GeoHazards International is a non-profit that helps save lives in developing countries by sharing expertise about earthquake and tsunami preparedness. GHI is intent on fund-raising, but their challenge is that every project they do is different; only their approach and philosophy are consistent and unique. While GHI has many interesting project-stories to tell, it was only when they started working with Halpern & Associates that they were able to identify those stories that best illustrate their unique message.

In 1990, Brian Tucker, GHI’s founder, was doing seismic research in Tajikistan. He went to tea with a man who lived in a very unusual house—unlike the other adobe houses he’d seen in the region, this one had four large tree-trunks supporting its four corners. The man’s father had built the house that way, and it was the only one in the entire valley that had survived the earthquake of 1949. All their neighbors had died when their houses pancaked. Hearing this, Brian asked, “So, when you build a new house next door for your children, you’ll build it with tree trunks in the corners, right?” “Of course not,” said his host, “What do you think? I’m some kind of kook, like my father?” That experience taught Brian that engineering know-how is not enough; to help developing nations prepare for earthquakes, awareness- and community-building are as vital as good building codes.

A boutique consultancy focusing on the design of green finance programs, Galley Eco Capital needed a story to explain the new opportunities in green real estate funding to sophisticated audiences. Ruth Halpern worked with founder Lisa Galley to craft this story:

The landscape of real estate development is undergoing a profound change. Governments are using new regulations to move real estate development towards creating sustainable, “green” buildings. Studies also show that these buildings are preferred by tenants and generate higher values for their owners. Galley Eco Capital has navigated the highway from the current world to that “emerald city” of the future. With Galley Eco Capital as your tour guide, you’ll be in the fast lane to the city of tomorrow.

Ruth Halpern has helped numerous attorneys craft a personal story that they can use in conjunction with their job titles to make a vivid, memorable impression.

Many Halpern & Associates workshops revolve around the challenge of answering the question “What do you do?” A simple job title can sound dry, canned, even downright boring. The challenge: crafting a metaphor, analogy, or anecdote that illustrates how your service benefits people. After a private coaching session, one tax attorney introduced himself thus: “When you’re trapped in quick sand, surrounded by stinging ants and poisonous vines, I’m a seasoned jungle guide who can get you out of the thickets of the Federal Tax Code, and back to solid ground.”