About Us
New Line Consulting has been around since the early 1990s. We’ve helped more than 100 organizations and federal clients solve complex problems, develop resilient teams, and complete strategic planning. Our people are smart, committed, creative, and caring—but most of all, they understand that collaboration is the key to getting the best outcomes.
We believe that truly high-performing organizations are built on strong, cohesive teams—not just exceptional individual leaders. That’s why our work centers on team development, collaboration, and trust. Our flagship service, Strategic Action Planning, blends proven organizational development frameworks with innovative tools like Backcasting and Design Thinking. This hybrid approach goes beyond traditional forecasting, helping teams break through limiting assumptions, think boldly about the future, and align around practical, forward-focused strategies that drive meaningful, lasting change.
Joshua Leavitt, Partner
Joshua has been studying the intersections between leadership, creativity, and transformational change for over 30 years. His combination of personal warmth and intellectual challenge allows for long-term collaborations that help clients lead in new ways.
Joshua has been with New Line since the early 90s and was Managing Partner for all but two years between 2001 and 2025. Under his direction New Line developed a diverse, nation-wide practice in the private, non-profit, and public sectors. His private sector clients have come primarily from the professional services arena and have included architecture and engineering firms, CPA firms, and construction companies. Non-profit clients have included the Center for Humane Technology, featured in the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma and the Your Undivided Attention podcast, and the Golden Gate and Yosemite Conservancies along with education, healthcare, and social service organizations.
Joshua has also been the primary point person for New Line’s enduring relationship with the National Park Service, where he has consulted with dozens of iconic parks and worked with more than 200 park leaders. Recent NPS projects include developing a Strategic Operations Plan for Great Smoky Mountains National Park and applying design thinking to complex visitor use challenges at Yellowstone National Park. Joshua holds a Master’s Degree from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. His creative writing has won national awards and he is currently at work on a novel.
Sara Duckler, Consultant
Sara forms and facilitates multi-disciplinary teams to develop innovative programs and strategies. Her national park work with New Line has included strategic plans at Santa Monica Mountains and Golden Gate National Recreation Areas and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She brings over 25 years of professional experience in water resources management, habitat protection, and watershed stewardship with public agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sara’s technical expertise is developing and communicating processes that solve complex environmental stewardship and flood protection issues; she also specializes in policy development and analysis related to all aspects of water resources. In addition, Sara provides supervision, mentoring, training, and project management to diverse teams that include both subject matter experts and outside stakeholders.
Sara holds a Master’s Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley. Sara loves paddling down a river and working with her daughters on creative projects.
Charles Besancon, Managing Partner
Charles Besancon thrives on tackling complex challenges and developing creative strategies that drive real results. As a student of organizational effectiveness, he explores how systems, structures, and culture can align to boost performance and impact. Grounded in systems thinking, he takes a holistic approach—spotting patterns, finding leverage points, and designing lasting solutions.
Charles has worked across diverse levels and contexts in the U.S. and internationally—from serving as LifeWeb Initiative Coordinator for the United Nations to working as a wilderness ranger for the U.S. Forest Service. His career has taken him to 66 countries across six continents. He has facilitated a wide range of planning processes, both independently and as part of a team—including serving as one of the facilitators of the Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted by 196 nations through the Convention on Biological Diversity; leading the Post-2020 Roadmap for Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean involving 22 nations; and developing numerous strategic plans for intergovernmental, governmental, and non-profit organizations.
Charles lives in Missoula Montana, close to many of his favorite photography subjects—grizzly bears, osprey, eagles, moose, wildflowers, and sweeping landscapes. He finds joy in kayaking and fly fishing on the Blackfoot River and draws constant inspiration from nearby Yellowstone—the world’s first national park.
Values & Philosophy
New Line’s Core Values
Impeccability – We attend to each aspect of the work with unusual care and attentiveness based on the view that life is too short, and the needs are too great, for anything less than our best work.
Human Connection – In the midst of complex and challenging circumstances, we foster relationships based on trust and shared purpose.
Continuous Learning – We pursue, integrate, and apply new ideas and creative approaches for ourselves and our clients.
Deep Impact – Everyone we interact with should be touched in a meaningful way by their contact with us. Clients should feel that our work has produced deep and enduring results.
New Line’s approach combines insights from the latest scientific research on organizations with traditional wisdom about human nature and the principles of change. Our logo reflects both the simplicity we strive for and our roots in traditional sources.
The trigram Ch’ien (‘Heaven, The Creative’) is taken from the classic Chinese text the I Ching (Book of Changes). The I Ching is an ancient oracle considered one of the primary sources of Chinese cultural wisdom. Its portrayal of the universal forces of yin (the receptive, represented by a broken line) and yang (the creative, represented by an unbroken line) in dynamic interplay has shaped Chinese philosophy, religion, art and culture for more than 2,500 years.
The trigram Ch’ien is made up of three unbroken, creative lines. The following summary, taken from a variety of commentaries, sheds light on the symbolism of this ancient image:
The Ch’ien trigram is made up of three solid lines that are considered the energies of heaven, the active, initiating force of the universe. Force is represented by the dragon, a creative spirit that lives in the waters and in the sky. This spirit is a dynamic shape-changer that gives creative power and enduring strength. Its action is to initiate change and to persist. Ch’ien determines the nature and development of all things, from the movement of the stars to the cycle of the seasons. Heaven is creativity in its pure form: it confronts us with truth and what truth demands, both as the absolute laws of nature and the inner laws of individual calling.
We at New Line feel fortunate to live in a time when both the wisdom of traditional human cultures and the insights of modern science are available for our enrichment and learning. We are honored to function as translators between the wisdom of the ancients and the challenges of complex modern organizations. Serving leaders who are dedicated to enriching our world is both a pleasure and a privilege.