Council Oak

What Council Oak does

Council Oak is a small, woman-owned public policy consulting firm headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, serving primarily U.S. federal and select state government agencies. The firm operates with approximately 10 staff members led by President Linda Manning, and delivers four integrated service lines: Collaboration & Dispute Resolution (facilitation and mediation), Program Evaluation & Assessment, Communications & Public Involvement, and Strategic Planning & Public Policy Support. Its work focuses on natural resources, environmental, and infrastructure topics, helping agencies make scientifically-informed decisions through stakeholder engagement, policy analysis, and program governance support.

The firm has no proprietary technology platform; its offering is labor-based professional services delivered by senior facilitators, policy analysts, writers, communications professionals, and a long-tenured graphic designer. Clients identified on the firm's website include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, EPA, U.S. Forest Service, Department of the Interior, FEMA, NOAA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Customs and Border Protection, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the Joint Fire Science Program, as well as state-level entities such as the Association of State Dam Safety Officials and a state Department of Water Resources. Council Oak generates revenue through contract engagements and direct business development with government program managers, with pricing determined through project-specific contract negotiations rather than published rates. The firm also pursues minor community and ESG initiatives, including support for the Green Earth Book Award and a Carbon Neutrality Challenge travel-offset program begun in 2019.

Name

Council Oak

Legal name

Council Oak

Website

https://thecounciloak.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Council Oak is a small, woman-owned public policy consulting firm based in Falls Church, Virginia, serving primarily U.S. federal government agencies with facilitation, program evaluation, communications, and strategic planning services focused on natural resources and environmental policy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Falls Church

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Policy Consulting Services: Revenue generated through consulting engagements with government agencies. Services include collaboration and dispute resolution, program evaluation, communications and public involvement, and strategic planning. Projects are likely structured as professional services contracts with government clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Council Oak is a small, woman-owned public policy consulting firm that provides facilitation, program evaluation, communications, and strategic planning services to government agencies. The firm focuses on natural resources, environmental, and infrastructure topics, helping clients understand and resolve public policy issues and conflicts through scientifically-informed decisions, clear communication, and meaningful stakeholder engagement. Services are delivered as professional consulting engagements under contract with federal and state government clients.

Product overview

Council Oak is a small, woman-owned public policy consulting firm offering four integrated consulting services focused on natural resources, environmental, and infrastructure topics. The core offerings include Collaboration & Dispute Resolution (facilitation and mediation), Program Evaluation & Assessment, Communications & Public Involvement, and Strategic Planning & Public Policy Support. These services work together to assist clients in understanding and resolving public policy issues through scientifically-informed decisions, clear communication, and meaningful stakeholder engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Collaboration & Dispute Resolution Facilitation and mediation services that help government clients reach collaborative decisions, manage conflicts, and resolve disputes across a variety of policy contexts. The service uses carefully assessed approaches tailored to each situation, drawing on Council Oak's expertise in natural resources, environmental, and infrastructure topics.
• Program Evaluation & Assessment
• Communications & Public Involvement
• Strategic Planning & Public Policy Support

Named customers14 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Nature Generation (Green Earth Book Award)minorOthers · 1 January 2019Council Oak supports the Green Earth Book Award, an environmental stewardship book award for children's and young adult titles that honors authors and illustrators who spark environmental awareness in young readers. This represents the firm's commitment to practical environmental solutions.
• Carbon Neutrality ChallengeminorOthers · 1 January 2019Council Oak participates in the Carbon Neutrality Challenge by purchasing carbon credits to offset travel-related emissions. In 2019, the firm offset 20 tons of carbon generated through travel. The firm is also exploring remote collaboration methods to reduce travel emissions.

Scale indicators1 record

Direct peers

• Meridian Institute: Meridian Institute is a nonprofit mediation and policy consulting firm specializing in environmental, natural resource, and infrastructure conflict resolution — highly comparable to Council Oak's federal environmental policy work.
• CDR Associates: CDR Associates is a Boulder, Colorado-based dispute resolution and public policy consulting firm with deep federal natural resources clients — highly comparable to Council Oak's collaboration/dispute resolution work.
• BBC Research & Consulting: BBC Research & Consulting is a Denver-based small firm providing policy research, public involvement, and program evaluation to federal and state clients — comparable across Council Oak's integrated service lines.
• RESOLVE: RESOLVE is a public policy consulting organization specializing in collaborative problem solving, environmental policy, and program evaluation — directly comparable across multiple Council Oak service lines.
• Kearns & West: Kearns & West is a closely-held public involvement, collaboration, and facilitation firm serving federal agencies on natural resources, water, and infrastructure topics — directly overlapping Council Oak's Collaboration & Dispute Resolution and Communications service lines.
• Industrial Economics, Inc. (IEc): IEc is a small, Cambridge, MA-based consulting firm providing economic, environmental, and policy analysis to federal agencies including EPA, USACE, and DOI — a strong analog to Council Oak's federal environmental policy focus.

Broad incumbents

• Abt Associates: Abt Associates is a large federal research and policy consulting firm with significant environmental and natural resources work — competing with Council Oak on program evaluation and policy support contracts.
• Booz Allen Hamilton: Booz Allen Hamilton is a top-tier federal consulting prime that competes for environmental, infrastructure, and policy work across the same federal agencies Council Oak serves, often absorbing small firms as subcontractors.
• ICF International: ICF is a major publicly-traded consulting firm with deep federal environmental, infrastructure, and public sector practice — competing against Council Oak in many of the same federal RFPs but at vastly greater scale.
• Cadmus Group: Cadmus is a larger established environmental and public policy consulting firm serving many of the same federal agencies (EPA, USAID, etc.) as Council Oak — overlapping capability but broader portfolio and scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-council-oak

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Council Oak