A note from Russ White: Working with the boards of nonprofit organizations gives me the chance to collaborate with people who want to make a difference in the world. They want to do what matters — and do it well.
Here’s what some of the nonprofit leaders I get to work with say . . .
“Able to see the big picture . . .”
I have worked with Cyrus multiple times, and each time I have walked away with a clearer understanding of important ideas around board governance. He is thoughtful, thorough, patient, and able to see the big picture of what he is presenting. I also appreciate that he is open to questions and has real answers versus canned ones. I would hire Cyrus to meet with any group, large or small. He really gives a good presentation that provides immediate and long-term action items and goals.
Dayna Del Val
“Skilled and effective presenter . . .”
The ArtsLab program at Arts Midwest has had the good fortune of working with Russ White over several years. As a skilled, friendly, and effective presenter, he helped small arts organizations consider how they structure their governance by providing concrete tools, advice, and best practices. We especially appreciated his ability to customize his participatory workshops to fit into a larger curriculum and support our specific audience. I look forward to continuing to work with Russ in the future.
Erin Brueggemann
“Perfect fit to facilitate innovative ways of thinking . . .”
[I] strongly recommend Russ White for training and workshops. We contracted with Russ to train area nonprofits and for our own staff and board. Both the web-based and in-person workshops were excellent. He challenged attendees to think deeply about their work and how they do it. Workshops were inspirational and energized us and our area nonprofits. The level of professionalism from Russ was top-notch and he exceeded our expectations. He was a perfect fit to facilitate innovative ways of thinking about our work and reflect on how we can do it better.
Lauren Morris
“[We are] re-energized and re-engaged in our mission.”
Second Harvest had reached a plateau as a mature organization. Russ guided us through a process that concentrated on our strengths and emerging opportunities to create a new strategic framework for future planning. His methods reflect the latest thinking in board development. Both staff and board leadership agree that the process was productive and of great value to our organization. Thanks to Russ’s creative approach, Second Harvest is re-energized and re-engaged in our mission.
Sue Estee
“One of our most popular speakers . . .”
Cyrus spoke at the North Dakota 2020 Virtual Nonprofit Leadership Conference and was a pleasure to work with. He was organized, responsive, and one of our most popular speakers. When participants were asked to reflect on what they learned from the conference, almost all of them pointed to Cyrus’ wisdom about “Making Good Boards Better” as a session from which they received actionable takeaways.
Jennifer Greuel
“Enabled our board to have better insight . . .”
The Minnesota Rural Education Association contracted Russ for board vision and development training. His thoroughness, professionalism, and gentle guidance enabled our board to have better insight into all areas of board development, planning, vision, and cooperation. His easy-going style was a perfect fit for us. I appreciate his candor and ease in which he was able to guide the board as it explored its strengths, weaknesses, vision, and structure. I highly recommend his services.
Rick Frederickson
“Follow-up is excellent . . .”
Cyrus was well-prepared and facilitated a very positive board assessment and retreat for the Indiana University Alumni Association. His follow-up is excellent.
J Thomas Forbes
“Structure was excellent for individual reflection and bringing the group together . . .”
Russ did an excellent job in leading the discussion with our Board. His structure was excellent for allowing individual reflection and for bringing the group together around a small and achievable set of goals. Many of the comments and insights he brought from his experience were invaluable.
Jay Coogan
“Excellent job . . . Would recommend . . .”
Cyrus did an excellent job facilitating a very positive board assessment. Would recommend his work to all.
Steve McDavid
“Understands nonprofit governance and how boards operate . . .”
As the Director of Training at BoardSource and the person who oversees our training program, I have had several opportunities to work with and see Russ in action. Russ understands the intricacies of nonprofit governance and how boards of directors operate. When you combine this with his comfort level working with nonprofits of all shapes and sizes as well his ability to manage personalities and understand situations, he is the rare consultant that can be recommended to a wide variety of nonprofits across the sector.