Partners in Leadership: Bringing Board Chairs and Nonprofit Directors into Strategic Alignment

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) Brattleboro, VT - October 18, 2010 - Marlboro College Graduate School, in conjunction with the United Way of Windham County will offer a two-day workshop on nonprofit board leadership, October 29 and 30.

"Partners in Leadership: Bringing Board Chairs and Nonprofit Directors into Strategic Alignment" is designed to be taken by a leadership pair, ideally an executive director and board chair, who would like to strengthen their nonprofit organization. The workshop will clarify roles and responsibilities and introduce new concepts regarding contemporary boards, says Kate Jellema, director of Marlboro's Nonprofit Management program. Time will also be spent reviewing participants' own organizational board performance.

"Good boards have always been sought after, but great boards are becoming more critical to a nonprofit's ability to thrive," says Jellema."This program will help develop a trusting and clear partnership between the executive director and board chair, which is the bottom line for board success."

The workshops will take place at the Marlboro College Graduate Center, located at 28 Vernon Street in downtown Brattleboro. The training begins Friday afternoon at 1:00pm and continues that evening over an optional working dinner. The Saturday sessions runs from 8:00am to 4:00pm. The registration fee of $250 per person or $500 for organizational pair includes the cost of lunch on Saturday. For an additional $25.00, participants can take part in an optional working dinner on Friday evening that will feature a Q&A session with a Windham County executive director and board chair.

To register for the workshop, visit gradschool.marlboro.edu or call Kate Jellema at 802-451-7510.

The United Way of Windham County has made funds available to help support the participation of local human services organizations. If you are a human services organization with 501(c)3 status and you serve Windham County, please contact Kate Jellema at 802-451-7510 or nonprofit@marlboro.edu to find out about possible scholarships. In addition, graduates of Marlboro's Certificate in Nonprofit Management program are eligible for a $25 discount on the registration fee.

Instructors for the workshop are Jim Lefevre, author of Redirecting Boards: A New Vision of Governance for Planned Parenthood, and Peter Van Oot, an attorney who serves as counsel for a number of area nonprofit organizations.

Jim LeFevre is a consultant to nonprofit organizations - focusing especially on strategic planning, board governance and merger/alliance development.  He has worked with more than a hundred organizations over the past thirty years. In 1992, Jim wrote Redirecting Boards: A New Vision of Governance for Planned Parenthood.  Jim was the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England for 18 years and worked at Planned Parenthood Federation of America in New York City as its interim President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategic Officer.

Attorney Peter D. Van Oot's legal practice focuses on land use, environmental and corporate law. He serves as outside general counsel for a number of nonprofit organizations, including Marlboro College; the Vermont Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (the Austine School in Brattleboro); the Brattleboro Retreat in Brattleboro; and the Windham Foundation in Grafton. Van Oot has served as a board member and chair of United Way of Windham County. He presently serves on the board of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation ("BDCC") and served as board president from 2007 to 2009. He also serves on the executive committee and board of Southern Vermont Business Leadership Council.

For nonprofit leaders seeking additional training, Marlboro College will offer its Certificate in Nonprofit Management course in Brattleboro this winter. The Certificate combines the best of face-to-face learning with an online learning portal, offering nonprofit leaders and staff an intensive four-month series that helps them gain and refine the essential skills needed to strengthen their organizations and achieve their missions. A complete course list and faculty roster can be found on the web at nonprofit.marlboro.edu.

For more information, contact Kate Jellema at nonprofit@marlboro.edu or 802-451-7510.

Since 1997, Marlboro College Graduate School has offered master's degrees, certificate programs and professional development courses to working adults in a blended format that combines online learning and face-to-face classes. Current programs include a Master of Arts in Teaching with Technology, a Master of Science in Information Technologies, a Master of Science in Management - Health Care Administration, an MBA in Managing for Sustainability, and a wholly online Bachelor of Arts completion program for Managing Information Systems. Marlboro College Graduate School is part of Marlboro College, a private, four year liberal arts college with a history of teaching students to think clearly and learn independently.

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