What We Do.
Mission Statement
Visionary Professional Services is dedicated to building livable communities through advocacy and education. Our professional services support the use of:
- bicycling, walking, and mass transit as safe, feasible modes of transportation
- consumer purchasing power to sustain neighborhood and regional retailers that financially reinvest in their community and/or region
- regional networks of farmers, packagers, distributors, and grocers to feed community members
Our Areas of Expertise
See What we have Accomplished
View our resume.How We Originated
Rebecca Markussen started Visionary Professional Services in April 2007 to promote a community structure in which people build relationships with their neighbors while traveling by foot, bike or transit and purchasing the food, goods and services that they need to live.
Rebecca's interest in sustainable living led her to earn a M.A. in Sociology from the University of Montana in 2002. She investigated the root of our modern agribusiness-dominated food system as a graduate student. After completing her degree, Rebecca worked with small-scale growers in California to learn about the impacts of globalization and policy on their operations. Her ideas developed further while conducting archival research on the structure of the state's food system and interviewing a packing shed operator and former growers cooperative member.
Three years of political activism taught Rebecca how finding common ground with people holding divergent viewpoints. Her ability to compile, analyze, interpret and present information bolstered a Farm Bill lobbyist's campaign. Rebecca learned how campaigns are run as a campaign scheduler and candidate researcher for a Secretary of State candidate.
Rebecca refined her ability to write policy positions and mobilize voters' response to legislation as the Communication Director for a statewide bicycle advocacy organization. Additionally, she facilitated communication between California's regional bicycle advocacy coalitions through a monthly electronic newsletter. Rebecca earned certification as a League of Bicyclists bicycle instructor and actively participated as a founding board member of the Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen. She designed a statewide program that evaluated the effectiveness of youth bicycle education programs in response to a Safe Routes to School grant opportunity.
Affiliations
- Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates
- League of American Bicyclists
- Sacramento Transportation Management Association
Contact Us
- Telephone: (916) 709-6415
- Email: progress at visproservices dot com
- Mailing Address: PO Box 73772, Davis CA 95617