Join Forefront and the Association of Consultants to Nonprofits for Ask A Consultant: a weekly interactive, solutions-oriented, virtual office hour with experienced consultants focusing on participants’ burning questions.
During times of uncertainty, board engagement and good governance are even more critical than usual. In this session, ask our panel of professional consultants about how you can make sure your board is maximizing its capacity to help you through this tough time.
Panelists this week:
Rena Henderson Mason leads Bold Agenda, a consulting, training and coaching firm focused on empowering board and staff leaders to embrace change, push bold ideas and build great teams through a range of cycles. She helps facilitate the critical discussions, processes and decisions that advance an organization with a focus on better governance, courageous leadership, strategic planning and a more inclusive and equitable approach. Prior to launching Bold Agenda, Rena spent over 20 years helping scale businesses in the food, real estate, publishing and investment banking industries. Rena has an MBA from Harvard Business School and Bachelor’s in Finance from Georgetown University. She is a BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer, an ICF-certified coach and experienced facilitator. She serves as the Board Development Chair of the Arts Alliance Illinois.
Amy Schiffman has more than 25 years in nonprofit development, Amy partners with organizations to develop effective fundraising campaigns, build strong leadership teams and empower them with tools to visualize and achieve mission impact. Since co-founding Giving Tree Associates in 2008, Amy has helped clients raise tens of millions of dollars through individual major gifts, foundation and corporate funding. Based in Chicago, Amy is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and is a frequent presenter at local and national conferences, including gatherings offered by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Forefront, Association of Consultants to Nonprofits, JCC Association of America, and Prizmah’s National Endowment & Legacy Institute. She is an adjunct faculty member at The University of Southern California (USC)/Hebrew Union College’s nonprofit management program and lives in Chicago with her husband and two children.
Moderator:
Suzanne Griffith is the Founder and Managing Principal of VEGA Partners, a leading Chicago-based social impact consultancy. VEGA Partners develops powerful strategies for socially responsible organizations to make their good greater. With 25 years of experience in philanthropy and business, Suzanne is leading the firm’s multi-disciplinary approach to creating sustainable social impact for companies, philanthropies and non-profits. Suzanne previously held leadership roles in corporate social responsibility at Exelon Corporation and Urban Partnership Bank, and fundraising roles at the Goodman Theatre and the original Jane Addams Hull Association, managing multi-million initiatives for corporate reputation, employee engagement and brand building. She is a graduate of Lawrence University and DePaul University and continues to study cultural anthropology, leadership and creativity. Her Board service includes the Executive Committee of the African American Legacy Fund at the Chicago Community Trust, the largest fund of its kind, and Executive Committee of the Association to Nonprofit Consultants. Previous volunteer service includes the Board of Directors of Congo Square Theatre, the Chicago Architecture Center’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, the Lawrence University Alumni Board, and a literacy tutor with Tutoring Chicago.
