Two lenses, one method
Erik examines operating architecture. Tracy tests usability and follow-through. The same method connects both.
Leadership
Erik and Tracy Herring bring two practical lenses to the same method.
Erik examines operating architecture and accountable execution. Tracy examines whether the process is understandable, practical under pressure, and able to support reliable throughput and follow-through.
Selected facts from Erik's documented operating record
- 60+ personnel
- Federal program leadership
- $16M
- Annual budget responsibility
- 6 countries
- International training delivery
Managing Director
A career built around complex work and accountable execution.
Erik leads SG's evaluation and implementation work. The practice draws on assignments where facts, accountability, and a usable handoff mattered as much as the original plan.
View Erik Herring on LinkedInThe common thread is practical execution: understand the requirement, verify what is happening, make the next decision clear, and leave a record the next person can use.
That responsibility has included program staffing and budgets, international curriculum development, temporary power and battery energy storage, technical proposals, field project controls, and Microsoft 365 implementation.
Erik examines the operating architecture: requirements, decisions, records, tools, accountability, and the implementation structure that connects them.
Sustainable Gaps brings those disciplines together for organizations that need a careful evaluation followed by a solution their team can operate and improve.
Managing Partner
Tracy Herring brings an operations, implementation, and usability lens.
Tracy brings years of experience managing office operations, implementing administrative systems, training teams, coordinating customer and vendor relationships, and improving how work moves through a busy organization.
At SG, Tracy helps test whether a process is understandable, practical under pressure, and capable of supporting reliable throughput and follow-through. Her healthcare experience is one setting that shaped this perspective; it does not limit SG's work to that industry.
Together, Erik and Tracy examine how work moves, where ownership or information breaks down, and what the team can sustain after handoff.
Two lenses, one method.
The operating setting may change. Clear ownership, handoffs, evidence, usability, and follow-through still determine whether the work can continue under pressure.
Systems people can use
Procedures, training, coordination, and workload are tested against the realities of a busy organization.
Workable under pressure
A process should respect workload and privacy, make the next step understandable, and support reliable follow-through.
Selected experience
The record behind the work.
This is a focused view of the experience most relevant to Sustainable Gaps, not a complete résumé.
1989–1997
U.S. Marine Corps | HMX-1
Active duty through 1995 and reserve service through 1997. Awarded the Presidential Service Badge for honorable service with HMX-1 under President Clinton.
1996–2006
U.S. Customs Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Federal inspection, compliance, and chain-of-custody responsibilities in Toronto and Tampa.
2009–2017
Federal program and international training leadership
Managed a 60-plus-person program with a $16M annual budget, then developed and delivered DEA interdiction training across six countries.
2017–2020
International advisory and technical training
International advisory assignments overlapped with later work developing repeatable dealer training and certification programs for YANMAR America.
2020–2024
Energy and field operations
Temporary power, HVAC, battery energy storage, field procedures, technical layouts, Microsoft 365 workflows, and major-account support at Sunbelt Rentals.
2024–present
Sustainable Gaps
Operational evaluation, project controls, proposal development, Microsoft 365 implementation, and practical systems clients can continue using.
How technology is used
Technology supports the work. Responsibility remains human.
SG uses automation and AI where appropriate to organize, compare, and test information. Client interviews, source verification, recommendations, and final deliverables remain under human review.
- Recommendations are reviewed before they are delivered.
- Claims must be traceable to client facts or credible sources.
- Sensitive information stays within the agreed working environment.
- Final work is written for the people who must use it.
Continue
See how that experience appears in the work.
The case studies show the conditions, decisions, records, and practical outcomes behind the leadership history.