A Trusted Thinking Partner for Nonprofit Organizations
For more than 45 years, I have partnered with nonprofit organizations to strengthen leadership, navigate change, and develop strategies that advance mission and increase impact. Drawing on experience as a nonprofit executive, board chair, volunteer leader, facilitator, trainer, and consultant, I serve as a trusted advisor to boards and leadership teams seeking clarity, alignment, and sustainable results.
Rather than prescribing solutions, I help organizations ask the right questions, engage stakeholders, and make informed decisions. My work spans strategic planning, board governance, executive search and transition, organizational effectiveness, and facilitation, helping leaders move forward with confidence and purpose.
I have consulted with hundreds of nonprofit organizations with annual revenues ranging from $1 million to more than $100 million. Prior to joining DBD Group as a Senior Consultant, I spent 43 years in executive leadership with YMCA associations and community-based organizations. At the YMCA’s national resource office, I co-developed a strategic framework adopted by more than 850 YMCA associations and created national resources supporting strategic planning, governance, leadership development, and executive transitions.
Throughout my career, I have facilitated strategic planning initiatives, governance retreats, leadership development programs, conferences, and workshops across the United States and internationally. As a national trainer for more than 20 years, I have equipped thousands of nonprofit leaders with the knowledge and tools to strengthen their organizations and communities.
My approach is grounded in partnership. I bring expertise in strategy, facilitation, and best practices, while clients bring deep knowledge of their mission, community, and aspirations. Together, we develop practical, actionable strategies that build organizational capacity and create lasting impact.
My facilitation style combines curiosity, candor, inclusion, and disciplined decision-making. I create environments where different perspectives can be heard, difficult questions can be explored productively, and board and staff leaders can move from discussion to clear choices. I am particularly skilled at helping organizations connect mission, programs, organizational capacity, governance, and resources so that strategic plans are both aspirational and achievable.
I am a BoardSource Certified Advanced Board Consultant, a Master Trainer in Managing Inclusion through Korn Ferry, and a consultant trained directly by La Piana in Real-Time Strategic Planning. I also co-led the national integration of La Piana’s Real-Time Strategic Planning methodology throughout the YMCA national service-delivery system.
I hold a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toledo and a Master of Science in Organizational Development and Leadership from Springfield College.
My husband, Joe, and I live in Chicago with our two yellow English Labradors, Luca and Lily.
