What I do

Through Grace Social Sector Consulting, I work with nonprofit organizations and associations that want to become more strategic, effective and innovative for greater mission impact. My passion is helping organizations cultivate healthy, inclusive cultures that live their values, fostering learning, creativity and results. 

Working with me

I partner with organizations using a collaborative approach to help you focus on your most critical issues, to support you in identifying your strengths and to facilitate you imagining new options and choosing a way forward.  ​​

I enjoy helping people tap into their creativity to solve the challenges that face them. Some of my favorite sentences start with, “what if we were to…?”  And I want to have some fun along the way. I believe that the best teams and organizations laugh together as they work together. Fun for me includes questioning conventional wisdom and imagining new possibilities.

I am known for my candor. People describe me as someone who speaks my truth and is down-to-earth. People appreciate my perspective and seek out my advice.

I love to learn, and this helps me get to know your organization and its strengths and challenges quickly.

Background

I grew up overseas and learned at an early age that cultures vary and there are few absolutes.  Living in the world between my home American culture and European culture, I became a student of history, culture and language. I continue to be fascinated with ways to better understand human organizing systems and the cultures that emerge within these systems. 

I also grew up the younger sister of a brother with special needs. Observing how the world treated him, interacted with his difference and how in many cases systems were not set up with him in mind helped me appreciate the challenges of those that our society marginalizes.

Both of these experiences drew me to the nonprofit sector. Nonprofits are an expression of how our democracy works – self organizing groups promoting their vision of a social good. At the same time, nonprofits are often hampered down by a lack of resources, having to answer to and manage the politics of multiple stakeholders and bottom lines. I believe that nonprofits represent our best solution for working on social problems as they exist for a greater good and can be incubators of social experimentation. 

I have worked in the association and nonprofit sector for over 20 years working with education and social change organizations. I graduated from Swarthmore College and have a Masters in Organization Development from American University. I have completed BoardSource's Certificate of Nonprofit Board Consulting. I am licensed consultant with the Standards for Excellence Institute, an accrediting organization for nonprofits. I also have a certificate in design thinking from University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. 

I have expertise in innovation, the design and facilitation of learning programs, both in person and online, as well as organization and leadership development. I speak frequently on nonprofit and associations strategy and innovation topics.

Learn more by by going to Grace Social Sector Consulting's website!