budget constraints are a longstanding issue for community organizations. But for many, those challenges have intensified with recent changes in government funding.

Gina Sian, head of Regions Bank’s Making Life Better Institute, recognizes the pressure this places on nonprofits and understands the hurdles leaders face.

For the past five years, the Regions Community Engagement team has been hosting the Important Insights for Community Organizations webinar series that leverages Regions’ inhouse knowledge and experience to provide assistance where it’s needed most, at no cost.

Staff development is one area that kept bubbling up as Sian engaged with nonprofits about their challenges.

“‘No money, no mission’ is a phrase many nonprofits are familiar with,” Sian said. “But an even more critical factor to their success is their team. Engaging people who care about your mission, have the necessary skills to implement your vision, and the willingness to grow with your organization is not an easy task, most especially when you have limited resources.”

‘No money, no mission’ is a phrase many nonprofits are familiar with.
Gina Sian, head of Regions Bank’s Making Life Better Institute

How can nonprofits support employee growth and performance without breaking the budget?

To answer this question, Sian assembled a group of Regions Learning and Development pros to share cost-effective strategies for employee training and development. Jinny Walker, Barry Ward and Ressie Chambers led the discussion, which included 71 attendees from 45 organizations in 39 cities.

Walker opened the meeting with a word-cloud exercise that gave participants an opportunity to share their specific challenges when it comes to employee and volunteer learning and development. To no one’s surprise, the responses highlighted issues around time, cost, technology, staffing and expertise.

With those challenges in mind, the obvious first question is where to start. Walker advised the audience to start with the basics.

“Think about your goals. Your organization’s priorities really shape the learning and development needs of your employees and volunteers,” Walker said. “Next, you should think about how to build a sustainable learning culture.”

Her advice for developing that internal learning strategy included:

• Break learning into bite-sized chunks or micro learnings
• Leverage existing expertise within the organization
• Place a high value on learning
• Promote self-guided development
• Leverage a learning champion
• And last but not least – make it fun!

She then passed the mic over to Ward, who provided readily available resources to execute that learning strategy.

“A lot of companies and organizations offer some really great free and low-cost learning resources – some available at the public library or online, others may be workshops or training offered by local community foundations,” Ward said. “And the topics may range from capacity building and fundraising to marketing and financial management. The key is picking the resources that best align with the needs of your organization.”

The key is picking the resources that best align with the needs of your organization.
Barry Ward, Learning and Development professional at Regions

The next host, Ressie Chambers, wore two hats during the webinar, providing insight from two specialty areas. Along with serving as a Learning and Development professional at Regions, Chambers also is the executive director of a nonprofit in Memphis, Tenn.

She and her husband, Jimmy, established Camp Chambers more than a decade ago to provide educational and life skills for underserved youth. Theirs is a volunteer organization, with no paid staff, so Chambers has a great deal of experience with training and development for an unpaid workforce — as well as a board of directors — with diverse backgrounds, skills, ages and varied perceptions about roles and responsibilities.

Chambers shared some successful strategies that have worked for her in the past, especially when communicating the mission of the nonprofit:

• Storytelling and real-life examples resonate deeply
• Interactive training is often more effective because it puts ideas into action
• Mentorship and peer support are important for knowledge transfer and skill development

Chambers was honest about what has not worked as well, including one-size-fits-all training and programs that deliver “TMI” or too much information that overwhelms participants.

For this group of nonprofit leaders looking for tools and resources, Chambers had some specific, actionable advice. “Definitely start out with the resources that are no cost, there are tons of those out there,” she said.

“Encourage staff members and volunteers with certain skill sets to lead informal training sessions. People that are involved in nonprofits want to give back – they want things to do. Lunch and Learns are great forums. Also, network with other nonprofits to share best practices, and join the local chamber.”

People that are involved in nonprofits want to give back – they want things to do.
Ressie Chambers, Learning and Development professional at Regions

Based on the comments and ideas springing up on the chat during the webinar, the audience was extremely engaged. Inspiring attendees to reflect, learn, share, and identify at least one action they can take is the most important goal of this quarterly webinar series.

Joan Wright, executive director of Childcare Resources in Birmingham, has participated in past Insights webinars and found this one particularly relevant and helpful.

“The biggest takeaway for me was the variety of free resources that can support staff professional development across several areas and skills,” Wright said. “I appreciated the active chat conversations and sharing of resources from other participants.”

Wright added that the entire webinar series has been valuable to her and other members of her agency.

“I’ve learned new ways to approach our work, from data visualization to staff development. The format of free, convenient, virtual sessions combined with quality, professional guidance provide an accessible way to gain insights, connect with others and apply new information to our work. I look forward to the next session!”

Investing in knowledge-sharing and skill-building opportunities is a win not only for community partners, but also for Regions associates who volunteer their time and expertise.

Not all organizations have access to the resources we’re fortunate enough to have here at Regions, and I’m grateful we can lend our support in a way that helps others grow their impact.
Jinny Walker, Learning and Development professional at Regions

“It was incredibly meaningful to have the opportunity to influence nonprofits and volunteers who are working hard to strengthen their communities, often with limited staff and budget,” Walker said. “Not all organizations have access to the resources we’re fortunate enough to have here at Regions, and I’m grateful we can lend our support in a way that helps others grow their impact.”

“I’m a Regions-grown L&D partner, so being able to share what I’ve learned here with our community partners is such a rewarding way to pay it forward. I love giving back, especially in a way that aligns with what I love to do every day at work.”

The presentation shared during the webinar, along with a list of free learning resources, can be found here.

By Candace Higginbotham

Nonprofits across the country are facing a new set of challenges in the current economic environment.

Budget constraints are a longstanding issue for community organizations. But for many, those challenges have intensified with recent changes in government funding.

Gina Sian, head of Regions Bank’s Making Life Better Institute, recognizes the pressure this places on nonprofits and understands the hurdles leaders face.

For the past five years, the Regions Community Engagement team has been hosting the Important Insights for Community Organizations webinar series that leverages Regions’ inhouse knowledge and experience to provide assistance where it’s needed most, at no cost.

Staff development is one area that kept bubbling up as Sian engaged with nonprofits about their challenges.

“‘No money, no mission’ is a phrase many nonprofits are familiar with,” Sian said. “But an even more critical factor to their success is their team. Engaging people who care about your mission, have the necessary skills to implement your vision, and the willingness to grow with your organization is not an easy task, most especially when you have limited resources.”

‘No money, no mission’ is a phrase many nonprofits are familiar with.
Gina Sian, head of Regions Bank’s Making Life Better Institute

How can nonprofits support employee growth and performance without breaking the budget?

To answer this question, Sian assembled a group of Regions Learning and Development pros to share cost-effective strategies for employee training and development. Jinny Walker, Barry Ward and Ressie Chambers led the discussion, which included 71 attendees from 45 organizations in 39 cities.

Walker opened the meeting with a word-cloud exercise that gave participants an opportunity to share their specific challenges when it comes to employee and volunteer learning and development. To no one’s surprise, the responses highlighted issues around time, cost, technology, staffing and expertise.

With those challenges in mind, the obvious first question is where to start. Walker advised the audience to start with the basics.

“Think about your goals. Your organization’s priorities really shape the learning and development needs of your employees and volunteers,” Walker said. “Next, you should think about how to build a sustainable learning culture.”

Her advice for developing that internal learning strategy included:

• Break learning into bite-sized chunks or micro learnings
• Leverage existing expertise within the organization
• Place a high value on learning
• Promote self-guided development
• Leverage a learning champion
• And last but not least – make it fun!

She then passed the mic over to Ward, who provided readily available resources to execute that learning strategy.

“A lot of companies and organizations offer some really great free and low-cost learning resources – some available at the public library or online, others may be workshops or training offered by local community foundations,” Ward said. “And the topics may range from capacity building and fundraising to marketing and financial management. The key is picking the resources that best align with the needs of your organization.”

The key is picking the resources that best align with the needs of your organization.
Barry Ward, Learning and Development professional at Regions

The next host, Ressie Chambers, wore two hats during the webinar, providing insight from two specialty areas. Along with serving as a Learning and Development professional at Regions, Chambers also is the executive director of a nonprofit in Memphis, Tenn.

She and her husband, Jimmy, established Camp Chambers more than a decade ago to provide educational and life skills for underserved youth. Theirs is a volunteer organization, with no paid staff, so Chambers has a great deal of experience with training and development for an unpaid workforce — as well as a board of directors — with diverse backgrounds, skills, ages and varied perceptions about roles and responsibilities.

Chambers shared some successful strategies that have worked for her in the past, especially when communicating the mission of the nonprofit:

• Storytelling and real-life examples resonate deeply
• Interactive training is often more effective because it puts ideas into action
• Mentorship and peer support are important for knowledge transfer and skill development

Chambers was honest about what has not worked as well, including one-size-fits-all training and programs that deliver “TMI” or too much information that overwhelms participants.

For this group of nonprofit leaders looking for tools and resources, Chambers had some specific, actionable advice. “Definitely start out with the resources that are no cost, there are tons of those out there,” she said.

“Encourage staff members and volunteers with certain skill sets to lead informal training sessions. People that are involved in nonprofits want to give back – they want things to do. Lunch and Learns are great forums. Also, network with other nonprofits to share best practices, and join the local chamber.”

People that are involved in nonprofits want to give back – they want things to do.
Ressie Chambers, Learning and Development professional at Regions

Based on the comments and ideas springing up on the chat during the webinar, the audience was extremely engaged. Inspiring attendees to reflect, learn, share, and identify at least one action they can take is the most important goal of this quarterly webinar series.

Joan Wright, executive director of Childcare Resources in Birmingham, has participated in past Insights webinars and found this one particularly relevant and helpful.

“The biggest takeaway for me was the variety of free resources that can support staff professional development across several areas and skills,” Wright said. “I appreciated the active chat conversations and sharing of resources from other participants.”

Wright added that the entire webinar series has been valuable to her and other members of her agency.

“I’ve learned new ways to approach our work, from data visualization to staff development. The format of free, convenient, virtual sessions combined with quality, professional guidance provide an accessible way to gain insights, connect with others and apply new information to our work. I look forward to the next session!”

Investing in knowledge-sharing and skill-building opportunities is a win not only for community partners, but also for Regions associates who volunteer their time and expertise.

Not all organizations have access to the resources we’re fortunate enough to have here at Regions, and I’m grateful we can lend our support in a way that helps others grow their impact.
Jinny Walker, Learning and Development professional at Regions

“It was incredibly meaningful to have the opportunity to influence nonprofits and volunteers who are working hard to strengthen their communities, often with limited staff and budget,” Walker said. “Not all organizations have access to the resources we’re fortunate enough to have here at Regions, and I’m grateful we can lend our support in a way that helps others grow their impact.”

“I’m a Regions-grown L&D partner, so being able to share what I’ve learned here with our community partners is such a rewarding way to pay it forward. I love giving back, especially in a way that aligns with what I love to do every day at work.”

The presentation shared during the webinar, along with a list of free learning resources, can be found here.

Authored by Baker Tilly’s Nathan Olson

Growing stewardship through adaptive data governance 

For many organizations, data governance evokes a familiar image: rigid policies, centralized control and compliance-heavy processes that are hard to implement and even harder to maintain. Traditional approaches often collapse under their own weight — too prescriptive to be useful, too inflexible to keep pace with business needs.

But governance doesn’t have to be a bureaucratic burden. Like a well-tended garden, adaptive governance can be dynamic, responsive and tailored to its environment. When nurtured with care and intention, it can enable collaboration, foster stewardship and grow trust across the organization.

The problem with traditional governance 

At its worst, data governance becomes a blocker rather than an enabler. Well-meaning frameworks are either over-applied to every corner of the business or bypassed entirely when they don’t fit the needs. Teams work around governance when it’s perceived as overhead — something to “get through” rather than something that helps them do better work.

This disconnect creates a critical opportunity: to reimagine governance not as a one-size-fits-all program, but as something that grows and evolves with the needs of the organization.

What is cultivated data governance? 

Cultivated data governance is a living model — adaptive, incremental and grounded in the context of your business. It starts small and grows deliberately, focusing on impact over enforcement. Instead of imposing controls from the top down, cultivated governance focuses on enabling teams with the right level of support, clarity and care.

It’s a model that prizes flexibility and sustainability over rigid adherence. It invites stewards, not enforcers, and it meets data users where they are, aligning with how they work today and where they’re headed next.

Governance as gardening 

To communicate this model effectively, we apply a garden metaphor that bridges technical and non-technical perspectives:

• Soil: Your organizational culture and data readiness. Governance thrives in healthy environments with trust, literacy and shared accountability.
• Seeds: The foundational practices: business glossaries, ownership models, access policies. You plant what you want to grow.
• Watering: Stewardship and enablement. Governance grows when it’s nurtured with training, support and time.
• Pruning: Sunsetting stale policies and assets. Removing what no longer serves helps everything else thrive.
• Fertilizer: Tools, automation and process improvements that enrich and accelerate good governance.
• Gardeners: Your data stewards and team champions. The people closest to the data play a key role in shaping its use.
• Garden beds: Governance zones, tailored to different needs across the organization.

The four levels of cultivation 

Not all data needs the same level of oversight. By mapping different governance “zones” to natural environments, organizations can better apply the right level of care based on the use case:

• Wild meadow: A space for experimentation and exploration. Think data science, trend analysis and sandbox environments. Minimal governance by design, but clearly bounded.
• Community plot: Shared spaces with light guidance and collaboration. These might include team dashboards or semi-structured data used within a function.
• Tended bed: Trusted, curated assets maintained by governance teams or stewards. Examples include certified data products and enterprise dashboards.
• Walled garden: Highly sensitive or regulated data — PII, HIPAA-protected information or proprietary IP. These areas require strict access controls and clear auditability.

Instead of treating all data equally, cultivated governance adapts to the data’s risk profile, business value and intended use.

How to cultivate governance in practice 

Putting this model into action requires intention and patience. Like any garden, governance doesn’t grow overnight. It takes the right conditions, the right people and the willingness to start small:

• Start where there’s natural buy-in: Look for teams already invested in data quality or self-service analytics
• Pilot with a single domain: Prove value through targeted, high-impact efforts before scaling broadly
• Align with agile and product delivery models: Governance can slot into existing sprints, backlogs and rituals — no heavy lift required
• Emphasize recurring habits: Light, repeatable check-ins are more effective than one-time rollouts
• Invest in stewards and culture, not just tools: Software can support governance, but it’s your people who sustain it

Why it works 

Cultivated governance is more scalable, adaptable and human-centered than traditional models. It builds trust by aligning with how people actually work, and by focusing on value, not just control.

It also empowers data stewards to take ownership, reducing friction between business and IT. And because it evolves in step with your organization, it supports both innovation and compliance rather than forcing you to choose one or the other.

How we can help 

At Baker Tilly, we help organizations design and implement data governance programs that are fit for purpose — structured where necessary, flexible where possible and always grounded in business value.

Our experienced team can support you with:

• Governance strategy and design: Build a tailored governance model aligned to your data landscape, organizational culture and risk profile
• Stewardship enablement: Identify and empower data stewards with the tools, training and support they need to succeed
• Governance in agile and product environments: Integrate governance seamlessly into data product development and agile delivery cycles
• Tool selection and implementation: Evaluate and implement the right technology (e.g., data catalogs, lineage, access control) to support scalable governance
• Change management and adoption: Drive adoption through education, communication and ongoing engagement – because governance is only effective when it’s used

Whether you’re just getting started or looking to evolve an existing program, we will meet you where you are and help you grow from there.

Connect with a Baker Tilly specialist to learn more

Authored by Baker Tilly’s Nathan Olson

Growing stewardship through adaptive data governance 

For many organizations, data governance evokes a familiar image: rigid policies, centralized control and compliance-heavy processes that are hard to implement and even harder to maintain. Traditional approaches often collapse under their own weight — too prescriptive to be useful, too inflexible to keep pace with business needs.

But governance doesn’t have to be a bureaucratic burden. Like a well-tended garden, adaptive governance can be dynamic, responsive and tailored to its environment. When nurtured with care and intention, it can enable collaboration, foster stewardship and grow trust across the organization.

The problem with traditional governance 

At its worst, data governance becomes a blocker rather than an enabler. Well-meaning frameworks are either over-applied to every corner of the business or bypassed entirely when they don’t fit the needs. Teams work around governance when it’s perceived as overhead — something to “get through” rather than something that helps them do better work.

This disconnect creates a critical opportunity: to reimagine governance not as a one-size-fits-all program, but as something that grows and evolves with the needs of the organization.

What is cultivated data governance? 

Cultivated data governance is a living model — adaptive, incremental and grounded in the context of your business. It starts small and grows deliberately, focusing on impact over enforcement. Instead of imposing controls from the top down, cultivated governance focuses on enabling teams with the right level of support, clarity and care.

It’s a model that prizes flexibility and sustainability over rigid adherence. It invites stewards, not enforcers, and it meets data users where they are, aligning with how they work today and where they’re headed next.

Governance as gardening 

To communicate this model effectively, we apply a garden metaphor that bridges technical and non-technical perspectives:

• Soil: Your organizational culture and data readiness. Governance thrives in healthy environments with trust, literacy and shared accountability.
• Seeds: The foundational practices: business glossaries, ownership models, access policies. You plant what you want to grow.
• Watering: Stewardship and enablement. Governance grows when it’s nurtured with training, support and time.
• Pruning: Sunsetting stale policies and assets. Removing what no longer serves helps everything else thrive.
• Fertilizer: Tools, automation and process improvements that enrich and accelerate good governance.
• Gardeners: Your data stewards and team champions. The people closest to the data play a key role in shaping its use.
• Garden beds: Governance zones, tailored to different needs across the organization.

The four levels of cultivation 

Not all data needs the same level of oversight. By mapping different governance “zones” to natural environments, organizations can better apply the right level of care based on the use case:

• Wild meadow: A space for experimentation and exploration. Think data science, trend analysis and sandbox environments. Minimal governance by design, but clearly bounded.
• Community plot: Shared spaces with light guidance and collaboration. These might include team dashboards or semi-structured data used within a function.
• Tended bed: Trusted, curated assets maintained by governance teams or stewards. Examples include certified data products and enterprise dashboards.
• Walled garden: Highly sensitive or regulated data — PII, HIPAA-protected information or proprietary IP. These areas require strict access controls and clear auditability.

Instead of treating all data equally, cultivated governance adapts to the data’s risk profile, business value and intended use.

How to cultivate governance in practice 

Putting this model into action requires intention and patience. Like any garden, governance doesn’t grow overnight. It takes the right conditions, the right people and the willingness to start small:

• Start where there’s natural buy-in: Look for teams already invested in data quality or self-service analytics
• Pilot with a single domain: Prove value through targeted, high-impact efforts before scaling broadly
• Align with agile and product delivery models: Governance can slot into existing sprints, backlogs and rituals — no heavy lift required
• Emphasize recurring habits: Light, repeatable check-ins are more effective than one-time rollouts
• Invest in stewards and culture, not just tools: Software can support governance, but it’s your people who sustain it

Why it works 

Cultivated governance is more scalable, adaptable and human-centered than traditional models. It builds trust by aligning with how people actually work, and by focusing on value, not just control.

It also empowers data stewards to take ownership, reducing friction between business and IT. And because it evolves in step with your organization, it supports both innovation and compliance rather than forcing you to choose one or the other.

How we can help 

At Baker Tilly, we help organizations design and implement data governance programs that are fit for purpose — structured where necessary, flexible where possible and always grounded in business value.

Our experienced team can support you with:

• Governance strategy and design: Build a tailored governance model aligned to your data landscape, organizational culture and risk profile
• Stewardship enablement: Identify and empower data stewards with the tools, training and support they need to succeed
• Governance in agile and product environments: Integrate governance seamlessly into data product development and agile delivery cycles
• Tool selection and implementation: Evaluate and implement the right technology (e.g., data catalogs, lineage, access control) to support scalable governance
• Change management and adoption: Drive adoption through education, communication and ongoing engagement – because governance is only effective when it’s used

Whether you’re just getting started or looking to evolve an existing program, we will meet you where you are and help you grow from there.

Connect with a Baker Tilly specialist to learn more