Coalitions pull in different directions
Many partners, many agendas, and no shared throughline — so energy drains into turf and translation instead of progress, and alliances settle for lowest-common-denominator asks.
Strategy & Stakeholder Engagement Consultant
Strategy for resilient agriculture and working lands.
I work at the intersection of agriculture, water, and policy — helping organizations navigate complex sustainability challenges by aligning stakeholders and advancing practical, durable solutions.
- Collaborative strategy
- Policy leadership
- Cross-sector facilitation
The Problem Lara Solves
Mission-driven work rarely stalls for lack of purpose. It stalls in the complexity around the mission.
Non-profits in agriculture, food, and conservation are working on some of the most important challenges of our time — soil, water, climate, and the future of farming. But too often their impact is capped not by the strength of their mission, but by the friction surrounding it: crowded coalitions, fast-closing policy windows, and deep expertise that never reaches the rooms where decisions get made.
Policy windows reward the prepared
Policy windows reward the prepared. Farm Bill negotiations, state legislative sessions, agency rulemaking, and emerging market opportunities move quickly. Organizations without a clear, coordinated strategy risk missing moments that shape outcomes.
Expertise never reaches the decision-makers
Rigorous soil, water, and climate science is hard to translate into the language funders and policymakers act on. The best evidence loses to the clearest story.
Lean teams are stretched too thin to lead
Small staffs juggle strategy, partnerships, and fundraising at once, with no capacity to step back, set direction, and prove the measurable impact funders increasingly demand.
What Lara Brings
Substance, trust, and the ability to move a room.
Organizations don’t just need another consultant — they need someone who is fluent in the science, trusted in the field, and effective in the rooms where decisions get made. That combination is rare, and it is exactly what Lara brings.
Credibility on both sides of the fence
A farm-raised soil scientist who has also shaped federal policy — Lara earns trust with growers and decision-makers alike, so your message lands with the audiences that matter most.
Deep soil & regenerative expertise
Hard-won, technical fluency in soil health, soil carbon, cover crops, and conservation practice — the kind of substance that separates a credible strategy from a talking point.
Coalitions that actually move
A track record of uniting agribusiness, commodity groups, conservation NGOs, and public agencies behind shared, durable priorities — not lowest-common-denominator compromise.
Strategy that becomes outcomes
From a $25M Farm Bill program to multi-state incentive models, Lara turns priorities into initiatives that secure funding, change practice, and produce measurable results.
For mission-driven organizations
Helping non-profits punch above their weight.
Mission-driven organizations face a hard reality: limited capacity, crowded coalitions, and policy windows that open and close fast. Lara helps non-profits punch above their weight — sharpening strategy, strengthening partnerships, and converting expertise into influence and funding.
- Sharpen your strategic focus and theory of change so every program ladders up to measurable impact
- Position your organization to win Farm Bill and conservation-policy priorities
- Build and lead coalitions that expand your reach without diluting your mission
- Translate technical soil, water, and climate work into messages funders and policymakers act on
- Design stakeholder and board engagement that builds alignment and sustains momentum
- Strengthen funding strategy and initiative design to unlock new resources
Areas of Focus
Where deep expertise meets durable outcomes.
Sustainable Agriculture & Working Lands
Policy and practice for the lands that feed and sustain us — connecting on-farm reality with durable public policy.
Soil Health & Climate Resilience
Advancing soil carbon, conservation practices, and resilience strategies that hold up across changing conditions.
Water Quality & Watershed Strategy
Watershed-scale strategy and nutrient stewardship that align agricultural and water-quality goals.
Cross-Sector Collaboration
Bridging agricultural and environmental systems — turning competing interests into coordinated, measurable action.
Core Services
Two complementary practices, one coordinated outcome.
I bring a systems perspective, a pragmatic facilitation style, and deep policy experience to complex stakeholder environments. I design structured engagement processes that clarify priorities, build alignment, and sustain momentum — helping organizations move from competing interests to coordinated action and measurable progress.
Partner Engagement & Facilitation
Directing structured processes that build trust, clarify priorities, and move diverse stakeholders toward coordinated action.
- Multi-stakeholder process design and leadership
- Convening and workshop facilitation
- Partnership development and alignment
- Conflict navigation and consensus building
Policy & Strategy Development
Supporting organizations in navigating complex policy landscapes and translating priorities into clear, actionable strategies.
- Policy landscape analysis
- Strategic roadmaps and initiative design
- Coalition and governance strategy
- Funding strategy and initiative development
Engagement Formats
Multi-month stakeholder process leadership
Strategy retreats and facilitated workshops
Project-based policy consulting
Ongoing strategic advising (retainers)
Selected Experience
Results that have shaped national soil and water policy.
Led national initiatives advancing conservation agriculture and water stewardship
Developed and advanced a multi-state crop insurance incentive program (Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin) for cover crop adoption — later adapted as a federal model.
Facilitated cross-sector coalitions at the intersection of agriculture, water, and public policy
Co-led the nutrient pollution work group of the Clean Water for All Coalition, aligning NGOs across public health, conservation, and food systems to advance shared Farm Bill priorities.
Designed collaborative strategies influencing federal policy and practice adoption
Convened agribusiness, commodity groups, environmental organizations, and Congressional offices to secure inclusion of the Soil Health Demonstration Trial in the 2018 Farm Bill — a $25M federal program focused on soil carbon measurement and outcomes.
Advised institutional leaders and governance bodies on strategy and stakeholder alignment
Developed the International Certified Crop Adviser Operational Plan, supporting program growth, modernization, and improved value delivery across a multi-board governance system.
What Partners Say
Trusted across the table.
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Lara combines deep subject matter expertise with practical strategic thinking, helping organizations move from discussion to meaningful action.
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Lara has a rare ability to bring diverse stakeholders together around complex agricultural and environmental policy challenges.
About Lara Bryant
Lara Bryant
Strategy & Stakeholder Engagement Consultant
- Former Deputy Director, Water & Agriculture — NRDC
- M.P.A., Environmental Science & Policy — Columbia University
- B.S., Plant & Soil Science — University of Tennessee
- Nearly 15 years in soil health & agricultural policy
Few advisors can speak fluently to a farmer at the field edge and to a Congressional staffer at the negotiating table. Lara Bryant does both.
Lara Bryant is the founder of Bryant Strategy, a consulting practice focused on agriculture, soil health, water, and climate strategy.
Raised on a small farm in East Tennessee, Lara’s connection to agriculture began early through 4-H, FFA, and hands-on farm work — and it has anchored a career spent translating on-farm reality into durable national policy. Most recently she served as Deputy Director of Water & Agriculture at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), where she advanced soil health, soil carbon measurement, and regenerative agriculture as the foundation of food, water, and climate policy. Her earlier work spans the National Wildlife Federation and the World Resources Institute, and she began her career as a chemist in an environmental laboratory.
Over nearly 15 years she has helped shape the federal soil health agenda — from securing the Soil Health Demonstration Trial in the 2018 Farm Bill to building multi-state crop insurance incentives for cover crops. Today she brings that depth directly to the agricultural sector: helping farm organizations, agribusinesses, commodity groups, conservation partners, and funders turn a deep understanding of regenerative practice into strategy, alignment, and measurable progress.
Discuss working together →From the Working Lands
The places this work protects.
Pasture and water, soil and harvest — the working lands at the heart of Lara’s strategy work.
Hire Lara
Let’s build something durable.
Whether you’re a farm organization, agribusiness, commodity group, conservation partner, funder, or non-profit, I’d welcome a conversation about your goals. Based in the US and available for remote engagements nationally and internationally, where the work aligns with my expertise. Share a few details and I’ll be in touch to explore how we might work together.
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