the strategy is approved. now it has to work.
most organizations don’t struggle to decide what to do. they struggle to make it happen.
Across sites, staff, budgets, and regulations, the gap between an approved plan and a program that actually runs is where things stall. That gap is where I work.
I’m Keena Howse, a PMP-certified program implementation consultant. For more than 10 years, I’ve led complex, publicly funded programs in multi-site organizations. I pair project discipline with deep knowledge of how adults learn and change. I don’t just manage the plan. I build the roles, tools, routines, and staff capacity to sustain it, then hand it off to a team that can run it without me.
- 10+ years
- leading complex, publicly funded programs
- 10 sites
- federally funded program sites supported
- $1.8M+
- in program budgets overseen
- 2 cohorts
- of a leadership fellowship that prepared frontline staff for lead roles
- PMP
- certified, with an M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction
what implementation actually looks like
- 1Assess
Start with the approved plan. Read it against the rules, the budget, and the people you have.
- 2Design
Turn the roadmap into places, roles, and dates. Every piece gets an owner.
- 3Implement
Open the sites. Hire, train, and track progress every week.
- 4Sustain
Connect it all so the work keeps running, with a team that owns it.
organizations bring me in when a plan is set and the hard part is making it run.
01“we have to launch or expand on a fixed timeline”
A new site has an opening date but no readiness plan. I build the schedule, set who owns what, coordinate procurement, hiring, and onboarding, and run weekly risk reviews through opening day and after.
Program launch & expansion02“a monitoring visit, audit, or accreditation is coming”
A grant has requirements nobody has turned into daily practice, or a finding already landed. I map requirements to what happens today, write the plan, train staff, and follow each item through.
Compliance & monitoring readiness03“our projects have outgrown our team”
A key leader leaves, and their projects land on everyone else’s desk. I list and rank the work, set up simple status routines, and build the dashboard leadership needs.
Fractional program management04“we need results that last after the launch”
Quality varies site to site, and people aren’t being promoted from within. I build the coaching and training systems, and the career paths, that make results stick.
Workforce & leadership pipelinesa disciplined path from plan to practice
Every engagement moves through the same four phases, with clear deliverables at each one. The length depends on the work: a readiness sprint takes weeks, and a new-site launch takes months.
the howse method
plan → practice (not plan → shelf)
- assess the plan, the rules, the capacity
- +
- design roadmap, roles, tools
- +
- implement lead, train, track weekly
- +
- sustain hand it off
= a program your team runs without me
program performance review
Not sure where to start? A short, fixed-fee review that finds what’s in the way and gives you a 90-day plan.
About the reviewfour ways to work together
Program launch & expansion. Compliance & monitoring readiness. Fractional program management. Workforce & leadership pipelines.
View servicescapabilities statement
Core services, differentiators, past performance, and contact details on one page.
Download the PDFselected engagements
Completed in in-house leadership roles. Organizations are described by type to protect their privacy.
View all case studiesGetting new sites ready to open
New sites had to open on schedule, fully equipped and compliant, while existing sites kept running.
Read the case studyAnswering a state monitoring review
An unannounced monitoring visit found staffing gaps. I led the Plan of Correction and put it into practice.
Read the case studyPromoting from within
A two-cohort fellowship that prepared frontline staff for lead roles.
Read the case studybuilt for organizations where execution is high-stakes
Multi-site nonprofits
Programs that run in several locations and need them to run the same way.
Early learning & education
Early learning programs, charter networks, and education nonprofits.
Workforce & human services
Grant-funded programs with real compliance and staffing demands.
Contractors & TA providers
Firms delivering training and technical assistance that need an implementation specialist.
who you’ll work with
have an initiative that needs to move?
Discovery call
Start with a 30-minute conversation. You’ll leave with a clearer view of the risks and next steps, whether or not we work together.
Schedule a discovery callCapabilities statement
One page with core services, past performance, and contact details, for proposals and vendor files.
Download the PDF