Flexible Program Strategy Support event | Catchafire
What I can do to help you
I love this kind of project work. I spent 10 years in consulting and 20 as Chief of Strategy and Evaluation at CDC, where a core part of my role was helping our programs and their community and other partners develop strategy and do planning and monitoring/evaluation. The types of assistance were as varied as the project. I have continued to do this work with Catchafire and I love the variety that these flexible program strategy projects provide as they are all very different. Regardless of the focus, 0ver time, I have developed a practical, collaborative approach that works for most strategic issues, makes this process accessible—and the results immediately useful. My process builds on what you already know about your program, combined with patterns and insights I bring from dozens of similar projects. I’m an experienced facilitator, especially strong at active listening and drawing out quieter voices so the group reaches real clarity and consensus—not just agreement driven by the loudest or most senior people. We start with you describing the specific issues of interest. But then, almost always, I have you send me as many background materials as you care to. From those, I draft a clear “program roadmap” of what you do and the outcomes you’re aiming for, and then refine it with you and your team. I’ve found this approach far more efficient and effective than open-ended brainstorming that fills walls with flip chart paper and usually ends up prioritizing "what can we measure" over "what matters most" and may miss entirely the most important strategy issue. By understanding how the pieces of your program fit together and the "must-have" outcomes expected by funders and stakeholders, it is easier to identify the subset of outcomes, and pathways to them, and the barriers and facilitators that can accelerate or stymie progress. I have a lot of experience with organizations that are new and well established, small and large, and with clear ideas of where they are headed as well as those whose strategic need is to get a better handle on who they are, who they should be, and how to be more effective. I genuinely enjoy this work, and clients seem to value that my approach is inclusive and collaborative rather than consultant-as-oracle. I see my role less as “the expert” and more as a midwife—drawing out your expertise, organizing it, and constructively challenging your thinking. The work I’ve done with Catchafire organizations has been some of the most rewarding of my career, and I’d love to do this kind of project with you.
Relevant skills & experience
- Branding
- Coaching
- Data analysis
- Management
- Organizational design
- Project management
- Research
- Strategy consulting
Prep: Information Sharing & Goal Setting
- Volunteer Manager provides an outline of current state of organizational strategy
- Volunteer Manager provides overview of ongoing strategy need they have over the next 2-4 weeks
- Volunteer and Volunteer Manager align on the scope of ongoing support that the Volunteer will provide to address this need
Step 1: Ongoing Support
- Volunteer delivers ongoing support according to determined outline
- Weekly check-ins to ensure support is being offered as agreed upon by both parties
Step 2: Training & Offboarding
- Volunteer provides any relevant training to the Volunteer Manager to help them continue work, as necessary, after 4 weeks
Causes I'm passionate about
- Animals
- Arts & culture
- Civil rights
- Community & economic development
- Disaster relief
- Disease & medical research
- Diversity & inclusion
- Education
- Employment services
- Environment
- Gender equity & justice
- Health & nutrition
- Housing & homelessness
- Human services
- International affairs
- Justice & legal services
- LGBTQ+
- Maternal health
- Military & veterans affairs
- Philanthropy & capacity building
- Religion & spirituality
- Science & technology
- Violence prevention
- Youth development