About
Grounded partnership for complex organizational moments
I work with nonprofit leaders, boards, and philanthropic partners at moments when the questions are no longer technical — and the answers are not obvious.
My background spans nonprofit and for-profit strategy, governance, financial sustainability, and leadership development. Over time, my work has focused less on producing plans and more on helping organizations understand how they are operationally designed - and how that design supports or constrains long-term impact.
Ascend Advisory exists to support organizations willing to look beneath surface challenges and do the deeper work of alignment, focus, and resilience.
Experience shaped by the executive seat
Across more than 25 years of executive and advisory work, I have led organizations through growth, innovation, financial complexity, and consequential change.
As CEO of the Omaha Community Foundation, I led growth to $1.2 billion in assets and created Omaha Gives, generating more than $50 million for local nonprofits. As CEO of VidaNyx, now Guardify, I scaled secure technology supporting protection, justice, and healing for hundreds of thousands of children nationwide. I have also served on more than 15 nonprofit, philanthropic, and social-enterprise boards.
That experience shapes how I advise today: with an understanding of the responsibility leaders and boards carry, the tradeoffs behind organizational decisions, and the distance between a compelling plan and what an organization can actually sustain.
How I approach the work
Systems before solutions
Financial and organizational reality as the foundation
Thoughtful partnership over prescription
Depth, discretion, and discernment
How I work
I work closely with boards, CEOs, and executive teams, often alongside philanthropic partners, to strengthen the systems that sit behind strategy and impact. I partner with a small number of organizations at a time to ensure presence, trust, and follow-through.
Next step
If this approach resonates, the next step is a conversation to explore fit and timing.