Organization Goal Setting 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 facilitating strategy, planning, and KPI discussions with our programs and their community and other partners. Over time, I developed a practical, collaborative approach that makes the strategy 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 sending 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 but never quite lands on what matters most.
At CDC—and across 40+ projects with Catchafire—I've used this approach on projects focused on any or all of the following: mission and vision refinement, priority goal setting, strategic issue identification, resource gaps, and especially the external factors that get in the way and how to reduce their impact. This work also creates a strong foundation for diving into implementation planning and for identifying the most meaningful success metrics for both your priority outcomes and the activities that drive them.
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
- Volunteer Manager shares foundational materials to help Professional understand current state and historical context, including mission & vision, business plan, program data, and financial information
- Volunteer Manager and Professional discuss any urgent gaps that must be incorporated into annual goals
Milestone 1: Meeting Facilitation
- Professional facilitates 1-2 sessions with Executive Director and leadership team, if applicable, to discuss organization-wide goals based on core needs (e.g., program development, fundraising, marketing, internal operations)
- Group agrees on 3-5 goals for a period of time
Milestone 2: Goal Refinement
- Professional refines goals, writes out in bullet-point form, and shares with team
- Volunteer Manager and/or leadership provides up to 2 rounds of feedback, which Professional incorporates
Milestone 3: Slide Creation
- Professional creates short presentation in Powerpoint, Google Slides, or Keynote containing annual goals that Volunteer Manager can share with internal stakeholders or board of directors
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