About Steven Stahl
Personal Information
Truro is my home. You will see me on the wood’s trails or the beaches, bike riding, playing guitar, or walking with our two dogs. My wife, Shari, and I moor a small sailboat at Pamet Harbor. You may have seen me performing songs at open mics in Provincetown or Wellfleet, or sitting in with a band playing blues harp. I have never held a political position before though I have been an advocate for many people and organizations to promote the best that can be.
Values and beliefs
I hold the following beliefs and values
· Best results for planning and problem solving will:
be inclusive, be collaborative, have a solution-focused approach
· Transparency in government should aim to include:
o information about process and collaborations implemented
o sharing the pros and cons of possible solutions, with community members
· Actively listening to each other’s different opinions as a community must be implemented with:
o ethics and balance
o respectful dialogue
Skills and background including volunteer history
I bring my lifetime of experience and learning to serve Truro on the Planning Board. My strategic planning and instructional design work gave me experience with focusing goals and streamlining planning. My leadership role in a multi-million-dollar capital campaign gave me experience in building community engagement and overcoming obstacles. Being Board President in a highly collaborative organization taught me the value of an inclusive approach to decision making. My Doctorate in Education prepared me for using research and critical thinking to integrate different perspectives.
Most of my working career as well as my volunteer work has been advocating for people in many ways. I would like to continue that advocacy by volunteering for the Planning Board and working for our future. Fourteen years ago I came to Truro, and have been able to be here full time for the last eight years. In that time I worked as a special educator and preschool teacher at Provincetown School and volunteered for local organizations.
My work history includes:
o Teaching – including, special education, preschool (in Vermont and at Provincetown Schools), child care training, and college courses.
o Director of Children’s Services of a county-wide non-profit parent/child center serving children and families.
o Grant Writing - Author of two Federal grants. One resulted in a state-wide child care training program that emphasized serving children with disabilities in regular child care settings. A second grant provided health care county-wide on site.
o Board President - co-leader of capital campaign for a new site, and an agency-wide strategic planning process.
o Business Owner – partner in real estate agency, and owner of wholesale and retail jewelry business.
o Instructional Technology - Senior Instructional Technologist at Norwich University.
o Instructional Designer – team leader of an online training program for IBM for global distribution.
o Negotiations – peer selected as lead negotiator for a teacher contracts.
o Home Building - designed and built my own home.
o Volunteer Work - Payomet Performing Arts, Cape Abilities, Provincetown School, and the Homeless Prevention Council.
What I hope to accomplish on the Planning Board
· Promote more collaboration among committees and boards.
· Engage and inform the community around important decisions like affordable housing and safe water.
· Establish an organized process for developing bylaws that would create well written products in less time. I would bring my strategic. planning experience and models to the table to collaboratively develop a more efficient process. This would free up more time for the Board to engage in the collaboration it needs for planning for Truro’s future.
· Problem solve and create solutions to processes that are overly cumbersome for applicants for permits.