BoardCon

March 29, 2022

BoardCon

Museum of Jewish Heritage

36 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280

Tuesday

8:00AM - 4:45PM

The Collaboration of Staff and Boardroom

Event Description

The pandemic has transformed many activities in the nonprofit sector. Event plans have been reimagined, fundraising strategies have changed direction, and boards have navigated through many risks and challenges. Effective board management allows for nonprofits to make a bigger impact. Providing your board with key resources can increase your fundraising efforts, strategic planning, and other mission-based work — especially during a crisis. New York Nonprofit Media will attempt to host “Nonprofit BoardCon” in person, bringing together Executive Leadership and Board Members from nonprofits across New York to learn how collaboration between board and staff is essential amid the pandemic and going forward into the new normal.

For more details call Lissa Blake at 646 517 2741 or email lblake@cityandstateny.com for more information.

Speakers

Nancy D. Miller

Executive Director/CEO, VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Nancy D. Miller works with people of all ages that are blind and multi-disabled and their families and unpaid caregivers. She is Executive Director/CEO of VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired since 1987. VISIONS serves over 7000 people each year with in-home, community and center-based day and overnight services. VISIONS annual budget is over $10 million, with a diverse staff of 94. Over one third of the staff identify as blind or visually impaired; 54% identify as non-white/person of color and 43% speak another language in addition to English. Ms. Miller has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University and a Master of Science Degree in Social Work from Columbia University in group work and aging. Ms. Miller serves on the Board of Directors of LiveOn New York. She is a founder and President of the New York Vision Rehabilitation Association and serves on the Priorities and Policy Committee of the Human Services Council. She is a co-Founder and Board member of the Disabilities Network of NYC. Ms. Miller received the Community Trailblazers Award from Beyond Focus Media of Brooklyn, Practitioner of Distinction Award from National Rehabilitation Association, Maggie Kuhn Advocacy Award from Presbyterian Senior Services, Senator John E. Flynn Award from American Council of the Blind NY and VisionServe Alliance Excellence in Leadership Award.

John Eusanio, CPA, CGMA

Partner and Not-For Profit Practice Leader, Citrin Cooperman

John Eusanio is a partner in Citrin Cooperman's New York City office and practice leader of the firm's Not-For-Profit Practice. He has nearly 20 years of public accounting experience providing auditing and accounting services to clients in the not-for-profit, education, and health care sectors. Prior to joining Citrin Cooperman, John was an audit partner at CohnReznick. In addition, John has significant “Big 4” experience, where he also completed a three-year national rotation within KPMG in which he assisted engagement teams serving various governmental and not-for-profit clients. John has experience providing financial statement audit services to a wide variety of entities, including social service organizations, foundations, associations, state and local governmental agencies, colleges and universities, health care providers, community and teaching hospitals, long-term care facilities, academic medical centers, and other 501(c)(3) organizations. He also advises clients on accounting and auditing matters relating to Uniform Guidance audits, employee benefit plans, tax-exempt bond offerings, and cost report certifications. John is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA), and the New York Society of Association Executives (NYSAE). John earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting at Dowling College. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York, a Chartered Global Management Accountant, and the firm’s representative for the Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC). John contributes to regular communications and e-alerts for the Not- For-Profit Practice. He also facilitates technical trainings to boards, client management, and internal staff on various not-for-profit technical matters and governance considerations. In addition, John routinely attends not-for-profit conferences and participates as either a presenter, sponsor, or participant in roundtable and panel discussions.

Amy West

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, AHRC NYC

Amy graduated Summa Cum Laude from Hunter College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting. She is actively involved in Hunter College’s Mentoring Program, Secretary of the Financial Managers Association and is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs Not-For-Profit Committee. In addition, she serves on the AICPA Not-For-Profit Industry Conference Steering Committee and NYSARC’s Financial Sustainability and CFO Committees. Amy also served on the Financial Committee of Human Services Council’s “New York Nonprofits in the Aftermath of FEGS: A Call to Action” project.

Surjit Chana

Chairman of the Board, Care for the Homeless

Surjit Chana is a Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow and Board Vice Chairman of Care for the Homeless and a Board Director of the University of Surrey Foundation. Surjit has over 35 years’ experience in the private and social sectors. Surjit has deep general management, marketing & communications, operations, sales/fundraising, strategy, CSR, governance, technology and digital skills. His prior roles include Chief Operating Officer, IBM Digital, Chief Marketing, Communications and CSR Officer, IBM Europe and Executive Vice President of a nonprofit Women's World Banking. Surjit was a member of IBM's Global Senior Leadership Team for 10 years. His 2017 Harvard Fellowship focused on advanced leadership skills to address societal challenges and impact of technology on leadership skills. His fellowship project is focused on defining solutions to reduce inter-generational poverty and improve gender equality. Surjit was born in India, grew up in the UK and now lives in New York. He is a Physics graduate from the University of Surrey and holds patents for his work on transaction processing systems and expert systems / artificial intelligence.

Jim Norton, CPA

Senior Manager, Accounting Technology Services, GRF CPA's & Advisors

Mr. Norton began his career in public accounting, working on both financial statement audits and individual and business tax filings. During his time in public accounting, he developed a strong affinity for nonprofit organizations and went on to work exclusively in the nonprofit industry for six years. Mr. Norton transitioned to a role in New York City, leading the nonprofit practice and technology division for a small outsourced accounting company. In additional to various nonprofit board roles, Mr. Norton has held a variety of nonprofit leadership roles ranging from Financial Lead for Meals on Wheels and Interpreting Services programs to CFO of a large regional Chamber of Commerce. During the course of his career, Jim has focused heavily on process improvement through the use of enhanced technology. This led to constructing and leading a multitude of accounting system redesigns or new implementations. Mr. Norton specializes extensively in Sage Intacct and is GRF’s Accounting Technology Services practice lead. Mr. Norton’s combination of public accounting, private industry, and outsourced internal accounting expertise have afforded him a unique perspective that makes him capable of intimately understanding business challenges from various stakeholders’ perspectives. He helps clients leverage software in developing the creative, functional solutions they need to address their business’ process and reporting challenges. His primary areas of specialization include nonprofit, boutique fitness, media, and professional service/project-based organizations.

Eleanor "Ellie" Hume

Director, Your Part-Time Controller, LLC

Ellie Hume is the Director and market leader in charge of YPTC’s New York metropolitan-area practice and helped establish their NYC office in 2012. Ms. Hume has been working with non-profit and governmental organizations to build stronger accounting departments for almost 20 years and enjoys digging in, cleaning things up and finding the most efficient processes to cut down on overhead costs. She takes pride in helping non-profits achieve their missions through better accounting practices. Ms. Hume began her career in Washington, DC with the Department of the Navy, where she took an active role helping multiple agencies implement procedures and systems in an effort to comply with public audit standards. Prior to joining YPTC, she worked for a few non-profit organizations in controllership/CFO roles, gaining a full understanding of the many hats non-profit staff often have to wear. Ellie is a CPA and member of the New York State Society of CPAs and the AICPA and serves on the NYSSCPA Not-for-Profit Organizations Committee. She holds an M.B.A. from George Mason University and a B.S. in Business Administration and Accounting from Shepherd University. When she’s not working, Ellie enjoys cooking and spending time with family.

Jennifer Jones Austin

Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies

A fourth-generation leader of faith and social justice, child and family advocate, thought leader, public speaker and nonprofit chief executive officer, Jennifer Jones Austin, Esq., fights for equity. As CEO of FPWA, she leads poverty-fighting, policy and advocacy efforts to strengthen and empower the disenfranchised and marginalized communities. Jones Austin is a sought-after speaker who appears regularly on television and radio, and at community events, faith gatherings and professional convenings. She guest hosts the nationally syndicated radio program, “Keep’n It Real with Rev Al Sharpton,” and the cable program, Brooklyn Savvy. She was born and raised in New York City.

H. Aldervan Daly

Executive Vice President, Institutional Advancement, Rising Ground

H. Aldervan Daly, CRFE, is the Executive Vice President for Institutional Advancement for Rising Ground. Rising Ground is a 190-year old human services organization with a budget of $124 million, serving 25,000 children, adults, and families through 50 programs at 71 locations throughout New York City and Westchester. Aldervan manages a team that is responsible for all fundraising and marketing activities for the organization. He most recently served as Director of Advancement at the Police Athletic League. Before that, he held positions at The New York Foundling, The Center for Employment Opportunities, The Partnership for New York City, and others. After adopting a foster child 12 years ago, he co-founded a nonprofit agency, City Families, to coach families interested in adopting children through the New York City child welfare system. Aldervan shares his fundraising insight with others in the field. He is the author of the blog “The Thoughtful Approach To...”, which offers practical advice for modern fundraisers. He also served as an adjunct professor at New York University’s George H. Heyman, Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, teaching technology and social media for nonprofits. Aldervan has served on the board and is a current member of the Greater New York Chapter of the Association for Fundraising Professionals. He earned a Masters in Fine Arts, specializing in fundraising and marketing, from Virginia Tech and a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Rhodes College. He and his family live in Brooklyn, NY.

Michelle Yanche

Executive Director, Good Shepherd Services

Michelle Yanche is the Executive Director of Good Shepherd Services, a leading youth development, education and family service agency that serves over 30,000 individuals each year. Previously, Ms. Yanche served as Good Shepherd Services’ Associate Executive Director for Government and External Relations, overseeing the agency’s work in the areas of compliance and risk management, fundraising and development, government and community relations, public policy and advocacy, and communications and marketing. Ms. Yanche serves on the boards of directors of the New York State Network for Youth Success, the New York State Partnership for Children, Youth, and Families, and the National LGBT Cancer Network. She is a member of Government Affairs Professionals and has served as a member of a number of governmental advisory groups, including the Department of Education’s Middle School Success Advisory Group, the New York City Council Middle School Task Force, the Commission on Economic Opportunity’s Education Workgroup, and the Mayor’s Out-of-School Time Advisory Group. Ms. Yanche received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University and a Master of Public Administration, with a specialization in public finance, from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where she has also served as an adjunct faculty member.

Karin Kunstler Goldman

Deputy Bureau Chief, Charities Bureau, New York State Attorney General's Office

Karin Kunstler Goldman is the Assistant Attorney General in the New York State Attorney General's Charities Bureau. Karin was the 2001-2002 president of the National Association of State Charity Officials and is a founding member of the Governance Matters. She has served on the advisory board of New York University’s National Center on Philanthropy and the Internal Revenue Service’s Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt Entities. As a volunteer, Karin participated in training programs conducted for charity regulators throughout the country by the National State Attorneys General Program at Columbia University Law School. Prior to joining the Attorney General's office, Karin was a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow and a staff attorney at South Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation. As an Eisenhower Exchange Fellow in Hungary, Karin worked with nonprofit organizations, government officials and legislative drafters in developing the law and regulations affecting Hungary’s nonprofit sector. She has consulted with government officials in Ukraine and China on the development of statutory regulation of charitable organizations in those countries. Karin was a guest of the People’s Republic of China at its 2007 International Symposium on Charity Legislation in China at which she was a speaker, and in 2015 she participated in workshops in China on the developing nonprofit law. Karin is a co-author of State Regulation and Enforcement in the Charitable Sector, a 2016 report of the Urban Institute. Karin and her husband, Neal, spent two years as Peace Corps volunteers in Senegal, West Africa. They have two children and four grandchildren. Karin has a law degree from Rutgers University Law School, a BA from Connecticut College and an MA from Columbia University.

Wayne Ho

President & CEO, Chinese-American Planning Council

Wayne Ho is the President and CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), the nation’s largest Asian American social services agency. He is responsible for leading this 55-year-old organization that promotes social and economic empowerment of over 60,000 Chinese American, immigrant, and low-income New Yorkers each year. In 2017, CPC launched Advancing Our CommUNITY, its organization-wide strategy to expand services to address persistent needs and emerging trends and to improve leadership skills among staff and community members. Previously, Wayne served as Chief Strategy and Program Officer for the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), an association of 200 community and faith-based member agencies aiming to promote upward mobility of underserved New Yorkers, and was the Executive Director of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), the nation’s only pan-Asian children’s advocacy organization, from 2004-2013. He has been recognized by the City and State in the Nonprofit Power 100 in 2019, the inaugural Nonprofit Power 50 in 2018, and a 40 Under 40 New York City Rising Star in 2014. He was one of 10 leaders invited to meet with President Obama during the White House’s Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration in 2011. Wayne serves on numerous boards, including the board of Coro New York Leadership Center and Partnership for After School Education, and is appointed to several New York City and State advisory boards. Wayne received his Bachelor of Arts from UC Berkeley and his Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Stanley Capela

Corporate Compliance Officer, HeartShare Human Services

Stanley Capela is an Applied Sociologist with 43 years of experience using sociological skills in program evaluation. He is currently the Vice President for Quality Management and the Corporate Compliance Officer for HeartShare Human Services of New York and also a Council on Accreditation (COA) Accreditation Commissioner, Team Leader and Peer Reviewer. Mr. Capela has participated in reviews of 130 + organizations throughout the United States, Canada, Guam and Germany. He is the recipient of the Consuelo Award for his work as a Peer Reviewer. He has conducted over 120+ workshops and has authored several articles on program evaluation and sociology. He has served as President for both the Society of Applied Sociology and the American Evaluation Association Board Member, as well as TIG Chair and Commissioner for the Commission on Applied and Clinical Sociology. He played a significant role in designing a management training program that was the recipient of COA Innovative Practice Award as well as a major role in developing a wide range of standards in social services. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Cathedral College and a Master of Arts and doctorate work in Sociology from Fordham University. Mr. Capela currently chairs the NYC Panel.

Claas Ehlers

CEO, Family Promise

Claas Ehlers is the Chief Executive Officer of Family Promise, the national nonprofit leader on the issue of family homelessness. Born in New York State, he lived in multiple household settings in his first six years, impressing on him the critical need for stability for children and families. A graduate of New York University, Claas worked in video production, publishing, business development, and advertising while also teaching English as an adjunct professor at two local community colleges. From his work with low-income students, he saw first-hand the struggle of families to change their economic circumstances. In 2002, he was able to align his passion for social justice with his career, joining Family Promise to lead a project to diversify the faith groups involved in its programs. In 2003 he accepted the role of Director of Affiliate Development and later Affiliate Services, and in January of 2016 became the second CEO in the organization’s 28-year history. Claas frequently presents on the issues of family homelessness, poverty, and volunteer engagement and serves on advisory committees for Overlook Hospital, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and Sesame Street in Communities. Outside of work, Claas’s interests include running, hiking, the New York Mets, music, and cooking. He lives in Mountainside, NJ with his wife, Ellen Pluta, a professor at Stern School of Business at NYU and has three children: Arabella, Luke, and Colette.

Jennifer Krueger

Strategic Projects Manager, United Methodist Women

Jenn Krueger is an experienced social enterprise professional, working at the intersections of technology, project management, and strategic planning. She is currently the Project Manager at United Methodist Women here in New York city where she focuses on using systems such as project management tools, CRM's, and basic spreadsheets to drive strategic change at this 150+ year old organization. Previously she has worked with Change for Kids, IntroAmerica, and The New York Public Library. Jenn Krueger received an MBA in Marketing and Information Management from Columbia Business School, an M.S. in Library and Information Science from Simmons University, and a BA in Mathematics from Tufts University.

Roberta Katz

Nonprofit Finance Consultant, Roberta Katz Consulting

Roberta Katz is the founder of Roberta Katz Consulting, a nonprofit consulting business that provides nonprofit organizations with the advice, guidance and tools that have proven to be effective in building and maintaining strong finance departments. Prior to starting her consulting business, Roberta held key senior financial management positions in several major nonprofit organizations for 15 years and experienced the day-to-day challenges faced by their finance departments. She successfully implemented innovative and practical solutions resulting in streamlined processes and operational and procedural efficiencies that she now provides to nonprofits as a consultant. Roberta spent the early part of her career as an auditor for a Big Four accounting firm and as a tax manager for a mid-sized CPA firm. Roberta earned an M.B.A in Accounting from CUNY, Bernard M. Baruch Graduate School and a B.A. in Mathematics from Stern College for Women. Roberta has had articles published in The CPA Journal, The NonProfit Times, LinkedIn and has produced webinars addressing critical issues faced by nonprofit finance departments.

Keith Mulvihill

Vice President - Nonprofit Organizations, Lockton Companies, LLC

Keith Mulvihill helps lead Lockton’s Nonprofit Practice throughout the Northeast and sits in Washington, DC. Keith has been advising nonprofit organizations for over 15 years on matters including risk management, property and casualty insurance, employee benefits and total rewards strategy, and HR technology. He holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation with a focus in enterprise risk management from the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters. Lockton is the largest privately held global insurance broker with 64 offices and over 6000 associates worldwide. Lockton has been recognized as a Business Insurance Best Place To Work for an unprecedented ten consecutive years. Keith resides with his wife and three beautiful children in Leesburg, Virginia.

David Harris

Interim Executive Solutions

David Harris has extensive experience working with nonprofit organizations to develop and implement strategies to improve operations, marketing, board governance, and leadership team effectiveness. He has served as co-chair of Community Action Partners, a consulting organization that provides services to Boston area nonprofits. In that capacity David has led projects with a diverse set of organizations including YouthBuild Boston, the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, Commonwealth Land Trust and the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. David recently held interim positions as Executive Director of the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership and President of The Landing School in Maine. Previously he spent five years as Deputy Director of Teachers21, a professional development service provider, where he was responsible for strategic planning, business development, finance and operations. He also provided coaching and consulting services to school and district leaders on business strategy and organization. David received his School Superintendent license in Massachusetts in May 2011. Prior to that he was Managing Director of the UPCS Institute, which created model leadership and classroom instruction strategies for 200 urban and rural Early College High Schools nation-wide. David also spent six years in the classroom as an 8th grade math teacher. Before earning an MAT from Simmons College and entering the education field, David spent 20 years as a senior executive, product marketing director and strategy consultant in various computer software and retail organizations. Highlights of his business career include: – Expanding Scandinavian Office Gallery from 3 to 12 stores – Increasing the productivity of a 200-person inbound sales and customer service operation and an outbound account management organization for WearGuard – Bringing a high speed data warehousing database technology to market for Sybase and conceiving and delivering the first integrated data warehousing application suite. David holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Sc.B. in Biochemistry from Brown University.

Judy Levine

Executive Director, Cause Effective

Judy Levine, Executive Director of Cause Effective, has over 30 years of experience as a nonprofit management advisor. Judy has trained and consulted with well over 1,000 nonprofit organizations on issues in fund diversification, donor engagement, and Board and organizational development. Judy has worked across many organizational cultures and is expert at tailoring consultations in order to meet the needs of different audiences. Judy’s commitment to social change has played a key role in Cause Effective’s impact in the sector. Cause Effective serves as a nonprofit growth partner and has worked with well over 6,000 organizations in its 40-year history to provide coaching, training, retreats and other forms of support to strengthen the leadership of New York’s vital nonprofit organizations. Hundreds of nonprofit leaders have benefitted from programs Judy has had a pivotal role in launching, such as Cause Effective’s Preparing The Next Generation, a groundbreaking initiative to strengthen the nonprofit sector by working to address and eradicate the barriers and conditions that make it so difficult for professionals of color to thrive. In 2017 Judy was honored as one of New York City’s most distinguished public servants with City & State’s “50 over 50” Award. She served for 10 years as a Selection Committee member for the New York Community Trust Nonprofit Excellence Awards. Judy holds a Ph.D. from New York University and has published widely on topics in nonprofit administration.

Hope Goldstein

Co-Partner in Charge - Nonprofit, Government & Healthcare Group, Marks Paneth LLP

Hope Goldstein, CPA, is the Co-Partner-in-Charge of the Nonprofit, Government & Healthcare Group at Marks Paneth LLP. In this role, she oversees a team of more than 60 nonprofit specialists serving the unique needs of over 150 clients operating in the nonprofit, government and healthcare sectors. Bringing more than 27 years of nonprofit, higher education and public sector accounting experience, Hope directs nonprofit audit and attest engagements – as well as projects involving mergers among nonprofits, initial bond offerings, forecasting services, internal control and systems studies, operational reviews and governance studies. She is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA). She is very active in the NYSSCPA – serving on its Committees for Government Accounting and Auditing, Not-for-Profit Accounting, Advancement of Women and Tax-Exempt Organizations. In addition, Hope has sat on many not for profit boards in roles such as audit committee member and finance chair.

Agenda

8:00am

Breakfast and Registration

8:30am

Welcome and Opening Remarks

8:35am

Board Responsibilities & Training 101

One of the fundamental challenges that far too many board members and boards have is that they don’t have a strong understanding of their roles and responsibilities. And how has the important changes that have taken place during the pandemic change the roles of nonprofit boards and executives. This lack of understanding of what is or isn’t a part of the board’s necessary roles can lead to a whole host of dysfunctions, such as micromanagement, rogue decision-making, lack of engagement, and more. Learn the do’s and don’ts of being on a board.

Marcella McKoy, Human Resources Professional and Chairperson of the Culture Committee, Graham Windham (moderator)

Kate Krug, Vice President of Development and Communications, Nontraditional Employment for Women

Nancy Miller, Executive Director/CEO, VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired

John Eusanio, Partner & Not-for-Profit Practice Leader, Citrin Cooperman

Roberta Katz, Nonprofit Finance Consultant, Roberta Katz Consulting

9:25am

Essential Financial Tools and Documents for the Staff and Board

Nonprofit boards need up-to-date financial information to make informed decisions. Through effective financial oversight, the board assures the public-at-large that all resources and benefits received are used to support the nonprofit’s mission. Some of the following are important strategies to jumpstart financial oversight capacity: have an active finance committee, provide financial policies document, support the auditing team if needed, review financial statements, and financial training for board members.

Amy West, Executive Vice President And Chief Financial Officer, AHRC NYC (moderator)

Irene Branche, Board Chair, College & Community Fellowship & Chief Development and Evaluation Officer, The Hope Program

Jim Norton, CPA, Senior Manager, Accounting Technology Services, GRF CPA's & Advisors
Eleanor "Ellie" Hume, Director, Your Part-Time Controller, LLC

Keith Mulvihill, Vice President – Nonprofit Organizations, Lockton Companies, LLC

10:15am

Refreshment Break

10:30am

Diversity and Inclusion in the Boardroom

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) play important roles in the nonprofit boardroom. The integration of diversity, equity, and inclusion with board leadership can look like many different practices across assessment, recruitment, and retention – and beyond. It is essential to engage the board in training and conversations around the value of practicing diversity, equity, and inclusion. It also becomes necessary to evaluate board recruitment strategies and processes, such as by proactively seeking out new networks to include individuals outside of your immediate circles.

Jennifer Jones Austin, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (moderator)

John Harrison, Chief Executive Officer, Community Mediation Services, Inc.

James E. Mann, Board of Directors The Children's Village

Surjit Chana, Chairman of the Board, Care for the Homeless

11:20am

Creating an Engaged Board

An engaged board is a forward-thinking and cooperative team that works together to put its expertise to use. Engaged board members feel motivated to work between their scheduled meetings, collaborate to overcome challenges, and develop creative plans to fulfill their mission. When organizations prioritize the board member experience, it is easier to motivate them to do everything in their power to reach and even exceed the nonprofit’s objectives.

Scott Short, CEO, Riseboro Community Partnership (moderator)

H. Aldervan Daly, Executive Vice President, Institutional Advancement, Rising Ground

Randi Shubin Dresner, President & CEO, Island Harvest Food Bank

12:10pm

Lunch

1:10pm

Board Governance and Liability

Board members have a financial responsibility to drive the organization towards a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies, as well as by making sure the nonprofit has enough resources to advance its mission. Board members also play very important roles providing guidance to nonprofits by contributing to the organization’s culture and diversity initiatives, strategic focus, effectiveness, and financial sustainability, as well as serving as ambassadors and advocates. Beyond fulfilling legal duties, board members are extremely important resources for the organization.

Michelle Yanche , Executive Director of Good Shepherd Services (moderator)

Karin Kunstler Goldman, Deputy Bureau Chief, New York State Attorney General's Charities Bureau

Wayne Ho, President & CEO, Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc.

Hope Goldstein, Co-Partner In Charge-Nonprofit, Government, & Healthcare Group, Marks Paneth LLP

Sharon Cody, Nonprofit Partnership Manager, Harbor Compliance

2:00pm

Best practices for the recruitment and retention of multi-generational board leaders

Baby boomers, Generation X, millennials … and, soon to join them, the eager young Generation Z. Today’s nonprofit organizations often have members from at least three generations competing for influence and attention. What is the best way to diversify your board in terms of age? Should you create junior boards? Sometimes boards who have the intention of diversifying need to understand that just diversifying their composition isn’t enough and without changing the way the board operates, they’ll be back at square one in a year, wondering why they can’t retain their new recruits.

Judy Levine, Executive Director, Cause Effective (moderator)

Stanley Capela, Corporate Compliance Officer. HeartShare Human Services of New York

Miguel Guadalupe, Director of Donor and Community Engagement, BRC

2:50pm

Refreshment Break

3:05pm

Succession, Transition and Mergers Planning: Finance, Operations and Strategy

Change at the executive level — whether planned or sudden — requires the board to provide strong leadership and direction as it contemplates what the organization needs from its next leader. Successfully managing the departure of an executive and the recruitment, hiring, and installation of a new executive is a complicated process that typically requires months of work in addition to a reword of financial planning and operational strategies. This also applies to merger activity for nonprofits where often the most successful have a pre-organized succession plan for top leadership.

Claas Ehlers, CEO, Family Promise (moderator)

Lew Zuchman, Executive Director, SCAN-Harbor

Jenn Krueger, Strategic Project Manager, United Methodist Women

David Harris, Managing Partner, Interim Executive Solutions

3:55pm

The Partnership Between your Board and your Staff: Maximizing Time to Increase Impact

The dynamics of the board-executive partnership has a strong effect on the health and sustainability of an organization. Board members and executives have different roles, and the balance of power helps them to get the work of the organization done. The relationship between the board and the executives requires recognizing and appreciating each other’s position within the organization. When both teams are working together like this it maximizes the impact of the nonprofit.

Sharmila Rao Thakkar, Executive Director, Staten Island Not For Profit Association (moderator)

Jan Fisher, Executive Director, Nonprofit Westchester

Maurice K. Segall, Director, New York and Fairfield County, CT, Program, Pro Bono Partnership

Maury Litwack, Orthodox Union