Reimagining Governance for a Multi-Site Nonprofit
Impact at a Glance: A streamlined governance model with clearer roles, stronger accountability, and more board attention focused on strategy, mission, and future opportunities.
The Challenge: A growing multi-site nonprofit was operating with a governance structure that had evolved post-merger with another nonprofit organization. The merged board had 60+ members, multiple committees, advisory groups, and local leadership structures, creating overlapping responsibilities, inconsistent expectations, and confusion about where decisions should be made.
My Approach: Working with the CEO and board leadership, I assessed the existing governance model, engaged board members and organizational leaders, and explored practices from comparable organizations. Together, we clarified roles and decision-making authority, evaluated committee and leadership structures, and designed a governance model better aligned with the organization's size, complexity, and future direction.
The Result: The organization moved forward with a clearer, more streamlined governance structure with 32 strong and strategic members that strengthened accountability, reduced duplication, and allowed the board to spend more time focused on strategy, generative opportunities, mission impact, and the organization's future.
Creating a Five-Year Strategic Roadmap for a Human Services Organization Challenge
Impact at a Glance: A focused five-year roadmap that transformed community and organizational insights into clear priorities, measurable outcomes, and a framework for future investment and decision-making.
The Challenge: A human services organization was experiencing growing demand while navigating limited resources, changing community and client needs, and opportunities to expand its impact. Leadership needed more than a traditional strategic plan—it needed clear choices about where to focus its attention and investment over the next five years.
My Approach: I designed an inclusive planning process that brought together board members, staff, clients, community partners, and other key constituents. Through surveys, interviews, facilitated conversations, and analysis of organizational and community trends, we identified the organization's strategic advantages, emerging opportunities, critical challenges, and areas requiring the greatest attention.
The Result: The organization developed a focused five-year strategic roadmap with clear priorities, desired outcomes, and measures of success. Rather than becoming a document on a shelf, the plan established a practical framework for decision-making, resource allocation, partnership development, and organizational growth.
Guiding a Board Through CEO Transition
Impact at a Glance: A thoughtful, inclusive search process that helped the board confidently select the right leader for the organization’s mission, culture, and next chapter.
The Challenge: Following a leadership transition, a nonprofit board faced one of its most consequential responsibilities: selecting the organization's next CEO. Board leaders wanted a rigorous and inclusive search process while maintaining confidentiality, organizational stability, and confidence among staff and the community.
My Approach: I guided the board and search committee through the full transition process—from understanding organizational needs and gathering input from key constituents to developing the position profile, recruiting and evaluating candidates, facilitating interviews, and supporting the board's final decision. Throughout the process, I helped the board remain focused not simply on replacing the previous leader, but on identifying the leadership capabilities needed for the organization's next chapter.
The Result: The board selected a new CEO with strong alignment to the organization's mission, culture, strategic direction, and future needs. A thoughtful transition and onboarding process helped establish clear expectations and positioned the new CEO and board for a strong partnership from the beginning.
Turning Strategy Into an Annual Operating Dashboard
Challenge
Impact at a Glance: A practical system connecting long-term strategy to annual priorities, accountability, measurable progress, and meaningful board-level oversight.
The Challenge: An organization had completed its strategic plan and established clear long-term priorities, but leadership recognized a familiar challenge: translating those priorities into annual action and giving the board a meaningful way to monitor progress without moving into operational management.
My Approach: Working with staff leadership, I helped translate the strategic roadmap into an annual operating plan connecting each strategic priority to specific initiatives, desired outcomes, accountability, timelines, and measures of progress. We then created a practical dashboard designed to provide board members with a concise view of progress, challenges, and areas requiring strategic discussion.
The Result: Strategy became part of the organization’s ongoing management and governance rhythm rather than an annual planning exercise. Using a strategic planning software platform, staff were able to implement and update the plan in real time—tracking priorities, actions, accountability, timelines, and progress. The platform produced a clear dashboard for the board, providing an at-a-glance view of progress and helping board members monitor implementation, ask better strategic questions, and keep long-term priorities at the center of their work.