Profile

Professional summary

Susan provides operations management and organizational governance consulting as well as project management services in the public, private, research and academic sectors. Special emphasis is given to 501(c)(3), (c)(4), (c)(5) and (c)(6) and political non-profits.

She serves on and with boards of directors, with executive management, as a pro bono consultant with Taproot Foundation and as Volunteer Director for a state-level political organization. She possesses proven expertise in operations management, strategic planning and aligning organizations' execution to strategic goals. She is facile in organizational governance, and collaborates regularly with Chief Executives and Boards of Directors.

Susan holds a B.A. from San Diego State

Engagement overview

Engagements are as unique as the organization requesting them; each is approached on a bespoke basis.

Based upon an evaluation of the Client's situation and the outcome/outputs sought, a document outlining scope and deliverables will be drafted and refined until stakeholders are satisfied that it is an accurate representation of what will be done, over what period of time, what the deliverables will be and anticipated costs.

Engagement fees are based on a number of variables, including whether the the Client organization is a for- or non-profit, the complexity and scope of the engagement, etc. Routinely-conducted meetings ensure that milestones are achieved on schedule and allow for mid-course scope corrections, if necessary.

Clients

• American Society of Anesthesiologists
• Asimetagraf
• Association for Women in Science
• Locals of Labor Organizations
• Peace Resource Center
• Political Organizations: Candidates and Legislation
• Space Renaissance International
• Sports Data Research
• Taproot Foundation
• Wolf PAC
• Youth Job Center
• Numerous start-ups, small businesses, advocacy groups and "one-off" projects

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Areas of expertise
Insights

Question: Is it possible to run a small business without managers?

In my role as a governance professional, I’ve been advocating for flatter org charts for the better part of a decade; I recently posted the new edition of the Holocracy Constitution* to my FB page**.


The key features of a holocratic implementation are that:
• people’s activities are determined by the work to be done, rather by job description, and are thus more fluid;
• decision-m... Read more

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Question: Future of Telecommuting

As an independent contractor, I've been literally "phoning it in" for years. I did a three-week project with a concern in Australia. I work with non-profits from Europe to Silicon Valley. I have a client in Mexico.

There is no reason that a great many of us cannot avail ourselves of 21st Century tools ranging from the Internet to cloud-based services to teleconferencing platforms to perform jus... Read more

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Question: Advice for People Stuck in Toxic Workplaces

Having witnessed an organization devolve into toxicity, the first thing a person can do is to find "fellow sufferers" who don't abide the conduct that is contributing to that toxicity. Simply having like-minded allies and calling the problem out is therapeutic.

The second thing is for the allies to build what the Workplace Bullying Institute (workplacebullying.org) calls "building a business ca... Read more

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Question: Building a flexible workplace

Steps for building a culture of flexibility would include removing penalties for “failing”. In environments where “failure is not an option,” people will hesitate to try anything new. This, in turn, reinforces a “this is the way we’ve always done it” mentality and rigid approaches to work.
I am also a fan of “skunkworks”. Skunkworks is the name given to allowing individuals or s... Read more

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