We love what we do
Every morning, our clients set out with a vision to make a difference in the lives they serve. Ambitious leaders and evolving institutions share a common challenge—the future—and how to approach it in a thoughtful, organized way.
We work with those leaders at the crossroads of today and tomorrow, where institutional strategy, the possibilities of place, and targeted fundraising efforts come together to make change that matters.
Sometimes a story captures it best
Mercersburg Academy’s founding headmaster Dr. William Mann Irvine was selected in 1893 to lead the fledgling institution, inheriting a campus primarily laid out along a ridge, a single street on just four acres of land.
In those early days, Dr. Irvine would walk with his young daughter on the fields bordering the campus, up to the crest of the highest hill. Sitting her up on the farm’s fencepost, he’d talk about the School not as it was, but as he imagined it could become.
For the next 35 years, he harnessed the power of place, channeling his remarkable leadership and boundless energy into the framework for the memorable, beautiful, and useful campus we know today.
Diverse communities, broad ambitions
We serve leading independent educational institutions across the nation and beyond—large and small, boarding and day, coed and single-sex, in urban, suburban, rural, and historic settings.
The opportunities our clients pursue span a dynamic, ever-evolving landscape—ambitious in nature and transformative in impact.
At any given time, we find ourselves working at multiple scales—strengthening the role of place as an educational partner, reshaping campus form to encourage innovation, or helping institutions grow to meet emerging enrollment opportunities. Along the way, we help schools adapt to shifting generational needs, refine program direction, revive stalled capital campaigns, and navigate the natural pull between tradition and change—to name only a few.
Client stories, shared directly
Independent schools live and breathe through their messaging. Their plans, ambitions, and emerging strategies belong to them—and we handle it that way.
Rather than sharing client messages publicly, we encourage peer conversations—leaders speaking directly to leaders. These exchanges allow our clients to share, in their own voices, how our work together has fostered community engagement, advanced strategic initiatives, and guided Board leadership.
We’d be glad to make the connection.
People are the heart
Sorting out the future of remarkable institutions is never simple. Place and programs, needs and aspirations, culture and circumstances—big, knotty questions with interconnected parts, diverse audiences, and often competing stakeholders.
We approach every engagement with empathy for our clients’ unique circumstances, supported by hands-on practice leaders with extensive experience, strategic awareness, an inspired sense of placemaking, and the ability to collaborate across all facets of our clients’ communities.
Jeffrey Blanchard
For over 35 years, Jeff has focused his professional practice on linking institutional strategy with the possibilities of place. To each opportunity, he brings the enthusiasm to engage and excite the communities he serves, the experience to translate ideas into action, and the leadership to advance his clients’ interests.
Patricia Tedesco
Patty is a people person and also fiercely analytical—rapport and report, a powerful combination. For over two decades, she has played lead and supporting roles at Blanchard Group, working with institutions on their campus development strategy. She conceives possible futures and shows how those futures aren’t only inspired—they’re achievable.
Janet Chandler
An engineer by training and a poet at heart, Janet brings both precision and intuition to every planning conversation. For more than a decade, she has played both lead and supporting roles on campus planning and consulting engagements. She is dogged about authenticity—how an institution’s vision, mission, and educational experience are expressed through its campus setting.