Consulting
Operations, leadership, and strategy support from someone who has truly sat in your chair.
I've done this work, not just advised on it
I served as executive director of a small to midsize nonprofit, and at that size, you're never just one role. You're finance, facilities, staffing, and the face of the organization. You're often delivering services yourself, and some evenings you're also the one scrubbing the bathroom.
It's meaningful work, and it can also be demanding, often thankless, and genuinely lonely at the top. I understand that firsthand.
That's why I don't arrive and simply tell you to strategize. A consultant who hasn't held the role can offer a framework that looks tidy on paper but creates more work for someone who's already carrying so much. I'd much rather begin with what's really happening in your organization and build from there, together.
How I support organizations
- Fractional operations. Serving as your chief operating officer on a part-time basis, so your systems and processes aren't just working, they're working efficiently.
- Executive leadership support. A trusted thought partner before big decisions. It may sound simple, and it's often the most valuable hour of a leader's month.
- Developing managers into leaders. Communication, navigating conflict, leading with compassion, and stewarding the team they've been entrusted with. I facilitate many manager trainings, and it's truly one of my favorite parts of this work.
- Evaluation. Performance, program, and organizational evaluation. You'll find more about this below.
- Strategy sessions. Strategic planning, board strategy work, and retreats.
- Policies, contracts, and sensitive writing. Drafting agreements, policies, and guidelines, and reviewing or editing technical writing, including those sensitive emails and letters that really need to land well.
- Board support. Partnering with boards on leadership and board operations.
- Team support. Helping your people work well together, including the communication challenges that haven't quite been named out loud yet.
The role I enjoy most is a quieter one. It's being a steady person of reason for a CEO or executive director, someone they can think out loud with before anything is decided.
Evaluation
Evaluation is a full service in its own right, and one I bring significant training and certification to.
I've conducted in-depth evaluations for nonprofit organizations, as well as a statewide evaluation of a training program and the difference it made to services on the ground. Evaluation can focus on performance, on a single program, or on how an entire organization is functioning.
I also conduct 360-degree executive performance evaluations, which include interviewing stakeholders and thoughtfully sharing that feedback with the leader and their supervisor. It's careful, sensitive work, and I approach it with great care.
How I work alongside you
I start by looking closely at what's really there, whether that's talent issues, gaps in leadership, inefficiencies, or the quiet leaks that have been costing your organization for a while. Then I help strengthen and improve things as we go.
I document as I work, so the processes we refine stay in place after I step away and someone else can carry them forward. I'm a firm believer in cross-training and in having a succession plan for every position, not just the obvious ones. And everything we do works within your strategic plan and your budget, so the changes are ones your organization can truly sustain.
Where I'm not the right fit
Being clear about this up front helps us both make the most of our time.
- Workplace investigations. I'm not a private investigator, and I don't meet Oregon's requirements for third-party investigations, so this is work I don't take on.
- HR generalist duties. Running payroll, administering benefits, and the day-to-day work of an HR desk.
- Finance. I don't serve as a CFO. You deserve someone whose expertise and passion are in finance.
- Marketing. This isn't my area of expertise, and you'll be better served by a specialist.
- Grant writing. I wrote grants for many years, and I've chosen to focus my work elsewhere now.
- Direct services to your clients. I support your organization and your team, rather than working directly with the people you serve.
Who I love working with
Small and midsize nonprofits, and small or startup businesses, the kinds of organizations where every person and every decision really matters.
When an organization has many layers of directors and managers, a larger-scale consultant is often a better fit. I do my best work where I can be close to the people and the day-to-day.
Right now, that includes serving as fractional chief operating officer for a small luxury niche-boutique company and consulting for a small to midsize nonprofit. Earlier in my career, I worked across the state of Oregon supporting Children's Advocacy Centers of every size. Their needs varied widely, but there was nearly always a common thread shared by every nonprofit in that space.
Where would you like to go next?
Fractional COO and operations, if you need someone running operations rather than advising on them.
Children's Advocacy Centers, if you lead or sit on the board of a CAC.
Team coaching, if the need is your people rather than your systems.
Start a conversation, if you would rather just talk it through.