Nonprofit Management

Philip Arca has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to social justice that involves direct support of individuals, systemic change, sustainability, creativity, and the joy of allowing all to realize their fullest potential. On a practitioner level, he is a seasoned turnaround leader with broad and deep experience.

Most recently, he has been Interim Executive Director for an art/science center, foster youth program, senior nutrition services, a youth science outreach effort in the East Bay, a law center in Marin, consulting with various real estate/social enterprise projects in Oakland, and on the advisory boards of the Sustainable Business Alliance, The International Toy Museum, and with The Inspire Awards. Arca was recently accepted as a Charter Member of the National Association of Accredited Interim Executive Directors (NAAIED).

He is formerly the Executive Director of a $7 million, 85 employee, 800 volunteer, faith-based social services organization working throughout Alameda County. In addition, he has worked with The Oakland Zoo, startup of a new U.S. fair trade coffee initiative, and the strategic alignment and growth of a statewide communications organization focused on children’s issues.

Recently he has been involved with OpenIDEO, the SF MeetUp organizing team and is a fan of human centered design. He was on the editorial board of the Social Enterprise Reporter. He has taught classes at CSUEB and JFK University. He has published articles in Advancing Philanthropy and The Nonprofit Times. He is a graduate of Santa Clara University with an MPA from USC.

He enjoys family, theater, ukulele/guitar, Dragonboat paddling, cycling, and motorcycling. If requested to be a dog, would be a basset hound — improbable with a consequently necessary sense of a humor.

Jennie Brick is the senior finance and administration consultant for Pacific Training and Resources. Having worked in the nonprofit sector for over 25 years, Brick is experienced in creating systems to streamline and accommodate the challenging world of the nonprofit administrator.

She has trained management, staff, board members, and volunteers in the areas of budgeting, general fiscal operations, public speaking, and office administration. Brick works with a wide range of organizations from small to large including human service, political, arts, animal advocacy, LGBT, and health service organizations. Her personal goal is to empower nonprofits to create sustainable fiscal systems that will allow them to grow and achieve programmatic success.

Stephanie Casenza has devoted her career to helping advance the mission and vision of a broad range of organizations as a professional and a volunteer. Moving easily between the business and not-for-profit worlds, she has held management, development, and public relations roles for advertising/public relations agencies and for social services, higher education, healthcare, and arts organizations throughout California. Casenza has taught courses at University of California, San Diego Extension; at San Diego State University; and Nonprofit Management Solutions in San Diego. In addition, she has served on more than a dozen nonprofit boards. She currently serves as director of development for LSS of Northern California, which provides supportive housing services to formerly homeless individuals, families, and emancipated foster youth in multiple counties.

She earned a master’s degree in executive leadership from the School of Business at University of San Diego and her undergraduate degree in journalism from San Diego State University. She also received the universal accreditation for public relations from the Public Relations Society of America and is a candidate for the CFRE.

Jeff Cook believes marketing is all about developing thoughtful, strategic, and exciting solutions for successfully supporting and advancing your nonprofit organization's mission. Cook has been a faculty member in the nonprofit management program since 2005. A New York native, he graduated from Delaware Academy before earning a bachelor's degree at Hartwick College. After moving to California, he entered the University of San Francisco, graduating with a master's degree in nonprofit administration. Today, he serves as chief communications officer at California State University, Fullerton. Cook has volunteered with and served on the governing boards of political, environmental, religious, LGBT, and refugee/immigrant-services nonprofits.

I sincerely believe as professionals that we have a duty to bring along the next generation of professionals. The joy of teaching is to inspire students to move forward with the desire of learning and doing and not be afraid to take risks.Life is not about the ultimate destination but the journey getting there and what we experience and learn along the way.

Dwight Dickerson, Esq. is the Director of the Paralegal Studies Program at California State University, East Bay and a former member of the ABA Standing Committee on Paralegals Approval Commission and an active member of and presenter for The American Association for Paralegal Education.

He has been a member of the faculty of the CSUEB Paralegal Studies Program since 1991, and is an instructor of Contract Law and Nonprofit Law on the CSUEB Hayward Hills campus. Dickerson graduated from Brandeis University with honors majoring in American Urban Studies and received his J. D. from the University of Michigan Law School. He has been an active member of the State Bar of California since December 1977, specializing in real estate, consumer business, and non-profit law related matters.

A respected social media marketing and personal branding expert, Irene Koehler has helped thousands improve business results by strategically developing marketing strategies and personal brands. Driven to support others' success, she works closely with clients to understand their objectives and challenges to create a unique plan tailored to fit their needs. Koehler is a highly sought-after speaker, trainer, and strategist, and she also teaches social media marketing courses at San Francisco State University and Cal State East Bay. Connect with Koehler at Irene Koehler Consulting on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

A graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, Koehler has a lifelong passion for community service and has held leadership positions in civic, cultural, educational, and non-profit organizations.

Joel Mackey is an attorney currently serving as the Executive Director of the West Contra Costa Public Education Fund, aka the Ed Fund. Joel is also an instructor with University of San Francisco, San Francisco State University and California State University East Bay. Joel is also a graduate student at Northwestern University seeking a master’s degree in mental health counseling.

Prior to joining the Ed Fund, he worked as the legal and policy analyst with Making Waves in Richmond, CA. Previous to Making Waves, Joel served fourteen years as the Executive Director of East Bay Habitat for Humanity and nearly four years as the Executive Director of Harbor House in Oakland. Before embarking upon a career in the nonprofit sector, Joel was employed as an attorney in law firms in both San Francisco and Chicago. He maintains his license to practice law in both California and Illinois. His legal expertise in nonprofit legal issues augments his nonprofit legal advising and consulting practice focusing on group facilitation, strategic planning, organizational development, and mediation services.

Joel’s nonprofit experience includes service on numerous nonprofit boards, including East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, Berkeley Community Law Center, the Homeless Action Center, Consumer Credit Counseling, the People’s Credit Union, and the Family Independence Initiative.

Joel is a graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary at Northwestern University. He completed his undergraduate studies at Trinity College.

Joel’s avocation is coaching youth sports. He is currently the head coach of the girl’s varsity basketball team at Making Waves High School. He has also coached boy’s high school basketball and youth soccer for more years than he can remember.

Regina has been involved in the nonprofit sector beginning as a brownie girl scout to lifelong working and volunteering in the nonprofit field. Regina has been an Executive Director for two Bay Area nonprofits and held various nonprofit management positions on the East Coast. She has been teaching nonprofit administration courses at San Francisco State University and at California State University, East Bay for several years to people of all levels of nonprofit experience.

Regina also is a consultant focusing on helping nonprofits increase their efficiency, manage change, and overcome challenges. Her expertise includes board development, leadership coaching, strategic planning, and fund development.

Regina has a BSEd from the University of Delaware and a MSEd from the University of Pennsylvania.

Matthew O’Grady is a recognized leader in nonprofit capacity building with more than 30 years of experience in the sector. He currently serves as a consultant on executive and strategic transitions, including service as an interim CEO. Between 2011 and 2016 he served as CEO of the San Francisco Parks Alliance. He completed the merger that created the Parks Alliance, then led the organization to achievement of numerous political and philanthropic successes. Previously, Matt served as Organization Development Consultant with the Talent Initiative, a start-up (now part of AchieveMission) that builds the human capital capacity of select nonprofits to support rapid growth. Matt worked with the Taproot Foundation between 2004 and 2010, most recently as the Vice President, National Expansion. He led fundraising efforts to support its geographic growth and service innovations. He guided the organization’s revenue strategies from start-up phase, with little revenue, to maturity with several reliable revenue streams, a $4 million budget, and over $20 million worth of impact annually. Matt served as Associate Executive Director of The Management Center between 1998 and 2004.

In this capacity, he expanded the agency’s consulting practice eight-fold, and conceived & launched its Executive Search service. He was also in charge of TMC’s training programs. He designed TMC’s flagship program, Executive Director 101, which now has more than 600 graduates nationwide, and continues to be offered by CompassPoint. He oversaw the redesign of TMC’s oldest annual publication, its Wage & Benefit Survey, (now published as the Fair Pay Survey).

Through much of the 1990s, Matt maintained an independent consulting practice, providing strategic planning, governance development, and management assessments for nonprofits and their funders. His clients have included Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, BoardSource, KQED, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, LifeMoves (formerly Shelter Network), the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the San Francisco Conservation Corps, and many others. Matt has served on numerous boards of trustees, including California Assembly of Local Arts Agencies and Shanti, San Francisco’s renowned AIDS service organization. He served as Chair of Shanti’s Board from 1996 through 1998.

Dr. Renee Rubin Ross works with nonprofit organizations to align board and staff, plan for the future, and tell the stories of their accomplishments, strengthening fundraising, communication, and overall effectiveness.

Her consulting practice includes work with nonprofit organizations in several capacities: Governance and Board Development, Strategic Planning, Facilitation, Fund Development and Grant Writing, and Assessment and Capacity Building.

Renee has worked with many different kinds of nonprofit organizations, including arts and cultural, religious, educational, environmental, social service and advocacy organizations.Renee also has over 20 years’ experience in the education sector, with a deep knowledge of teacher training, educator professional development, and learning processes.

Renee utilizes the Technology of Participation: Inclusive, participatory facilitation methods that structure conversations and workshops to surface thinking, build investment and engage the wisdom of the group.

Renee is the Program Director of the Cal State East Bay Nonprofit Management Certificate Program and teaches grant proposal writing for the program. She has presented workshops and webinars on board development and grant writing for a variety of nonprofit groups.

Eleanor A. Smith, principal of Eleanor A. Smith Associates, has provided strategic consulting services to foundations and nonprofit organizations since 1997. Services include strategic planning, evaluation, grant-making guidance and support, best practices research, program development, market and stakeholder research, and feasibility analysis. Smith teaches workshops and courses in Program Evaluation and Program Development at CSUEB and Strategic Planning and Program Evaluation at SFSU.

She holds a master's degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley and a BA in Comparative Culture from the University of California at Irvine.