About me

I found my way to consulting after spending 20 years leading mission-driven organizations. Throughout my career I have worked closely with nonprofit boards, staff, funders, and community partners to lead organizations through periods of stability, growth, and struggle. I know exactly what it’s like to hold responsibility for people and programs while balancing limited resources, big missions, and competing demands because I’ve had to make those decisions myself.

I’ve also noticed a consistent pattern in the nonprofit sector. The hardest moments aren’t usually due to a lack of ideas, or effort, but about making the best possible choices under real pressures. When day-to-day demands pile up, it can be difficult to step back, fully understand what’s happening, and predict how our decisions may affect others. Even when everything is running great, sometimes we still just need an extra hand from someone trustworthy to launch new programs, fill gaps during leadership transitions, and support our teams during busy seasons.

That’s the work I’m drawn to. I help organizations get clarity on their options, understand the tradeoffs involved, and make decisions that fit their mission, their people, and the communities they serve.

How I Work With Organizations

My work starts by taking the time to understand what’s really happening; the challenges you’re facing, the context around it, and the people most affected.

Drawing on my experience as an organizational leader, I’m often able to surface options, patterns, and opportunities that are easy to miss when you’re close to the work. I do this intentionally and transparently, using questions and perspective to help leaders and teams see their choices more clearly and make informed decisions they can feel confident in.

My goal isn’t to hand over a solution and walk away either. I love to work alongside leaders and teams to build shared understanding, choose a clear direction, and move forward in a way that ensures your strategies are implemented effectively and sustainably. 

Finally, I bring a wholistic approach to equity and impact. I’ve led DEI-related efforts within organizations and as a consultant, most often as part of broader work on strategy, people systems, and program design. While I don’t typically offer DEI as a standalone service, this perspective shapes how I approach leadership and organizational change.

Click here for more about my services.

Experience

I offer clients more than two decades of experience working inside mission-driven nonprofit organizations, along with several years supporting organizations as a consultant.

I’ve served in a range of roles, including multiple stints as an Executive Director (both interim and permanent), in national program leadership, fundraising, advocacy, and organizing. Across these roles and in my consulting practice, I’ve supported organizations through strategic planning, program design, staff development, fundraising, partnership-building, and periods of organizational change. Having been responsible for both direction-setting and day-to-day follow-through has given me a clear view of how to sort through the noise and focus on what matters most.

My work has also spanned fields including conservation, human rights, youth development, education, and social justice work. Working across sectors has shaped a needs-first approach, helping leaders assess how their mission fits within an evolving landscape and make strategic choices that respond to the most pressing needs of the communities they serve.

That perspective shapes how I work today: helping organizations clarify direction, strengthen leadership, and create conditions which improve both impact and staff morale.

  • Forward Montana

  • Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project

  • Greater Hells Canyon Council

  • Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center

  • Nuestra Tierra

  • Oregon Sierra Club

  • Sierra Club

  • Spirit Mountain Community Fund

  • Taproot Foundation

  • Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AKPIRG)

  • Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, Menlo Park

  • California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG)

  • Cascadia Wildlands

  • Coaching Corps

  • Connecticut Public Interest Research Group (ConnPIRG)

  • Conservation Alliance

A Representative List of Nonprofits I’ve Served:

  • The Imagine Bus Project

  • Thimbleberry Collaborative Farm

  • Western Environmental Law Center

  • Wild Montana

  • Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG)

  • Washington Sierra Club

If You’re Considering Working Together

If you’re sensing that something needs to change, or simply want to strengthen alignment on your current direction, I’d be glad to talk. A short conversation is often the best way to see whether the fit feels right.

👉 Schedule a 30-minute conversation