How we work
Services to Meet Your Needs
Acorn Hill Strategies provides client-specific services using a team of national consultants with expertise in cultural heritage, tourism, nonprofit management, fundraising, grant writing, and advocacy.
A Track Record of Success
Acorn Hill Strategies has assisted clients throughout the country. The success of our clients is testimonial to the quality of work we provide.
Every Client is Unique
Every Client is Unique
Every Client is Unique
Acorn Hill Strategies believes listening is important. We listen to our clients and work with them to craft a plan to help them achieve their goals and succeed.
We're Always There
Every Client is Unique
Every Client is Unique
Our clients receive 100 percent of our commitment, and none are "past" clients. Even when a project ends, Acorn Hill Strategies is there for our clients to help them through problems or brainstorm ideas.
About US
AUGUST R. CARLINO, President & Managing Partner
August R. Carlino is the President and Managing Partner of Acorn Hill Strategies, LLC, a consulting firm focused on public policy, government relations, heritage area development, and nonprofit strategic planning and fundraising. Now retired as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation in Homestead, Pennsylvania, Carlino brings more than four decades of leadership experience across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
Throughout his career, he has worked extensively with National and State Heritage Areas, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and local governments. His work consistently emphasizes strong governance structures, strategic clarity, sustainable funding models, and engaged boards and professional staff. The partner consultants affiliated with Acorn Hill Strategies have likewise served as nonprofit executives, government professionals bringing practical, experience-based insight to every engagement.
Carlino has advised numerous nonprofit organizations on strategic planning, organizational development, board governance, advocacy, and fundraising strategy. His work includes feasibility studies, management plans, fund development strategies, lobbying and advococy plans, and organizational assessments,
Carlino began his career in Washington, DC, serving as Legislative Assistant, rising to Legislative Director for former Congressman William J. Coyne of Pittsburgh. He later joined the law firm Jones Day, where he directed lobbying and public policy initiatives in taxation, banking, environmental policy, urban affairs, and foreign affairs.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton invited Carlino to the White House to deliver keynote remarks at a ceremony highlighting the role of America’s rivers in community revitalization and economic development. In 2002, President George W. Bush appointed him to serve on a U.S. Department of the Interior advisory committee examining the future role of the National Park Service in partnership with communities and National Heritage Areas.
Carlino received the Senator H. John Heinz Award for Distinguished Community Service in 2000. In 1997, Governor Tom Ridge appointed him to the Pennsylvania Greenways Commission, and in 2010, Governor Ed Rendell inducted him into the Pennsylvania Heritage Hall of Fame. In 2020, he was recognized by a major Pittsburgh foundation as one of southwestern Pennsylvania’s most effective nonprofit leaders. In 2018, Smart Business Magazine named him one of Pittsburgh’s Top 50 Business Leaders. Under his leadership, Rivers of Steel became widely regarded as one of the most successful National Heritage Areas in the United States. In 2025, he was awarded the F. Otto Haas Award for outstanding achievements in historic preservation, recognizing his decades of leadership in advancing preservation, heritage development, and community-based revitalization in Pennsylvania.
