Governance Conference

The Nonprofit Center is pleased to have these great presenters at the 10th Annual Washington State Nonprofit Governance Conference.

Dr. Paul C. Light is NYU Wagner’s Paulette Goddard Professor of Public Service and founding principal investigator of the Organizational Performance Initiative. Until joining NYU, Dr. Light served as the Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, founding director of its Center for Public Service, and vice president and director of the Governmental Studies Program. He has served previously as director of the Public Policy Program at the Pew Charitable Trusts and associate dean and professor of public affairs at the University of Minnesota’s Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

Light has written 18 books, including the award-winning Thickening Government and The Tides of Reform. He is also a co-author of a best-selling American government textbook, Government by the People. His research interests include: bureaucracy, civil service, Congress, entitlement programs, executive branch, government reform, nonprofit effectiveness, organizational change, and the political appointment process.

Putnam Barber is the Senior Researcher for Idealist.org and editor of its Nonprofit Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).  He is also a Senior Advisor at the Nancy Bell Evans Center on Nonprofits & Philanthropy.  From its founding until earlier this year, he chaired the Charities Advisory Council of the State of Washington, which is housed in the Office of the Secretary of State, and he continues as a member of that group.  He served as one of the founding board members of Washington Attorneys Assisting Community Organizations and as Chair of the board of trustees of the Municipal League of King County.

He founded The Evergreen State Society in 1990 to provide supportive services to community serving nonprofits in Washington state; it merged into Executive Alliance in 2004.  Previously, he served as staff director for the celebration of the centennial of Washington statehood in 1989 and as director of the Washington state Office of Economic Opportunity. He is a graduate of Haverford College and earned an MA in population studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Pete Donor has 30+ years experience in Non-Profit Management, including operations, administration, and human resources. B.S. in Applied Behavioral Sciences and M.S. in Non-Profit Administration. 14+ years as Director of Employee Relations at Tacoma Lutheran Retirement Community. Instigator and Interventionist for Leadership Dynamics – providing training, planning, coaching, mediating and facilitating for non-profits, businesses and churches in the Pacific Northwest since 1988.

 The vast majority of my work in, with, and for these organizations involves teaching about and facilitating change and the conflicts that prompt it and/or result from it, with a consistent focus on building strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationships.

Christine Garst has been the  Director of Financial Services at The Nonprofit Center since January, 2005.  Prior to this she spent 3 years working as an Accounting Consultant for Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits in St. Paul, Minnesota, and 3 years as Accounting Manager at the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery. Christine lives near Olympia in a Built Green, environmentally-friendly house and is involved in many community projects in the South Sound region.

Mary Kay Gugerty is Associate Professor of Public Affairs in the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. Gugerty is also serving as the Interim Director of the Nancy Bell Evans Center on Nonprofits & Philanthropy during the 2009-10 year. Her research interests focus on governance and the emergence and design of collective action institutions among individuals and organizations, with a particular focus on developing countries. Gugerty teaches courses on nonprofit and public management, the political economy of NGOs and foreign aid, program evaluation, international policy analysis and management, and African development. She also leads the Nonprofits Accountability Clubs project at the Evans School, and is the recipient of the 2005 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and Service. Gugerty holds a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University and a MPA from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. She also holds a BA in political science and economics from Georgetown University.

Emile Haddad is gifted at identifying the personal context found underneath most of the cultural issues within the business environment.  His professional commitment is to promote awareness of “the Heart of the Business” by bridging the gap between the commercial and the cultural dynamics found in a given business setting.  He has broad experience ranging from project management, commercial building design and team leadership in the field of architecture to an extensive background in training and coaching in the area of personal development.  His mastery at leading groups and retreats with energetic awareness, and sensitivity to the field, has won him consistent recognition. Emile believes that success cultures in organizations are built on strong values, personal accountability, and intentionality born out of effective communications in the workplace.  His cultural acuity and sensitivity to the differing values and traditions inherent in his work with others, has fueled his passion to guide individuals and teams to challenge their setbacks; uncover strengths and find the strategic alignment necessary to achieve their desired goals for success.

Elizabeth M. Heath (Liz) is the Founder and Executive Director of The Nonprofit Center, a capacity building organization serving the South Puget Sound region of Washington state. Heath has more than thirty years of experience in the nonprofit sector as a consultant, executive director,  fund development director, board member and volunteer.

She is Principal Consultant for the Center and is an experienced retreat facilitator, trainer and speaker with a special emphasis on nonprofit governance. She has served as adjunct faculty member at the University of Oregon and as an instructor at the University of Washington Tacoma in the Fund Raising Certificate Program.

From August 2000 through May 2008 Heath wrote a regular column on nonprofit issues for The News Tribune (Tacoma). In 2008 she was Host and Producer of “Reaching Out,” a community television program featuring area nonprofit organizations. She is author of “Nonprofit Governance – a look at nonprofit boards in the South Puget Sound region,” Spring 2003 edition of the Crossroads Journal, University of Washington Tacoma. Heath is a member of the South Sound Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and a lay arbitrator for the Washington State Bar Association. She has recently been named Co-Chair of the Membership Committee for the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, a national professional organization for nonprofit capacity builders.

She was a founding member of both the University of Washington Tacoma Citizens’ Advisory Committee and of City Club of Tacoma. She holds a BA in English Literature from Lawrence University of Appleton, Wisconsin.

Stewart Henderson brings 25 years of experience in management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching, conflict resolution, and training.  His focus has been in the public sector, where he has worked extensively at the state, local, and federal levels, both as an external consultant and as public manager himself.  Since founding Third Way Consulting Group in 2005, he has worked with a wide range of public and private sector clients.  He is an honors graduate of Dartmouth College and received his master’s degree in Applied Behavioral Sciences from the Leadership Institute of Seattle (LIOS).

Melora Hiller currently consults with nonprofit organizations, foundations and local governments in areas related to organizational development and capacity building. Melora is committed to working with clients that build strong communities and improve people’s lives. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Melora was a senior program officer for Impact Capital, managing the agency’s statewide capacity-building programs. Melora earned her Master’s degree in public administration at Seattle University’s Institute for Public Service. She has served on numerous nonprofit boards and school committees and is a graduate of Leadership Tomorrow

Lynn Hoffmann is the Executive Director of the Idaho Nonprofit Center, an organization dedicated to strengthening the nonprofit sector in Idaho. Lynn’s previous experience includes 17 years in senior management at Hewlett-Packard Co., most recently as the Vice President for Current Business where she led an international team responsible for $1.2B of current year revenue.  Prior to joining HP, Lynn co-owned and managed a small retail business in Seattle for 5 years. Lynn has been honored with the Tribute to Women in Industry award and served as the Mistress of Ceremonies for the HP Human Rights Award.  She is currently a board member for the Boys and Girls Club of Ada County and Smart Growth of Idaho, and has served as president of the Community Advisory Board for Boise State Public Radio on the board of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce.  Lynn holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a BA from the University of Washington, and studied at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.

Joe Lawless is the Executive Director of the Center for Leadership and Social Responsibility in the Milgard School of Business at the University of Washington Tacoma where he leads the Center’s activities geared toward education, scholarship and community engagement. Prior to joining the Center, Joe was the Executive Director of the Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation where he created the Courage Classic Bicycle Tour, built a model Children’s Advocacy Center, and led The Campaign for Mary Bridge, a $15.5 million effort to build a new outpatient facility and an endowment fund for patient charity care. Joe holds an MBA from UWT and the Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) Credential. He sits on the board of the South Sound Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and served as its founding President.

Rae Levine has over twenty-five years of experience helping nonprofit leaders navigate organizational change.  As a co-founder of Leadership Transition Partners (www.leadershiptransition.org), she helps nonprofit organizations manage executive leadership transitions.  She also knows the challenges of leadership from the inside, as executive director of a grassroots affordable housing organization. She holds a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.S. in Human Resources and Organization Development from the University of San Francisco.

Sharon Lucas is an interim executive director and management consultant working exclusively with nonprofit organizations for the past fifteen years.  As an interim executive director she assists nonprofits during executive and organizational transition.  She’s been Interim E.D. for fifteen nonprofits, currently at Rosehedge, providing housing and health care to people with HIV/AIDS plus mental illness, chemical dependency and dementia. 

Dennis McMillian began his community and nonprofit career at the age of ten when he volunteered to work with younger children at his church, and he has never wavered from that focus. After a successful career which included twenty-one years in the United Way system, joining the United Way of Alaska in 1992. In 1993 the United Way of Anchorage board envisioned an organization that would help to help build the capacity of nonprofits. In 2000, that vision became the Foraker Group, of which Dennis is the Executive Director. Since then, Dennis has worked with over 400 Alaskan nonprofits and tribes and he has trained thousands of Alaskans to serve on boards and staffs. He currently serves on committees at United Way of America, The Council on Foundations, and The Independent Sector. He serves on the Board of Trustees for The Nature Conservancy in Alaska and the Community Advisory Board fro KNBA. He also serves on the national board of Camp Fire, Inc. He received a B.S. from New College from the University of Alabama and an M.S. in Education Management from UAB.

Sharron O’Donnell is a CPA and senior manager with the public accounting firm of Bader Martin, PS. Sharron heads Bader Martin’s not-for-profit practice and is a member of the firm’s accounting and assurance practice. Her work includes a focus on audits of not-for-profit organizations including arts, membership, social service, religious, and housing organizations, as well as private foundations. A leader in the accounting profession, Sharron also chairs United Way of King County’s Audit Review Committee and is a member of Executive Alliance’s public policy group, where she works to influence the future regulatory environment for nonprofit organizations in Washington state. She is a recognized expert in accounting and auditing for the not-for-profit sector and is a tireless volunteer in the local professional and not-for-profit communities.

Sally Perkins is a business and management consultant based in Tacoma. Her firm, Practical Solutions, has been serving Tacoma-Pierce County and Puget Sound- area clients for 14 years, with primary emphasis on non-profit and public sector organizations and projects. Her practice includes strategic planning, Board development, project design and management, facilitation, organizational assessment and grant-writing.

Dr. Jill Purdy is a founding faculty member of the Milgard School of Business. She served as director of the MBA program from 2000-2005 and currently serves as Academic Director of the Center for Leadership and Social Responsibility. Her area of teaching emphasis is Management and Organizational Theory, and her current work relates to community and institutional influences on business social practices and corporate social responsibility, as well as collaboration and conflict resolution.

Don Rennegarbe has been working in leadership roles with non profit and public agencies for over forty years.  His most recent experience was as Executive Director for Tacoma Community House.  Prior to his thirteen year service with TCH, he worked with a variety of human services agencies addressing issues of domestic violence, emergency assistance, education, employment and community organizing efforts. Don has a Master’s in Public Administration with an emphasis on voluntary and nonprofit organizations and an undergraduate degree in Social Work and Comparative Religions.  Over his career he has facilitated numerous strategic planning, organizational development and fund/raising campaigns and served in leadership roles for over 50 different community volunteer and professional boards.

Alan Strand is Owner and Principal of Strand and Associates / Not-for-Profit Accounting. Mr. Strand has ten years of experience in nonprofit accounting, reporting, training and consulting, chiefly as Director of Finance and Quality Reporting with the California Association of Nonprofits. Mr. Strand created and presented more than 50 highly-rated workshops and seminars across California and the U.S., training over 1,400 people on nonprofit accounting standards, practices and procedures. Over the years, he responded to over 6,500 helpline calls and emails on nonprofit financial management, general management, human resources, compliance, policies and procedures and governance issues.

Alan Strand will join the Nonprofit Center in mid-November as the new Senior Program Director for Financial Services. Mr. Strand will have responsibilities for managing the Center’s accounting and bookkeeping services as well as marketing all the Center’s programs.

Scott Winship is an attorney with Vandeberg Johnson and Gandara where he focuses on business and nonprofit representation, real estate, estate planning, probate and litgation. He served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in both King and Pierce Counties before entering private practice with Bonneville, Viert, Morton & McGoldrick in 1988. In 1990, Mr. Winship joined North Pacific Bank in Tacoma, Washington, eventually assuming leadership of that institution as President and CEO in 1995. Following the successful sale of North Pacific Bank in 1998, he returned to the practice of law until 2002, when he led the newly created Northwest Commercial Bank in Lakewood, a position he held until joining VJG. Scott was a founding board member of The Nonprofit Center, and he currently serves on the Boards of United Way of Pierce County, Tacoma Trauma Trust, Tacoma Rotary Club #8, and Hilltop Artist in Residence.

Valarie S. Zeeck is a partner at Gordon Thomas Honeywell.  She specializes in Employment Law and Litigation and Non-Profit Governance, and is a frequent speaker at legal seminars and programs on these topics.  She formerly served as a judge in Jackson County (Kansas City, Missouri), and is also a writer and educator focusing on employment law. She is active in the community and currently serves as a Commissioner on the University Place Economic Development Task Force and Commission and as a board member of Families Unlimited Network.