Honeyworm Studio
Think Deeper, Get Dirty.
Reading the Earth
Soil chromatography is the photographic process of allowing treated filter paper to absorb a prepared soil sample by capillary action. Some read the resulting photograph for its depiction of minerals, organic matter, and microbial life. For Melissa, this place-based art practice is a beautiful way to chronicle the soil she works while her workshops create a space to validate participants' experiential knowledge alongside empirical data.
About
Our specialty is volunteer engagement—helping organizations recruit, retain, and train volunteers through research-backed strategies. From assessing existing programs to developing sustainable toolkits for volunteer recruitment and community stewardship, we combine quantitative analysis with qualitative research methods including stakeholder interviews, focus groups, and surveys.
Our name reflects how we work—below the surface, in the details that matter. We dig into the foundations of your challenges, combining data analysis with real conversations, to build strategies that last.
What We Do
Program Assessment & Evaluation
Mixed-methods research combining stakeholder interviews, focus groups, surveys, and data analysis to assess volunteer programs and community engagement initiatives. We help nonprofits, parks, and green spaces understand volunteer retention rates, identify barriers to participation, and surface opportunities for growth.
Volunteer & Community Engagement Strategy
Comprehensive volunteer engagement consulting including journey mapping, segmentation analysis, and toolkit development. We help organizations improve volunteer recruitment, increase retention, develop training pathways, and cultivate volunteers into long-term ambassadors and donors.
Data Systems & Visualization
Practical dashboards, automated reporting, and data consolidation designed for nonprofit capacity. We build sustainable tools that track volunteer hours, measure engagement metrics, and support evidence-based decision making—without overwhelming your team.
Curriculum & Training Development
Educational programming and volunteer training curricula that combine narrative storytelling with hands-on exploration. From environmental literacy programs to staff skill-building workshops, we create materials that strengthen organizational capacity and deepen community connections.
People
Melissa C. Schultheis
Environmental Humanities & Community Engagement
Melissa brings over a decade of experience bridging scholarship with hands-on environmental education. Her doctoral research at Rutgers University explored how agricultural narratives shaped early modern literature, revealing hidden histories of labor and community. As Agricultural Programs Manager at the NYC Public Schools' Genovesi Environmental Study Center, she designs and leads curricula that connect K-12 students to urban ecosystems. A Master Beekeeper candidate through Cornell University, Melissa approaches complex systems with a cultivator's patience—understanding that lasting change requires both careful design and deep roots.
PhD ABD, English Literature, Rutgers University
MA, English Literature, University of Colorado Boulder
MA, Education, Cumberland University
Dan DeWitz
Data Science & Evaluation
Dan is a data scientist with over ten years of experience transforming complex information into strategic insights. His work spans federal oversight at the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, healthcare analytics at WPS Health Solutions, and AI adoption at Indeed, where he builds LLM-powered tools and evaluation frameworks. Before turning to data, Dan taught high school physics, led interpretive programs as a River Ranger with the Montana Conservation Corps, and conducted neuroscience research at Georgia Tech and University of Wisconsin-Madison. He approaches every project with the same question: what does this data tell us about people, and how can we use it to serve them better?
MS, Economic Theory and Policy, Bard College
BS, Behavioral Neuroscience, Viterbo University
AWS Data Engineering Nanodegree