Story moves the needle.
Transforming How Students View Water Careers
Client: Waubonsee Community College
Backstory
Across the Midwest, water and wastewater utilities face a workforce crisis triggered by a generation of certified operators nearing retirement and low public awareness about water careers.
Waubonsee Community College worked with cities and water districts to create a 12-month Water/Wastewater Technology program launched in Fall 2025. Waubonsee engaged K+L using grant funding from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Program.
The Endeavor
Our approach was to craft a story for prospective students, employers and regional partners. The story highlighted public service, technical skill, job stability and community impact. K+L Storytellers had four weeks – start to finish – to create compelling messaging, landing page recommendations and a video to drive registration.
Our work:
K+L Storyline™ messaging framework to elevate the role water professionals play in public health and environmental stewardship
One narrative story of about 1,200 words so the program and marketing team were aligned on how they talked about the program
Messaging connecting the program to regional workforce needs
Messaging aligned with the college’s RISE 2030 strategic plan
More than 30 stakeholder interviews with faculty, program leaders and prospective students
Image library with B-footage and still photography for future use
Analyzed workforce trends and gaps:
Mission-driven careers
Hands-on, applied learning
Clear pathways to internships, stable employment and advancement
The Story
Rather than leading with certifications and course lists, we helped Waubonsee tell a bigger story through video. K+L visited the Oswego Public Works Department and the Fox Metro Water Reclamation District to film, photograph and conduct interviews.
By centering the narrative on purpose, responsibility and long-term career value, messaging became accessible and compelling to new audiences, including high school students exploring technical careers, career changers and current employees of municipal utility partners who weren’t already certified.
Impact
The goal for the first-year program was six students. What happened next shocked Waubonsee’s marketing and accreditation leadership teams: 20 people enrolled. View the video.
The result was a clearer, more confident program narrative that strengthened Waubonsee’s position as a regional workforce leader.
Storytelling reinforced that water and wastewater careers are important public trust professions and Waubonsee is a bridge to better.
What story do you want to share? Let’s explore it.
ROI for County Investment in Manufacturing
Client: Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC)
Backstory
The Kane County Lighthouse Project, supported by a $1 million county investment, was designed to strengthen the manufacturing workforce through coordinated public-private collaboration.
Multiple manufacturers, workforce organizations, educators and service providers were involved. Each had a role, a perspective, and a story. The county and its partners needed an impact report that went beyond program summaries.
Endeavor
K+L Storytellers was brought in to transform this complex ecosystem into a clear, cohesive narrative, one that demonstrated return on public investment, shared the voice of manufacturers and made a compelling case for future funding.
Our approach focused on:
Structuring the report around manufacturers as primary beneficiaries
Connecting workforce initiatives with business outcomes
Maintaining a journalistic tone for credibility with advocacy
We conducted numerous interviews with manufacturers, educators, workforce partners and program leaders, synthesizing diverse inputs into a unified story that showed real-world benefits.
The Story
K+L framed the Lighthouse Project as a national model for how public investment counties supports manufacturing at scale.
The report highlighted:
How manufacturers accessed talent, training and leadership development
How workforce partners aligned programs with real employer needs
How public funding accelerated outcomes that individual companies could not achieve alone
Third-party organizations were positioned as enablers of workforce placement and skill development, while manufacturers remained the narrative core.
Impact
The Kane County Impact Report serves as a proof point for effective public-private collaboration. It’s also a strategic advocacy tool for continued funding. Finally, it’s a replicable model for other counties and regions.
By translating complex initiatives into clear, outcomes-driven storytelling, K+L helped stakeholders see tangible results of how the investment resulted in job creation, job retention, process improvement and business automation. For every $1, the return was $19.
Brand story + web content accelerates investor pitches and B2B sales, netting contract with American Airlines for Silver Spoon Desserts
Utilities company Terrazon doubles in revenue and gains market clarity after K+L Storytellers rebrands and renames company
IN THEIR WORDS
“Kelly and I reviewed the doc in detail yesterday, and our consensus view is that your deliverable was outstanding. We will immediately begin applying your messaging and utilizing the various content.”
“I wanted to express my sincere gratitude for your invaluable assistance in creating my brochure. Your expertise and guidance played a crucial role in shaping the content and design, and I couldn’t have done it without your support. Your willingness to share your knowledge and provide constructive feedback made the entire process smoother and more enjoyable. I truly appreciate the time and effort you ladies dedicated to helping me achieve my goals.”
“Thanks for that wonderful piece for The Source, friends. It’s fantastic. Appreciate your hard work on it. Have a great weekend!”
“K+L has allowed our company to share its story through the experiences of its most important asset: our people. Month over month, it has carried our vision, purpose, success, and values and beliefs to our suppliers, clients, and industry thought leaders with a true voice of purpose. K+L has given us a piece of our marketing function that was missing . . . they gave us a deeper brand through real experiences wrapped around people living life.”
“The on-demand support K+L Storytellers provided helped us execute on marketing. It was a seamless exemplification of brand that created points of distinction, curiosity and attraction by highlighting our people and values.”
“Every SBDC client you have worked with has a brand that now goes beyond what they do, to incorporate who they are – and why the customer/prospect should care.”
“The writing is extraordinary. It invites people in. Plus, Michele is a committed partner you will enjoy having as part of your team.”
“This document BLOWS ME AWAY!!! . . . What stands out so clearly in reviewing this document is the importance to the story arc and how it will help drive engagement and messaging of the brand. It creates the road map to follow in getting us to a destination.
Having this Story Sprint to use as our guide allows us to create a general marketing strategy that puts a unique educative focus to the audiences we need to engage with and associate relevant messaging to each of them. ”
Send us a note. We’ll send you a Story Snapshot with 3-5 content suggestions you can put into play TODAY.