Blythe Robinson has Joined Capital Strategic Solutions as a Senior Project Manager
Capital Strategic Solutions is very excited to welcome Blythe Robinson to the team as a Senior Project Manager. We are extremely fortunate to bring on board Blythe’s experience and vision as she has the extraordinary capability to learn and address the complex needs of a community, all the while never losing sight of the big picture. Blythe’s experience in Regionalization, Grant Management, Budgeting and Transparency, and Human Resources make her especially adept to serve across the Commonwealth, as she has for over 30 years.
Most recently Blythe served as the Town Administrator for the Town of Norfolk. Within this position she acted as the Chief Administrative Officer for the Community and managed the town departments, and implementation of Board Policies and Initiatives. Blythe served Norfolk throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic and ensured uninterrupted delivery of essential services to the community. Part of Blythe’s skill in accomplishing this can be found in her drive to increase inter-community connectivity. During her time in Norfolk Blythe collaborated with Wrentham and Franklin to form the Metacomet Health Alliance to expand public health services, at minimal additional cost to Norfolk. This alliance efficiently shared Environmental and Health Agents across the communities, while receiving services from Wrentham’s public health nurses. CSS has long admired Blythe’s ability to find creative solutions such as these.
Prior to her time in Norfolk, Blythe served as the Executive Director for the Town of Wellesley. During this time, she was responsible for the management of Finance & Budget, Information Technology, and the consolidated Town & School Facilities Management Department, to name a few. Blythe successfully negotiated several contracts and acquisitions on behalf of the town, creating new opportunities along the way. Some of these included the new health insurance contract with 11 Town and School unions to choose the most cost-effective plan, the acquisition for three properties adjacent to a school through “friendly” eminent domain to enhance school upgrades, and a ground lease of Town-owned land with a developer to build a recreational facility at no cost to the town. Though these negotiations were all for very different projects, her ability to build trust with multiple parties and reach well rounded agreements is a skill we are thrilled to bring to our CSS clients.
One of Blythe’s specialties lies in creating pragmatic regionalization programs for local communities. By keeping her finger to the pulse, Blythe can understand a community’s unique needs and find creative solutions. For example, during her time as the Town Manager for Upton she instituted a regionalization project, partnering with Blackstone and Bellingham to share public health nursing services. Blythe was able to not only identify the condition of public health in her own community but also built trust with neighboring towns to find a solution that made the best use of everyone’s resources, connecting multiple communities across town lines. This is just one example of Blythe’s extensive experience in regionalization, as she has seen this process from a multitude of viewpoints. Time and time again Blythe proved her ability to understand what each community has, what they need, and what’s out there.
Blythe’s ability to remain up to date on the evolving opportunities for municipal governments makes her especially skilled in Grant Management and Grant Writing. Blythe has a robust understanding on the integral role of grants to local government. In Upton Blythe guided a multi-year process to obtain a $11 million-dollar Transportation Improvement Program grant to update a major thoroughfare in town, once again revealing her talent for crafting a big picture solution with meticulous planning.
This experience with grant management ties into Blythe’s ability to create transparent and comprehensive operating and capital budgets. While budget management may seem like a mundane aspect to any public administrative career, Blythe’s unique approach uses transparency to build understanding. In Norfolk where she created the Town’s first operating and Capital Budgets, she was able to improve residents’ understanding of town operations, so they could fully embrace their public services. Her ability to make community-building a cornerstone of every municipal task shows how she can balance immediate need, and the big picture.
As Blythe herself explained, ““I deeply enjoy the opportunity to help a community realize its goals and finding ways to achieve them. Whether it be a more efficient way to offer a service, solve a problem, or how to bring a major project from an idea to successful completion. Each community is unique, and I enjoy learning about their challenges, goals, opportunities and ideas, and working with them to identify and implement ways to make those happen.”
Blythe’s dedication to public service expands beyond her professional career as she is affiliated with organizations that involve themselves with public service, specifically the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA) and the International City & County Management Association (ICMA). Blythe has served on the Board of Directors of both MIIA Property and Casualty Board and Health Benefits Trust, working to set the industry standards for community insurance that promotes best practices and reduces community risks. Within the ICMA Blythe has been a member for nearly as long as she has been in public service, which has enabled her to always be on the cutting edge of the best public management practices. These connections reflect Blythe’s understanding that even when the regulations and practices are different, the mission of public service is always the same.
“As another great addition to the CSS team, Blythe brings with her decades of experience in government and public management. A true leader, Blythe has dedicated her life to improving and streamlining local government operations by implementing best management practices. Hard working and dedicated, Blythe will be an incredible asset to our clients, especially cities and towns looking for assistance with long term strategic planning, grant assistance, human resources, and many other facets of local government operations. We are thrilled she is joining our team at CSS!” Said Jennifer Thompson, CSS Chief Development Officer.
No matter where she works, Blythe’s dedication to public service has earned her the respect of all who have worked with her. Her skill at big picture planning, creative problem solving, and building trust between a government and its community allow municipal bodies to work in an efficient and effective manner. Her skill set is built from her experience across varied and unique communities, bringing her talents to new and different municipal ecosystems where she can thrive no matter the context.
Beyond her professional skills, it is Blythe’s values that make her a shining example of the best of public service. Her interest in the field is driven by a strong desire to help others, and fix problems. Whether it be a long-term capital improvement project, or an ephemeral communication glitch, Blythe brings the same zeal and dedication to every project. Her rigorous work ethic is unafraid to tackle the work head on, as she can guide a community not only to its realized needs, but towards its unrealized needs as well. It goes without saying that her insight and experience are exemplary, and we at CSS are most fortunate to call her our colleague.
“Blythe’s solutions-oriented personality aligns with our mission to provide the highest quality of service to our clients by identifying opportunities, modifying internal structures, and accelerating processes,” said Nichol Figueiredo, Chief Executive Officer.“We are excited to be able to bring a person with such deep experience and well-earned wisdom to our team. Please join us in welcoming her to the CSS Team.”
About Capital Strategic Solutions
Our team at Capital Strategic Solutions is composed of talented and experienced former municipal employees with a passion for problem solving and public service. We operate as a mobile municipal force across New England with the experience and connections to assist with any project. Our team specializes in community engagement, grant writing and management, impact mitigation, project management and oversight, website redesign, and community outreach to name just a few. We have the ability to deliver creative and cost-effective services to any city, town, department, or organization in a way that maximizes success, and minimizes risk.
To learn more about our services, and the expertise of our team please email us at info@capital-strategic-solutions.com or call us at 508-690-0046 to schedule a meeting with us!
Whether you just need a second set of hands for a simple fix, or management on large scale projects, we have the resources to fill your need.