Commission Turnaround & Trust Recovery
For commissions facing infighting, stalled work, negative attention, or a breakdown in public trust. Diagnose the real causes, build an action plan, and work through the fix.
Explore Turnaround Support →Public Commission Consulting
Build a public commission that can actually do the work.
Mare Regina helps state and local governments launch, repair, and strengthen public commissions — from governance and staffing to conflict, community trust, and implementation.
Practical structure can create meaningful sea change.
Public bodies in practice
When the commission matters, the structure matters.
Public commissions are often created to address issues that communities care deeply about. But a strong mandate on paper does not automatically create a functioning public body.
A commission can stall because its roles are unclear, its membership is not right-sized, staff were given responsibility without a roadmap, conflict has overtaken the work, community trust has broken down, or the jurisdiction never built the infrastructure the commission needed in the first place.
Mare Regina helps diagnose what is getting in the way and build the systems, relationships, and practical next steps that allow the commission to move forward.
Commission services
Build it. Repair it. Keep it moving.
Commission Build & Launch
For jurisdictions turning an ordinance, statute, dormant body, or civic idea into a functioning commission with the right structure, governance, staffing, priorities, and community connections.
Explore Commission Build & Launch →Commission Staff Advisory
For the staff person who has been handed a commission and needs a practical partner for governance, planning, conflict, documentation, and day-to-day troubleshooting.
Explore Staff Advisory →Prefer to work through the first diagnosis yourself?
Explore the Public Commission Reset Workbook →Call Mare Regina when...
The mandate is clear, but the path forward is not.
Your commission has had a public falling-out and you need a credible path forward.
A new commission has been authorized, but nobody has translated the legislation into an operating body.
A dormant commission needs to be rebuilt.
You have been assigned to staff a commission and were given little or no guidance.
The commission cannot maintain momentum, complete projects, or move through conflict.
Community members no longer trust that the commission is listening or serving them.
Your jurisdiction has a civic problem and you are considering whether a commission could be part of the solution.
How the work happens
From mandate to durable systems.
- 01
Review the mandate
Start with the enabling law, bylaws, SOPs, budget, minutes, reports, and the work the commission is supposed to be doing.
- 02
Hear the room
Talk with the people closest to the work, observe how the commission functions, and hear perspectives that may conflict with one another.
- 03
Diagnose the real problem
Separate structural, resource, governance, interpersonal, mission, and external issues rather than assuming one explanation.
- 04
Build an action plan
Set practical priorities, responsible parties, timelines, and success measures.
- 05
Implement and troubleshoot
Work alongside staff and commissioners as the plan meets real-world constraints.
- 06
Hand off durable systems
Leave behind the governance tools, SOPs, norms, and capacity the commission needs to operate without outside dependence.
Why Mare Regina
Experience inside the institution.
Inside-government experience
Jill understands the gap between what legislation says and what staff and commissioners need in order to make a public body function.
Comfortable with uncomfortable conversations
Her investigative background supports calm, neutral interviewing when people are angry, defensive, distrustful, or deeply invested in competing versions of a problem.
Constituents stay at the center
The work is designed around the people the commission exists to serve — not around personalities, prestige, or internal politics.
Systems that survive the handoff
The goal is not a report that sits on a shelf. It is a commission with clearer structure, stronger processes, and the capacity to keep working.
About Mare Regina
Fluent in institutions. Rooted in people.
Mare Regina was founded by Jill Muth, JD/MBA, after a decade in Baltimore City government working across civil rights, investigations, public commissions, community engagement, program operations, and institutional problem-solving.
Her boards and commissions experience spans multiple vantage points: commissioner, commission staff leadership, board president, investigator, and outside troubleshooter. That means she understands both what public bodies are supposed to do and what makes the work difficult in practice.
Mare Regina brings that experience to state and local governments that need a commission to become more functional, credible, and useful to the people it serves.
Commission consulting FAQ
Practical questions, direct answers.
Do you work only with commissions in Baltimore?
No. Mare Regina is fully remote and works with state and local governments and public bodies across the United States.
Do you have to come onsite?
No. The consulting model is designed for remote delivery. Client commissions may hold in-person meetings or events, but assessment, interviews, planning, facilitation, drafting, coaching, and troubleshooting can be delivered remotely.
Do you provide legal advice?
No. Mare Regina provides operational, governance, investigative, and implementation consulting. Legal questions and legal-sufficiency review should be handled by the client's counsel.
Can you work with a commission before it exists?
Yes. Mare Regina can help a jurisdiction think through mandate, membership, governance, stakeholder representation, staffing, fiscal needs, and implementation before or after enabling legislation is adopted.
What if our problem is interpersonal conflict?
That can be part of the engagement. The process looks beyond personalities to identify what is driving the conflict and what structural, governance, resource, or relationship changes may help the commission function.
What if we do not know what is wrong?
That is a valid starting point. The diagnostic process combines document review, interviews, observation, and stakeholder input to identify the issues before recommending a solution.
Is the workbook the same as working with Mare Regina?
No. The workbook is self-guided. It helps a commission diagnose what is stuck and build its own 90-day plan. Consulting engagements add facilitation, neutrality, and outside capacity that a commission cannot supply for itself.
Can we use the workbook with our whole commission?
Yes. The printable edition is designed to be photocopied and worked through as a group, and several worksheets are built for a retreat or working session.
Bring the stuck point, not a polished story.
Tell me what is happening with the commission, public body, or civic issue you are working on. A few clear details are enough to start.
Book a Commission Fit Call