Featured Interview: Todd Baker (U.S.) Steven Bowman (Australia) Nathan Garber (Canada) Gail S. Meltzer, CFRE (U.S.) Stephen Nill, J.D., GPC (U.S.) Robyn Fern Perlman (U.S.) Terrie Temkin, Ph.D. (U.S.) I was pleased to be invited to participate in an international roundtable discussion focusing on the five most important steps nonprofits should take right away, given the uncertainties of the economy, and related questions. This recorded discussion was the brainchild of CoreStrategies for Nonprofits, Inc., and is the first of a series of several such high-level discussions with nonprofit-sector leaders planned by our colleagues at CoreStrategies. — Stephen Nill, CEO, CharityChannel

 

About the Participants

 

Todd Baker

Todd Baker serves as Vice President/Senior Strategist for Grizzard.

For more than two decades, he has helped some of the top charities in North America, assisting them in the development of Mission-Driven Marketing™ strategies. Baker is the author of the free e-book, "Nonprofit Websites," the first of its kind, which has been downloaded by tens of thousands of charities in more than 50 countries. He writes the Fundraiser Confidential series for Fundraising Success Magazine and he is also known for the Baker’s Dozen fundraising series.

Baker is also a contributing author to one of the best selling nonprofit Internet books of all time, Nonprofit Internet Strategies and is the author of Champions of Philanthropy.

Baker is spoken at every major nonprofit association conference in the country. He is a former member of the Association Fundraising Professionals Board of Directors for Washington State. Baker spent over 13 years with World Vision, one of the largest privately funded international relief and development organizations in the United States.

 

Steven Bowman

Steven Bowman is a director of LifeMastery and the Conscious-Governance.com online resources, based in Melbourne, Australia. He is sought after by nonprofits globally as an expert adviser on conscious leadership, governance, strategic innovation, and awakening the power of strategic awareness within nonprofit organizations. Acknowledged as a pioneer in the field of Conscious Governance, Steven Bowman has transformed the prevailing understanding of the meaning of governance.

In the early 2000s, Steven and his partner Chutisa began a successful Governance and Board advisory practice that quickly spread throughout the world. During this time Steven realized that there was potential in the business arena for the establishment of a new conscious business/conscious leadership paradigm, one which encompassed a fundamental principle that moved beyond the traditional business paradigm of profit making and ROI.

He began to envision a conscious governance philosophy based upon the premise that governance is about the choices that people make and not just about compliance, policy and procedures. He introduced the notion that conscious, unconscious, and anticonscious choices form the framework of conscious governance.

Steven's Key Career Accomplishments Include . . .

Steven is one of Australia’s leading governance and senior executive team specialists, having previously held positions as national executive director of the Australasian Institute of Banking and Finance, CEO of the Finance and Treasury Association, general manager of ExpoHire (Australia) Pty Ltd, assistant director of the Australian Society of CPAs, and director of the American College of Health Care Administrators. He is a past president of the Australian Society of Association Executives and has held numerous other board positions. Steve has authored and coauthored over fourteen books on governance and executive leadership.

He was the founder and associate program director of the certificate and advanced certificate in association management at Monash-Mt Eliza Business School for eleven years. He and his partner, Chutisa, currently consult with over one thousand Non Profit and corporate organizations each year in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a Fellow of the Corporate Law and Accountability Research Group, Monash University.

Trained in both organizational management and as a behavioral scientist, Steve received his undergraduate degree in applied science, speech pathology, from La Trobe University, where he also completed a post-graduate degree in communication disorders. He completed his master’s degree from George Washington University, Washington DC, in speech pathology, where he also completed a master’s degree in association management. He also earned a certificate in association management and an advanced certificate in association management at the Monash-Mt. Eliza Business School.

Steve is a warm and engaging conference keynote speaker and dynamic workshop/seminar facilitator. He brings thirty years of hands-on experience and delivers it in a down-to-earth style that speaks to everyone throughout an organization. He leaves his audiences inspired, with practical leadership tools and tips that they can apply at work, at home, and in their communities.

 

Nathan Garber

As President of Nathan Garber & Associates, Nathan has been working to strengthen the nonprofit sector for more than 35 years.

In 1971, he began raising funds for OXFAM following civil war and devastating floods in Bangladesh. The experience had a profound effect on him and since then, he has devoted his work and voluntary efforts to improving the lives of individuals and communities locally, nationally, and internationally.

His company’s vision is “a stronger nonprofit sector characterized by mission-driven organizations, effective boards, strong volunteer leadership, high quality management, increased capacity, and ongoing quality improvement”. Services are founded upon three basic principles.

• The board’s job is important. Effective performance requires investment in recruitment, training, and evaluation, just like any other important job.

• Effective governance begins with vision and values. The governance model, structures, policies, and practices of your board should be consistent with your vision and values and should advance your strategic plan.
  Nathan’s work has always been marked by creativity, innovation, leading-edge thinking.

• He was founding editor of Nonprofit Boards and Governance Review, an electronic journal with 7,000 subscribers.

• He helped to develop one of the first microcomputer-based community information management systems in North America.

• He was a founder and executive director of an agency internationally respected as a leader in developing standards and training programs for language interpreters in community settings.

• He teaches governance in several university-based programs and has served on the boards of directors of a number of organizations dealing with international development, environmental, and social justice issues.

Nathan is not afraid to challenge conventional ideas about the management and governance of nonprofit organizations. His website, [http://garberconsulting.com] is rich with tools, articles, and links on nonprofit management and is considered as one of the best sites on nonprofit governance.

Nathan lives in London, Ontario, Canada with his wife and is the father of two grown daughters. When not at his computer or with clients, he can often be found engaging in his passion for bird-watching.

 

Gail S. Meltzer, CFRE

In the 1980's, in the midst of an intense karate session in what brain researchers would call a flow moment, Gail S. Meltzer, CFRE had an idea. Then assistant development director for the Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, Gail envisioned the hospital reaping the benefits of national exposure.

She convinced the board and staff to participate in the inaugural Children's Miracle Network Telethon (CMNT), secured a local station to broadcast the event, garnered sponsors to cover the costs, and enlisted volunteers.