KITTLEMAN & ASSOCIATES - Key Persons
As a Senior Associate based in Philadelphia, Alex provides search operations support for a diverse group of clients and maintains effective and professional communication among clients, search principals and candidates.
She most recently served as Executive Assistant for Protiviti, a global business consulting firm in Philadelphia, where she provided support for managing directors and human resources. Previously, she was an HR Internal Recruiter for Continuing Life and was responsible for recruiting for its continuing care retirement communities and health centers.
Alex has also served as an Account Executive at the San Diego Gulls Hockey Club. She is a graduate of Boston University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Managing Directors & Principals Team
- Senior Associate
- Director of Search Operations
Alicia Yamada has 14 years of broad nonprofit recruiting experience. She joined Kittleman & Associates in 2000 as an administrative assistant and has since expanded her responsibilities to the Senior Associate level which includes directing the strategies for and management of candidate identification and development. She has worked extensively with mission-driven client organizations in such sectors as education, the arts and culture, healthcare, professional associations, grant-making, animal welfare, human services and conservation and environmental.
Prior to joining to Kittleman, she worked as a law receptionist at the law offices of Bockelie, Halliday, Woodhead, Knauer, Minas & Snow. In 1997 she accepted a White House internship position under the Clinton Administration where she worked for Thurgood Marshall, Jr., then Assistant to the President and Secretary in the Cabinet Affairs Office.
She received a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University in the areas of political science and organizational behavior. Alicia has served in volunteer leadership positions for the Japanese American Citizens League on both the local and national level.
Amy Smith - Managing Director
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Managing Directors & Principals Team
- Principal
- Managing Director & Principal / Philadelphia
Amy Smith brings a rich history of experience with nonprofits, executive search, organizational consultation and a specialized expertise in highly sensitive leadership turnover. Since 2010, Amy has been in the executive search industry and has led searches for CEO, executive and senior level leadership positions for youth and adult social services, LGBT organizations, foundations, healthcare, museums, and professional and trade associations.
Prior to joining Kittleman & Associates, Amy was Founder and Managing Director of ACRS, an executive search firm based in the Greater Philadelphia region. Her career in the nonprofit sector began at The Center for Grieving Children and Their Families, a family services agency that provides counseling to children and families that have lost a parent or close loved one.
Amy earned her Bachelor's degree from Stockton University. She has served as a mentor at West End Neighborhood House, whose mission is to help economically and culturally diverse individuals achieve self-sufficiency, as well as a Board Member of the Delaware Center For Justice, a nonprofit dedicated to transforming the quality of justice through advocacy, policy, and practice. Amy has also been integrally involved with the city of Philadelphia's initiatives to help raise awareness and provide stable housing for youth and young adults experiencing homelessness. Amy is on the steering committee of Women in Nonprofit Leadership, is a committee member for CASA Philadelphia, an organization that advocates for children in foster care, and a member of the Philanthropy Network.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Director of the Network of Nonprofit Search Consultants
Carolyn has over 15 years of experience as a seasoned communications professional. She joined Kittleman & Associates in 2017 and provides search assistance for consultants and senior associates.
Additionally, Carolyn is the Director of the Network of Nonprofit Search Consultants (NNSC). In her role with NNSC, Carolyn oversees the development and sharing of best practices among executive search consultants who provide retained services exclusively or predominantly for nonprofit organizations, institutions and NGOs. Carolyn leads all aspects of the organization including planning and executing the group's semi-annual meetings, maintaining the group's online presence, managing its finances, overseeing member committees and fostering open communication among members.
Prior to consulting, Carolyn spent eight years between Weber Shandwick's Chicago office and its D.C. affiliate Powell Tate where she managed cross-functional and multi-office teams serving various government, corporate and nonprofit clients. She helped her clients gain visibility for their communications initiatives through focused outreach campaigns. As the director of business development, Carolyn also managed multi-disciplinary teams in pursuit of new business opportunities and coordinated all aspects of the RFP process.
Carolyn graduated from Miami University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications where she also served as the President of Alpha Phi.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Member of the Executive Team
- President
Cory leads Kittleman's search practice as well as the overall management of the firm. He focuses on CEO searches across the non-profit sector, with a particular emphasis in social services, grantmaking foundations, cultural institutions, and conservation organizations. Cory has been in the nonprofit sector since 1998 and brings executive-level experience in higher education, healthcare and social services.
Job Titles:
- Executive
- Executive and Leadership Coach
David Marzahl is an executive coach, helping leaders, their teams and their organizations to grow their impact and to achieve success. His passion is coaching individuals who have moved into new executive and leadership roles. Having a thought partner to navigate through a new role and responsibilities increases the chances of success.
Having founded and led three non-profit organizations through multiple stages of the organizational lifecycle, while overcoming myriad challenges, David brings his experience in successfully navigating change to best serve his clients. He served as the founding executive director of both the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights and Parkways Foundation and led the Center for Economic Progress until 2018. He currently serves on several boards and advisory boards. He has an MA from Northwestern, a BA from UIC and executive certificates from the Kellogg School and Harvard Business School. He is a certified executive coach affiliated with the Hudson Institute of Coaching and accredited with the International Coach Federation.
David provides both one-on-one as well as team coaching, serves as a consultant to executives and their boards as they undertake strategic shifts and facilitates retreats for a variety of organizations and coalitions. He seeks to build a working alliance with his clients: as their partner, as a sounding board, as a navigator and as a catalyst.
Job Titles:
- Alliance Partner
- Associate Professor of Horticulture
- Associate Professor, Horticulture, Cornell University
- Master Site Planning
Donald A. Rakow is an Alliance Partner with Kittleman, working with public gardens on the recruitment of executive leaders and providing consultation on strategic planning and organizational development. Dr. Rakow has successfully led or co-led executive searches for the Houston Botanical Garden, Morris Arboretum, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, and Mt. Cuba Center.
Dr. Rakow is also an Associate Professor of Horticulture in the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University. Dr. Rakow served as the E.N. Wilds Executive Director of the Cornell Botanical Gardens from 1996 - 2013. He is the Co-Director of the Cornell Master of Professional Studies Program in Public Garden Leadership, and teaches the course, "Public Garden Management".
Dr. Rakow, along with Sharon Lee, is the author of the seminal text, "Public Garden Management" (Wiley & Sons, 2011). He, Lee, and Professor Meghan Gough of Virginia Commonwealth University co-authored "Public Gardens and Livable Cities" (Cornell University Press, 2020). Dr. Rakow has written frequently for "Public Garden" magazine and served for many years as the chair of the Editorial Advisory Group of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA). For his many efforts on behalf of this association and the field of public gardens, Dr. Rakow received the APGA Service Award (2009) and Award of Merit (2015).
Job Titles:
- Owner / President Stokes Consulting Group
Dr. Valeria J. Stokes brings over 20 years of expertise as a human resource executive, chief diversity officer, and consultant on organizational capability and talent management. She has provided strategic thought leadership in workforce development to achieve organizational effectiveness and talent capability through creation of inclusive learning and development and performance management initiatives. Her specialty areas include architecting inclusive diversity initiatives, leadership competencies and metrics, and rigorous due diligence of organizational human resource policies, systems, and programs. As a business executive and HR leader she has worked in partnership with executives in change management, redundancy management, and global human capital planning.
Valeria has executive experience in health care, academics, association management, and Fortune 100 corporations in roles as Vice President of Leadership and Diversity, Vice President of Corporate HR, and most recently as Associate Executive Director and Chief HR Officer for American Bar Association.
Valeria has a Masters in Nursing from University of Nebraska Medical Center and holds an Educational Doctorate in Adult Continuing Education, Human Resource and Organization specialty, from Northern Illinois University.
Fred Grubbe brings more than 30 years of non-profit executive leadership experience in associations, foundations and government. Fred is an experienced strategic thinker and planner, and has provided governing boards with advisory and developmental services resulting in vibrant strategic plans. Fred also provides Interim CEO experience for organizations that are faced with a temporary vacancy in the top leadership position, as well a background in executive coaching.
During his career, Fred served as CEO of the Appraisal Institute for 10 years, President and CEO of the National Fraternal Congress of America (now the American Fraternal Alliance), and Executive Director of the Think First Foundation, an organization dedicated to preventing brain and spinal cord injuries. He also held senior positions in the federal government with the U.S. Department of Transportation and in the White House. His career also includes senior management experience with the Million Dollar Round Table and the College of American Pathologists
Fred has been very active in the Association Forum of Chicagoland, having served as Chair of the Board (2014-2015), as well as serving as Secretary-Treasurer (2012-2013), Chair-elect (2013-2014) and Immediate Past Chair (2015-2016). He also served on the Forum Board of Directors (2009-2012), and has sat on numerous committees and project teams as chair and as a member.
Fred holds a BA from Northern Illinois University, an MBA from the Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business and completed the Advanced Strategy certificate course "Building and Implementing Growth Strategies" at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Fred also is Certified Association Executive (CAE), which is bestowed by the American Society of Association Executives.
Gloria Yancey joined Kittleman & Associates in 2008. In her role as Research Coordinator she provides search expertise for assigned positions by developing and implementing search strategies that yield viable talent pools of passive candidates through cold calling, internet research, data mining, professional societies, networking, and referrals.
Prior to joining Kittleman & Associates, Gloria worked for three years as a Strategic Research Analyst and Sr. Associate for DHR International the 5th largest retained executive search firm in the U.S.
Ms Yancey spent two years as an MBA Campus Recruiter for PepsiCo-QTG, where she was responsible for administering and developing recruitment strategies for campus recruitment. She spent a 1½ years as a Recruiter for Kindred Healthcare, Inc.
She received her bachelor's degree in Communications/Media Studies from DePaul University of Chicago and has a SHRM HRCI Certification: Essentials of Human Resource Management.
Job Titles:
- Alliance Partner
- Executive Coaching / Team Development
- Principal and Co - Founder of Carter & Reynolds Group
Harold Reynolds brings over 30 years of experience as a business executive, leadership consultant and executive coach. As a strategic thought partner and executive coach, he enables executives, organizational leaders and high-potential candidates to increase their leadership effectiveness and performance. His special areas of expertise I partnering with executives to lead organizational transformations, build high performance teams and improve strategic execution.
He partners with senior executives, using proven best practices to help leaders understand why they are facing challenges and where they are on their DE&I journey. This includes identifying the management team's level of readiness, organizational strengths, and opportunities to do better. Harold also conducts ongoing exclusive research into the values, thinking, and behavioral patterns of high performing diverse leaders. Insights from this research are used to formulate leadership development, deployment, and retention strategies for mission critical diverse talent.
Harold has provided consulting services to a wide range of organizations spanning the corporate, public and non-profit sectors. Representative clients include: Saint Anthony's Hospital, McDonald's, Starbucks, Ford, Home Depot, GE, Disney, Sodexo, Entergy, Constellation, SoCore Energy, University of Michigan, Duke University, UNCF, Wyndham Group, HBCU's Emerging Change Makers Network, New Orleans Re-development Authority, Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation and Neighborhood Partnership Network.
Prior to this, Harold spent over 20 years at McDonalds Corporation in various senior leadership roles including Vice President of Global Strategic Change; Vice President of Talent Management and Organizational Effectiveness and Chief of Staff to the Chairman's Office.
Harold holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and is certified by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching as an executive coach and as a Facilitator of Seven Covey Programs (Seven Habits and Principle-Centered Leadership).
Heather has over 20 years of experience in leadership, management, consulting and recruiting for nonprofits ranging from small grassroots to large organizations. The thread throughout her career is leadership consulting and helping organizations become stronger in order to more effectively achieve their mission. Passionate about leadership, Heather believes that there are many brilliant leaders waiting to be matched with their dream position, and vice versa.
Before coming to Kittleman, Heather was Principal with two nonprofit executive search firms in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she conducted executive level searches for CEO/Executive Director and other C Suite positions including CFO, COO, Development Director and Human Resources Director. Key to her success was the ability to work in a consultative capacity with boards of directors and organization leaders to define leadership requirements and cultivate an "A" list of candidates.
Heather's nonprofit management experience includes four years as Executive Director of Rotaplast, which sends teams of surgeons overseas to do cleft lip and palate surgeries on children. She also served as an advisor for eight years with Planned Parenthood at the Federation level, both domestically and internationally. As an advisor, she worked with affiliates on operational excellence and boards of directors on governance. As a consultant in the private sector, Heather recruited interim executives for corporate and small business clients.
Heather received her BA in Political Science from Binghamton University, NY, and MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Phoenix, AZ. Her education included studies in Morocco, Jordan and Egypt, where she lived and worked overseas. She speaks conversational French, Spanish, Nepali and Arabic.
Heather served on the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and the Red Panda Network. When not helping nonprofit clients, she enjoys teaching and practicing yoga.
Job Titles:
- Alliance Partner
- Fundraising Leadership Recruiting
- Senior Vice President at Ter Molen Watkins
- Senior Vice President, Ter Molen Watkins and Brandt
Heidi Waltner-Pepper is a Senior Vice President at Ter Molen Watkins and Brandt (TW&B), a leading fundraising firm providing senior level counsel including executive search. As head of the executive search division at TW&B, Heidi brings more than 28 years of fundraising and management experience in the nonprofit sector with areas of expertise in education, arts and culture and human services philanthropy. TW&B specializes in filling senior development officer positions and draws upon an expansive national network of nonprofit professionals.
Heidi is also a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), is an alumna of the Development Leadership Consortium and a member of Women in Development Professions. Heidi has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of South Dakota and a Master's Degree in Arts Administration from the University of Illinois.
Job Titles:
- Alliance Partner
- Head Coach, Scholz and Associates
- Organizational Leadership Appraisal / Candidate Assessment and Testing
Chip Scholz brings more than 25 years of experience working with executives on a strategic level. His professional practice focuses on three areas: executive coaching and consulting for CEOs and their teams, using assessments to help organizations hire the right people and advising executives on strategic, organizational and staff development issues. He has worked with organizations and individuals in the non-profit, for-profit and governmental sectors.
A strong supporter of the community, he has served as board chair of four chambers of commerce. He has also served on the board and in leadership capacities in several other civic and charitable organizations. In addition, he has held advisory positions in state, county and local government units including chairmanship of the Los Angeles County Quality and Productivity Commission. He has served on the board and faculty of the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership. Chip is a past member of the board of the International Warehouse Logistics Association in Chicago.
Chip has a B.A. degree from Illinois Wesleyan University. He is a Certified Professional in Behavior, Value and Attribute Analysis and is a Certified Business Coach. He is co-author of "Masterminds Unleashed: Selling for Geniuses".
Job Titles:
- Alliance Partner
- Executive Coach, Communication, Change, & Leadership Development Consultant
- Executive Coaching
Jackie Sloane, MCC is a seasoned executive coach and consultant, specializing in enhancing ability to achieve significant results and greater well-being through how clients engage others, communicate, and cultivate relationships. Jackie has over 25 years' experience in executive coaching, leadership development, communication and change consulting. Her Transformational Leadership Retreats have been credited with shifting mindsets to expand what's possible, resulting in greater levels of enthusiasm, collaboration, commitment, sustainable behavior change, and unpredictable outcomes. The Generative Leadership Communication program she developed has been credited with unleashing creativity and innovation at client organizations.
She has served leaders, teams, groups and systems at public sector, nonprofit, privately-held, and Fortune 100 organizations in a variety of industries, including academia, energy, finance, healthcare, medical products, manufacturing, professional services, pharmaceutical, publishing, consumer products, telecommunications, transportation, digital and retail. She has served clients at the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Purdue University Northwest, Abbott, Accenture, Bank of America, Comcast, Deloitte, Exelon, Grant Thornton, Hollister, International Truck and Engine, Kraft, PepsiCo, Plante & Moran, and others. Jackie wrote the Executive Coach column for Executive Travel, an American Express Publishing/Time Inc. magazine for five years, and has written for many publications, including Leadership in Action, the Center for Creative Leadership magazine. She is certified to use the Center's assessment tools.
Jackie has a B.A. in political science from the University of Illinois at Chicago, has completed graduate work at Columbia College, and numerous leadership, communication, facilitation and coaching trainings. She completed Mastering the Art of Professional Coaching in 1994, and has two coach certifications including Master Certified Coach designation from the International Coach Federation. She is a mentor for Chicago Innovation and has served as Marketing Chair and on the program committee for the Network of Executive Women's Annual Leadership Summit and on the advisory board of Working Mother Media's Multicultural Town Halls.
Jeff Katz, MPA, MSW has over 35 years of experience providing expert advice and services to a wide range of nonprofit organizations, big and small, with varied missions throughout New England, the United States, and internationally. He has been an executive search consultant for a wide range of nonprofit organizations over the past 15 years, ranging from organizations serving people with developmental disabilities to schools serving impoverished families in Central America.
Prior to Kittleman, Jeff served for more than 14 years as an Executive Director, first at CODE crisis hotline and then at Adoption Rhode Island, and 20 years as a consultant in the nonprofit community. Jeff brings many years of nonprofit leadership experience, a broad perspective, and an exquisite sense of organizational transition issues.
Jeff is a nationally recognized child welfare expert and advocate. He was a member of the Obama for President Child Policy team, testified before Congress, and played a role in passing the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. His op-ed pieces have been published in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Christian Science Monitor, and he has been interviewed on CNN and National Public Radio. He also served as a child welfare expert at the Neiman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.
Jeff attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he was a Public Service Fellow and received a Master's Degree in Public Administration. Jeff later served as a Fellow at the Kennedy School, where he developed the Listening to Parents Project, an influential national study of how prospective adoptive parents are treated by public child welfare agencies. He also holds a Master's Degree in Social Work from Boston University.
Job Titles:
- Alliance Partner
- Owner and President, Knight Ridge Consulting
Jenny Burch specializes in providing high-level donor staffing services for nonprofit CEOs and Executive Directors. Ensuring that the CEO excels in his or her role as chief fundraiser is a critical component of effective executive leadership. Jenny is a strategic, collaborative partner with CEOs who want to develop authentic philanthropic partnerships with principal and major donors on behalf of their organizations.
Prior to her consulting work, Jenny was Chief Development Officer at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, the largest museum of its type in the world and one of the Top-20 most visited museums in the United States. Over the last decade, Jenny has led fundraising teams responsible for securing over $75 million for annual, capital, and planned giving programs. She also secured local and national corporate partners for major health and science initiatives, early childhood experiences, and touring exhibits including national brands such as Swiffer, Sherwin-Williams, Chase, Coca-Cola, Lilly, and Target.
Jenny earned a B.A. degree from Indiana University. She holds a Non-Profit Management Certificate from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and is an alumna of the Getty Museum Leadership Institute.
Joyce has over 25 years of nonprofit industry experience in communications for government, higher education, the arts and philanthropy. She joined Kittleman & Associates in 2015 and works on new business proposals, search assignments in a variety of sectors, and communications.
Prior to joining Kittleman & Associates, Joyce served The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and its Office of Tourism providing communications for executive leadership and for numerous initiatives involving philanthropic, corporate, and public partnerships, and for large-scale events.
She has held other positions in nonprofit communications including at the Art Institute of Chicago/School of the Art Institute where she worked with School and Museum executives, institutional advancement, board members and donors on initiatives such as the School's 125th anniversary capital campaign.
Previously, she worked at a Chicago public relations firm with nonprofit clients including the Alzheimer's Association, Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Joyce received a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign.
Sujata brings over 20 years of nonprofit experience to enhance the impact of philanthropy - foundations, donors and social change organizations. She has managed nonprofit organizations, led a community foundation, and advised others in strategic planning, grantmaking, evaluation and research.
She is a methodical, purposeful and strategic leader who works quickly to assess the needs of an organization, build trusting relationships with staff and board and develops and implements strategies that will position the organization to achieve its mission.
Most recently, Sujata served as President and CEO of Chicago Foundation for Women from 2011-2019, a grantmaking organization focused on basic rights and equal opportunities for women and girls in the greater Chicago area. She worked closely with the board to advance racial and gender equity both internally and externally and led the foundation through double digit growth.
Sujata has also served at the Eleanor Foundation, as Executive Director of Apna Ghar, Director of Chicago Continuum of Care (now All Chicago), and Director of Planning and Development at Interfaith Housing Development Corporation.
Sujata received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University and an MBA from IIT, and studied engineering in her native India.
She currently serves on the Board of Asian Pacific Institute on Gender. She has previously served as the Chair of the Women's Funding Network and the Asset Funders Network, as well as on the boards of several nonprofits.
Job Titles:
- Alliance Partner
- President of Conlon Public Strategies
- Public - Private Partnerships / Government Relations
As president of Conlon Public Strategies, Kevin has advanced the good work of more than 300 businesses and nonprofits, assisting them in the pursuit of growth and opportunity. He and the other members of the firm leverage shared values, unparalleled relationships, and collective wisdom to address the challenges of effective social enterprise, innovation, positioning, and strategy.
Kevin's extensive experience in the political area gives him a unique ability to help clients build relationships in the public sector, as well as to successfully use a campaign approach to achieve their goals in areas ranging from fundraising to policy change. He has played leadership roles in numerous political campaigns at the national, state, and local levels, including all recent presidential campaigns. The Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association selected Kevin as the recipient of its first annual Party Builder Award in 2017 based on these contributions. He has also served in elected office and appointed positions in federal, state, and local government.
Active in the community throughout his career, Kevin has important insights into the civic, nonprofit, and corporate landscapes, as well as relationships with leaders in all of these areas. He is past president of the Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago; a standing member of the Economic Club of Chicago; a member of the Leadership Circle for Loyola University of Chicago's Baumhart Center; chair of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association Leadership Circle; a member of the board of directors for Equip for Equality, National Public Housing Museum, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation; and a member of the advisory committee for the Illinois Connection/University of Illinois Alumni Association.
Kevin holds a bachelor's degree from Illinois State University, a master's degree from the University of Illinois, and a J.D. from the Loyola University of Chicago School of Law. He has taught classes at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Studies, Chicago-Kent School of Law (Illinois Institute of Technology), and DePaul University.
Job Titles:
- Alliance Partner
- Co - Founder and Managing Partner of the LARC Group
- Co - Founder and Managing Partner, Levy Alonso & Rodriguez Consulting Group
- Fundraising Consulting
Lorena is co-founder and Managing Partner of the LARC Group. Founded in 2014, the LARC Group is a Chicago-based boutique consulting firm providing strategic fundraising counsel, special event management and executive search to nonprofit organizations throughout Chicago.
Lorena brings more than 25 years of experience working in and with Chicago's nonprofit sector. Through her various roles, she has helped organizations build and expand their fundraising capacity, with expertise focused on fundraising strategy development and execution, annual fund campaigns, individual and major gift fundraising, and special events. Additionally, she leads the firm's search services for recruitment and placement of executive-level Development positions. While her current and past clients have ranged from nonprofit start-ups, to educational institutions, to large human service organizations with budgets larger than $30M, her passion lies working with small and mid-size organizations providing direct services to underserved and under-resourced communities.
Prior to starting the LARC Group, Lorena led the fundraising and communications team at Casa Central, the largest Hispanic social service agency in the Midwest for 17 years. As a member of the executive leadership team for Casa Central, Lorena was responsible for private and public fundraising, individual and major gifts, special events and marketing and communications supporting an organizational budget of $16M. She also served as a Senior Associate for Lisa M. Dietlin and Associates, where she was responsible for client management as well as the firm's operations and business development.
Lorena earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Maryland and participated in The Kellogg School of Management's Nonprofit Scholars Program.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Database Manager
- in 2022 As a Data Coordinator / Associate
Maribel joined Kittleman & Associates in 2022 as a Data Coordinator/Associate and became Database Manager in 2024. In this role, she is responsible for the ongoing management and support of the Kittleman & Associates database, project plan and website integration.
Previously, Maribel was a Program Assistant for Juneteenth Productions, a Chicago-based company that creates documentaries, videos and other content using media as a tool for social justice. Prior to this position, she was Associate Director of Admissions at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Maribel received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Megan manages search operations for CEO assignments and leads Kittleman's day-to-day operations and finances. She joined Kittleman & Associates in 2002 as Senior Associate. In this role, Megan provided search operations support for nearly 100 searches among a diverse group of clients, in addition to leading the firm's marketing efforts.
Megan started her career in nonprofits, building a solid background in the human services sector by focusing her passion on working with organizations that serve children, youth and families. Prior to joining Kittleman, she served as the Development Assistant for St. Vincent DePaul Center, one of Illinois' largest single-site non-profit child care centers, where she was involved in all aspects of fundraising.
She was also the Director of Social Services for Renaissance Social Services Inc., where she created and implemented service delivery and programming for individuals and families residing in affordable housing developments. Her early career experience includes case management work in child welfare, as well as clinical internship positions with Catholic Charities in Chicago and St. Francis Hospital in Evanston.
Ms. Monaco received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology/Psychology from Drake University and her Master of Social Work degree from Loyola University Chicago. She has served on the Associate Board for Lurie Children's Hospital and as a children's program volunteer for Sarah's Inn.
For almost 20 years Megan has served the nonprofit sector and has deep experience with nonprofits, executive search, and organizational assessment and consultation. She focuses her search practice on CEO searches across the nonprofit sector, with a particular emphasis in associations, foundations, museums and social services organizations. In additional to providing executive search services, she engages in other consulting services for our clients.
Megan joined Kittleman in 2008 and has held increasingly responsible positions culminating in her current role of Principal. She started her career in the nonprofit sector while serving as the Director of the Network of Nonprofit Search Consultants (www.nnsc.org) for over a decade. NNSC, a professional association comprised of some of the country's leading nonprofit executive search practitioners, provides a forum for the development of best industry practices. She now enjoys membership in the group and had served in multiple leadership roles, including chairing the Marketing and Social Media Committee and serving on the Executive Committee.
Megan also brings a significant business background to Kittleman. She worked at Merrill Lynch in the Private Wealth Management division in Chicago. Earlier in her career, she was in retail management for Talbots in the Chicago and St. Louis markets, managing multiple locations.
Megan is deeply dedicated to her community and has held numerous volunteer leadership roles with local nonprofits inclusive of lending her expertise on multiple search committees. Her recent civic leadership includes serving on the Board of Directors for Momenta Dance Company as Vice President/Secretary. She is an active member of Women Leaders in Philanthropy and is a graduate of the Community Leadership Program, a collaboration of the Brennan School of Business at Dominican University and the Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation. She continues her involvement in the program by serving on the Alumni Circle advisory council.
She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Missouri - Columbia in Marketing and Management.
Meriah joined Kittleman & Associates in 2021 as a temporary intern where she assisted the Associates team in search operations duties.
She has since taken a full-time role as an Associate and handles the management of search operations sequencing and website/social media communications. Prior to joining Kittleman, Meriah worked as a social media and staging assistant to a real estate company and influencers.
Meriah is a graduate of Ohio University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Production Design, a minor in Marketing, and two certificates in Chinese and Social Media.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Managing Directors & Principals Team
- Principal
- Managing Director & Principal / Chicago
Michelle R.B. Saddler brings several decades of experience and strong records of accomplishment in numerous government and not-for-profit organizations, and provides executive search as well as other consulting services for our clients. Prior to joining Kittleman & Associates, Michelle served as Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and Chief of Staff to Former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. During her five years as IDHS Secretary, Michelle provided overall management and direction to Illinois' largest and most diverse state agency. Under her guidance, DHS and its community-based partners served nearly three million people every day through a wide range of services for low income families, persons with disabilities, and those needing assistance with issues of mental illness and substance abuse.
Before her appointment as IDHS Secretary, Michelle was Director of Policy in the Office of the Governor, overseeing a number of policy initiatives including economic development, healthcare, education, housing, fiscal policy, and ethics.
She has strong experience in financial management, having served as Director of Investments/Deputy for Investment Policy for the Office of the Illinois State Treasurer and as Executive Director for the Illinois Metropolitan Investment Fund.
Michelle has directly applied her management skills in the nonprofit context, as Interim CEO of Innovation Illinois, a public policy think tank and communications organization; President of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless; Co-Chair of Protestants for the Common Good, an Illinois social justice organization; and Vice President for Lifelink, Illinois' largest international adoption agency. Her civic leadership currently includes serving on the boards of directors for the Michael Reese Health Trust, the National Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Housing Opportunities for Women, and EcoViva, a foundation for sustainable development in El Salvador.
Michelle earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and her Master's in Management Degree from Northwestern's Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Job Titles:
- Alliance Partner
- Founder and President of Reputation Partners
- Founder and President, Reputation Partners / Communications
- Member of the Economic Club of Chicago
- Strategic Crisis Management Communications / Public Relations
Nick Kalm has spent his entire 30+-year career helping organizations and their leadership teams communicate effectively internally and externally during moments of challenge or change.
Nick has handled nearly every issue and challenge that an organization can face. Adept at dealing with everything from abrupt CEO transitions, litigation, social media controversies, disgruntled employees, financial and budget shortfalls and more, Nick brings strategic thinking, practical advice, and a high level of commitment and advocacy to every engagement.
Nick's background includes communications leadership roles in multinational companies, public relations agencies, and the strategic communications firm he founded in 2002. He has also served on several not-for-profit boards.
As founder and president of Reputation Partners, Nick has counseled dozens of local and national not-for-profits, trade associations, and foundations. His firm is known for its exceptionally-high levels of client satisfaction. In consistent surveys taken since 2009, more than 99% of Reputation Partners' clients say they would recommend the firm - an unsurpassed distinction among communications consulting firms.
Prior to founding Reputation Partners in 2002, Nick spent six years at Edelman, the world's largest public relations firm, where he served as executive vice president and general manager of the Midwest Reputation Management practice. He also founded and was worldwide leader of its Employee and Labor Communications practice. Earlier in his career, he served in a similar role at another large public relations firm and spent 12 years in positions of increased responsibility at three multinational companies in the pharmaceuticals and chemicals industry.
For years Nick was a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal's "Crisis of the Week" blog, is a frequent guest on the nationally-syndicated radio show "Beyond the Beltway" and is a sought-after speaker and author on crisis, reputation and employee engagement matters.
Nick is a longstanding member of the Economic Club of Chicago, the Executives Club of Chicago, and the Public Relations Society of America. He also currently serves as vice chair of the board of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation in Springfield, IL.
Nick received his bachelor of arts (A.B.) in political science from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Managing Directors & Principals Team
- Principal
- Managing Director & Principal / Denver
- Member and Former Colorado President of the International Women 's Forum
For over 30 years, Raylene Decatur has served the nonprofit community. She joined Kittleman & Associates in 2006 and manages its Western Regional office in Denver, Colorado. Her experience in the nonprofit sector fuels her passion for developing and implementing processes to support successful leadership transitions. Her wholistic perspective supports the needs of boards and staffs before, during and after a search. Annually, Raylene works with a diverse cross sample of nonprofit organizations and has consulted with over 80 organizations since 2006.
She gained many of her insights regarding leadership transition through extensive leadership and management experience including positions at well-respected institutions, such as President and CEO of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chief Operating Officer of the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, and Director of Exhibitions of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. In addition, she worked at the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Between 2019 and 2023, Raylene served as Board Chair for Beyond Campus Innovations (BCI), which is a leading eLearning content development and consulting company. BCI's customers include businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions seeking state-of-the-art eLearning solutions that meet the needs of the 21st century workforce.
In 2020 she joined the Board of Directors of Rocky Mountain Public Media (RMPM), the parent company of Rocky Mountain PBS, and two radio stations KUVO Jazz, and The Drop (R&B and Hip Hop). Raylene has served as RMPM's Governance Chair since 2021 and as a member of the organization's Executive Committee since 2023.
Raylene is an active member and former Colorado President of the International Women's Forum. She has also been actively involved in Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and YPO Gold. She received her B.A. with Distinction from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville and her M.A. from The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
Job Titles:
- President Emeritus / Illinois Wesleyan University
As a result of his work in higher education over the last forty years, as well as his service on state and national boards and committees, Dick Wilson has considerable expertise in the areas of strategic planning, board governance and decision-making, and executive leadership development.
He recently completed an eleven-year tenure as President of Illinois Wesleyan University. During his presidency, he led two strategic planning efforts, strengthened the University's financial position in a very challenging economic time, and conducted the largest fund raising campaign in the school's history.
Prior to his appointment as President of Illinois Wesleyan, he spent twenty-six years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For the first sixteen years, he was involved in a broad range of strategic planning, budgeting, and assessment activities in the Office of Academic Affairs. Subsequently, he was appointed Associate Chancellor for Development and Vice President of the University of Illinois Foundation.
In that role he was part of the leadership team for Campaign Illinois and led campus efforts resulting in $1 billion in private support.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the Executive Team
Rick has over 40 years of nonprofit leadership experience as a nationally-known nonprofit executive search consultant and nonprofit chief executive officer.
He is the company's second President, following the founder, Jim Kittleman, in 1985. He has served as the lead consultant on hundreds of searches for chief executive officers as well as for senior-level management leaders for nonprofit organizations and institutions. He is a well-known consultant and educator in nonprofit leadership transition planning and is the author of From Making a Profit to Making a Difference, the seminal book written on the topic of business career transition into nonprofit sector leadership.
Job Titles:
- Alliance Partner
- Financial Management Consulting
A seasoned accounting and finance executive with more than 30 years of experience. Prior to forming 501 Financial Management, Scott served for 10 years as CFO/COO of The Sherwood Group, one of the leading association management companies in the country. At Sherwood Scott was responsible for Sherwood's operations group, including internal financial services, information technology, and the client accounting and payment processing departments - which provided full service remote accounting services for 25 non-profit organizations across the country. He directed staff, oversaw the development of standards and compliance issues and strived for continuous improvement in all areas, including integration of processes and technology and production quality.
Prior to Sherwood, Scott served for six years as CFO and Treasurer for Lamb's Farm, a $12 million non-profit organization providing residential, vocational, social and recreational services to developmentally disabled adults. Among his successes at Lamb's was a detailed analysis of business operations and vendor relations that resulted in reduced costs and increased funding from the State of Illinois Department of Human Services.
Prior to his work at Lamb's Farm, Scott spent more than five years as senior vice president and controller at Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc., one of the largest privately held residential mortgage servicers in the country. There he managed an accounting staff of 11, supervised the internal auditor and provided financial reporting, analysis, and forecasting for the company and its related entities. He worked for three years as internal auditor and acquisitions manager at Dovenmuehle before being promoted to controller. Scott also has commercial banking and public accounting experience.
Scott brings a passion for working in the nonprofit sector, combined with highly regarded skills in accounting, finance, budget, cost reduction, audit preparation, efficiency and process improvement. He offers a technology-savvy outlook to all of his projects to help nonprofits save valuable time and money. He focuses on staff training, process integration and delivering information that is both useful and comprehensible to internal and external clients.
Job Titles:
- Alliance Partner
- Employee Giving Programs
Steve Delfin brings more than 30 years of experience as a senior advisor to major national and international philanthropic organizations, associations, and corporations focusing on philanthropy, corporate citizenship, and social responsibility. He specializes in helping non-profit organizations develop and execute strategies to meet current and growing demands and expectations. In that capacity he also advises non-profits on how to more effectively engage employers around their workplace giving and employee volunteerism programs.
During his career, Steve served as President and CEO of America's Charities where he led the organization's resurgence as a thought leader around employee engagement and workplace philanthropy. He also led consultative services with America's Charities members including Feeding America, Boy Scouts of America, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Prior to America's Charities, Steve served as Executive Director of the National Credit Union Foundation working in collaboration with funding and program partners like the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Ford Foundation and Junior Achievement. Previously, he also served as worldwide Community Relations Director for Booz Allen & Hamilton where he was responsible for all philanthropic, social responsibility and related employee engagement.
Steve earned a B.A. at the University of Maryland School of Journalism and has taught public relations strategy and writing for the American University School of Communication.
Sunny Fischer was Executive Director of The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation from 1992-2013 (part-time till 2000). In that role she developed programs on the built environment, the arts (particularly small arts groups), investigative journalism, and the working poor, among others. She was also Executive Director of The Sophia Fund, the first private women's foundation in the country devoted exclusively to women's issues, particularly violence against women, reproductive rights, and economic justice.
She is a Co-Founder of The Chicago Foundation for Women and an early leader in the Women's Funding Network and Chicago Women in Philanthropy. From 1997-99, she was the Director of the Chicago/Cook County Welfare Reform Task Force. She has consulted with several foundations including The Chicago Community Trust, The Joyce Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation.
In the past several years, Sunny served as Interim CEO for The Chicago Foundation for Women and United States Artists and has consulted with a variety of nonprofits.
Her volunteer commitments include serving on the boards of the National Public Housing Museum (where she is Board Chair and was also a founder), Futures Without Violence, The Richard H. Driehaus Museum, and the Demetra and Eric Vassilatos Foundation. She is also a member of the Fundraising Committee for the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, where she served as Board Chair and Board Member for many years, and the Field Museum's Pandemic Collection Committee.
She was co-author of the 1982 study of Police Response to Battered Women's Complaints, and she wrote the introduction to Women, Philanthropy, and Social Change: Journey to A Just Society, edited by: Elayne Clift. She has also worked with Marcia Festen on a study, "Navigating Rentry," about people coming out of prison into the labor force.
Sunny received a BA from Hunter College, CUNY, and an MA from The University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice, and has served on its Visiting Committee for the past 25 years.
Suzy (Susan) Cowen has over 25 years of executive leadership experience in the nonprofit sector and a passion and sound track record of developing strong organizational cultures, succession planning, change management and talent acquisition. She also has a deep background in board recruitment, governance design and stewardship.
In her role as President and CEO at Kenneth Young Center, she guided the Board and staff through an extensive team building and strategic planning process and overhauled financial and fundraising strategies. As the Executive Director of Family Service of Glencoe, she led the organization into their Centennial year, and as President and CEO of the Illinois Collaboration on Youth, she set forth the vision for a consolidation in statewide associations for children and youth, impacting the lives of thousands of children, youth and their families.
Suzy's most recent professional endeavors took her to the Monterey Peninsula of CA where she led an acquisition and turn around for the Gateway Foundation in the behavioral health arena. She also served in a leadership role with a hospital system tasked with developing a state of the art, evidence based center of excellence for behavioral healthcare for children and adolescents, after receiving an unprecedented $110 million gift. These efforts have broadened her experience in health care to include substance use disorder treatment and operational leadership within broader health systems.
She has an undergraduate degree from Indiana University in law and public policy and a Master's degree in social work administration from San Diego State University. She also completed two years of doctoral coursework in organizational development and design from the Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois.
She currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Sunset Cultural Center in Carmel, CA and has served on various Illinois-based statewide taskforces and committees including an appointment to the Child Welfare Advisory Committee. She is a long-time resident of Chicago while maintaining an active community on the Central Coast of California.
Job Titles:
- Senior Counsel
- Executive Search Consultant
Susan Egmont has been an executive search consultant since 1999. As the founder of Egmont Associates, a national full-service executive search firm for non-profit organizations and foundations, she successfully served more than 250 clients including organizations in human services, education, the environment, philanthropy, science and the arts before joining Kittleman & Associates. Susan's passion is excellence in leadership in non-profits, and she has specialized in founder and long-time CEO transitions. She is an active member of the Network of Nonprofit Search Consultants.
Susan holds an MBA from Emory University. She is a founding Board member of the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, and Georgia Center for Nonprofits and served on the Boards of Georgia Society of Association Executives and Safe Passage, a school serving families in Guatemala. She was formerly Deputy Director of the Boston Private Industry Council, Executive Director of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts' foundation, Managing Director of Dance Umbrella, and Associate Director of the Atlanta Community Food Bank. She resides in Boston.
Tabitha joined Kittleman & Associates in 2020. As Senior Associate, she maintains effective and professional communication between Kittleman's client organizations and search principals and candidates.
She previously served at Kittleman as an Associate and a Data Coordinator. Prior to joining Kittleman, Tabitha was Office and Program Manager for the Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where among other responsibilities, she was an aide to Nobel laureate Richard Thaler.
Tabitha is a professional violinist who formerly served as Concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She received a Performance Diploma in Orchestral Studies from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a Bachelor of Arts degree in French Language and Literature from Princeton University.
Terry most recently served as the President & CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, one of the nation's leading community foundations with assets in excess of $2.6 billion and grant making over $250 million annually. He was selected in 2004 as the sixth executive in the Trust's 100-plus year history. During Terry's tenure, total assets more than doubled, annual grant making increased fourfold and annual contributions increased six-fold to reach $300 million in the last two years of his term. At the center of Terry's leadership was his commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity in the Trust's grantmaking spanning the arts, education, economic development, health and housing.
Terry joined the Trust in 2001 as Director and Senior Program Officer for the Education Initiative where he led the design and implementation of their $50 million, five-year commitment to support literacy, teacher and principal quality and the creation of new schools in Chicago. He applied this knowledge of organizational change he gained from nearly 20 years of experience in public school systems across the country including Baltimore, Oakland and San Francisco. While at the Trust, Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Terry to serve as interim CEO of the Chicago School System during a leadership transition.
He earned a Master's Degree in Anthropology and a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona and more recently a Master's Degree in Education Policy and Leadership from the University of Illinois at Chicago.