Executive Director 101: Management Training for New Nonprofit Executive Directors

Jeanne Bell, MNA is the CEO of CompassPoint Nonprofit Services---one of the country’s leading providers of leadership and organizational development services to nonprofit organizations. She is the co-author of "Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability" (Jossey-Bass) and  "Financial Leadership for Nonprofit Executives: Guiding Your Organization to Long Term Success" (Turner). In addition to frequent speaking and consulting on nonprofit strategy and finance, Jeanne has conducted a series of research projects on nonprofit executive leadership, including Daring to Lead 2011: A National Study of Nonprofit Executive Leadership and Securing the Safety Net: A Profile of Community Clinic and Health Center Leadership in California. Jeanne currently serves on several boards, including the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, The Nonprofit Quarterly, and Intersection for the Arts. Email Jeanne.

Workshops

Marla Cornelius, MNA, is a Senior Project Director at CompassPoint Nonprofit Services. She developed and manages several of CompassPoint’s nonprofit management and leadership programs and research projects. She co-authored the national research report UnderDeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising (2013). She also led the development of the studies Ready to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak Out (2008) and Daring to Lead 2011: A National Study of Nonprofit Executive Leadership. She develops content, trains, and consults in the areas of individual and organizational leadership and governance. Marla also speaks and writes on these topics and can be reached at MarlaC@compasspoint.org.

Workshops

Byron Johnson is a Senior Project Director at CompassPoint Nonprofit Services where he designs, manages and provides skills-based coaching and consulting to nonprofit boards, staff, organizations, networks, and government agencies in the areas of board development, executive transitions, strategy, and succession planning.  He also teaches fund development and executive transitions workshops in CompassPoint’s training and conference series and serves as co-director and lead trainer of the Fundraising Academy for Communities of Color, an 8-month training and coaching series offered in collaboration with the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (GIFT). Prior to joining CompassPoint in 2005, Byron served in senior fund development positions for San Francisco State University, the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, and the YMCA of the East Bay.  A proud native and current resident of Oakland, CA, his past board memberships include the Eddie J. Walker Memorial Scholarship Fund, the Golden Gate chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Multi Cultural Alliance, and the San Francisco Housing Development Corporation.

 Email Byron.

Workshops

Marissa M. Tirona, J.D., is a Senior Project Director with CompassPoint Nonprofit Services. She is responsible for the development and management of several leadership initiatives, including the Strong Field Project, a four-year effort aimed at building a strong, coordinated network of domestic violence service providers in California. In 2009, she co-authored a study of leadership and workforce issues across community clinics in California, which culminated in the publication of four reports, including The Pipeline Promise: A Study of Emerging Leaders in California Community Clinics. Marissa recently completed her coaching training through the Coaches Training Institute and provides management and leadership coaching to individuals and teams.

In addition, Marissa develops curricula, trains and consults in the areas of leadership, nonprofit finance, business planning, impact metrics and governance. She speaks often on the topics of financial leadership and impact metrics. Before joining CompassPoint, Marissa was the program director of a national employee rights organization and an employment attorney with two national law firms. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Santa Clara University School of Law. Email Marissa.

Workshops

Nelson Layag is the training director for CompassPoint Nonprofit Services. Nelson’s current responsibilities include the design and management of CompassPoint’s leadership and management workshops, networks, and conferences; strategy and implementation of organizational communications and marketing; and design and delivery of training focused on people/performance management and project management.   Some of Nelson’s recent work and projects includes:

• Co-author and curriculum designer for Supervision: Helping People Succeed Part 1 and 2
• East Bay Nonprofit Forum Program Design and Implementation: Writing Your Organization’s Next Chapter: Strategic Actions for Organizational Impact 
• Performance Management 101: Achieve Results with Your Team, presentation at the Bank of America Neighborhood Excellence Initiative, emerging leaders convening
• Board Basics Online – Curriculum design and development of online course for potential board members (www.compasspoint.org/boardbasics)
• Mission Neighborhood Health Clinics – Three part supervision training and facilitation

Nelson’s passion is working with staff and leaders of social change organizations that serve under-represented communities. He understands and enjoys seeing the power a group of individuals can have when they find a way to work effectively together.  He brings this excitement to his work in performance management, project management and developing a training program that meets the needs of people working in the nonprofit sector.

In his 16 years at CompassPoint, Nelson has held numerous posts including Director of Technology and Director of Education.  During his time as Director of Education, he led the nation’s largest nonprofit training program with 500 workshops and 6 major conferences.  In 1997, Nelson was instrumental in developing the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network  (YNPN) in San Francisco.  YNPN has since grown into a national movement to support emerging leaders in the nonprofit sector.  He currently sits on the board of the Alameda Education Foundation and on the steering committee of the nonprofit online magazine, BlueAvocado.

Prior to joining CompassPoint, Nelson was the Accounting Operations Coordinator at Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco and Group Home Supervisor for Star House in San Jose. He was a social worker serving at risk youth in Baltimore before coming to California. Nelson has a BA in Business Administration and Marketing from Loyola College in Baltimore, MD and was part of a group of students that helped lead the development of the Center for Values and Service at Loyola. 

Nelson currently lives with his wife and three kids in the San Francisco Bay Area where he spends much of his spare time coaching youth sports and trying to keep up with school projects, field trips, and homework.  Somehow he finds just in enough time to play drums in a “dad garage band.” Email Nelson.

Workshops