Services
Strategic Solutions for Non-profits
Strategic solutions are grounded in shared vision. Forty years of nonprofit leadership, mentoring, program evaluation, and advocacy have honed my ability to draw out from people their visions and to guide groups to agreement. Working together I can help you design and implement an effective strategic solution.
Board Planning and Development
- Led revision of bylaws to better reflect mission and vision of MLAC
- Recruited, oriented, and helped to develop board members
- Assisted board chairs in establishing and implementing board governance improvements
Organizational Assessment and Evaluation
- Developed written Performance Standards for use in evaluating legal aid organizations
- Established, implemented and negotiated changes as necessary in formal and informal assessment protocols for the legal aid programs funded by MLAC
- For the Legal Services Corporation, led an evaluation of compensated private attorney components of civil legal aid programs nationwide
- For the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, led a four-person team to assess the work of Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid
Coaching
- Assisted non-profit leaders and board members to identify and assess specific performance issues
- Collaboratively developed strategies to successfully address identified issues
- Advised and counseled numerous leaders of nonprofit organizations about a wide range of issues including relationships with their boards of directors, management issues, external relations, fundraising, and strategic decision-making
Strategic Planning
- Led process to redefine the Vision for and the Mission of MLAC; built consensus among board, staff, leaders of legal aid organizations to support Vision and Mission
- Provided leadership for the development and implementation of four successful strategic planning processes for MLAC
- Developed review of assessments of the needs of residents of Massachusetts eligible for civil legal aid leading to agreement among legal aid organizations and MLAC on the most pressing needs of legal aid clients
- Led planning for and implementation of series of convenings around the Commonwealth to engage stakeholders in developing strategies to address identified needs
- Identified and supervised consultants who support strategic planning processes
Interim Executive Director
- Recruited and monitored interim executive directors for legal aid organizations funded by MLAC
Lonnie and I have been colleagues for many years as we both have led state entities funding civil legal aid programs in Massachusetts and Texas, respectively. His quiet, effective leadership has been an inspiration and I have stolen many good ideas from him over the years. When I first heard that he was leaving MLAC, I immediately asked him to come to Texas to lead a peer review team for a major legal aid program we fund. He agreed and, with the team he assembled, did a wonderful job.
Betty Balli Torres
Executive Director, Texas Access to Justice Foundation
Lonnie and I have been colleagues for many years as we both have led state entities funding civil legal aid programs in Massachusetts and Texas, respectively. His quiet, effective leadership has been an inspiration and I have stolen many good ideas from him over the years. When I first heard that he was leaving MLAC, I immediately asked him to come to Texas to lead a peer review team for a major legal aid program we fund. He agreed and, with the team he assembled, did a wonderful job.
Betty Balli Torres
Executive Director, Texas Access to Justice Foundation