Why Choose Blackbird

I have over 25 years of leadership experience in the nonprofit sector.

I have success in supporting nonprofit Executive Directors, Board of Directors, and staff with training, technical assistance, and capacity-building on issues such as board governance, board development, board recruitment, mission-driven program and policy development, strategic planning, and grant acquisition and management.

I also have a successful history of leading workshops, presenting key note addresses, and developing curricula on topics such as, but not limited to: trauma-informed services, being an adult survivor of childhood abuse, disaster preparedness and response, forming successful multidisciplinary community collaboratives, and the importance of listening sessions to best serve a nonprofit’s constituency.

What matters most to me is making sure nonprofit organizations recognize their value and harness their potential.

What my clients are saying —

Julie Ann is organized, effective and productive. She balances seeking consensus against the need to make decisions in processes that are clear, efficient and transparent. She follows through on her commitments, credentials her approach and thinking with industry best practices and leading research, and knows how to balance facilitation with instruction and coaching. The strategic plan that Crystal Community Ski Club developed as a result of Julie Ann's facilitation is robust, durable and future focused.

In her role as a consultant for our organization, Julie Ann has demonstrated extraordinary range of qualities and capabilities, including her breadth and depth of knowledge about non-profit management and organizational processes; her strong commitment to social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion; and her willingness to standup for what matters. Julie Ann has the vision to recognize critical, unaddressed issues and an impressive ability to implement successful strategies to address them in creative, systematic, and sustainable ways. I have been deeply impressed with her strategic use of community action research to ensure that the organizations and services are guided by the priorities of survivors and are accountable to the people that they serve.

Following a successful completion of a significant project our small environmental association was struggling. Of all the needs in our area where should we focus our limited resources? The board was not unified with the idea of utilizing an outside consultant or the need for a strategic plan but with a slim majority voting to move in that direction we contracted with Julie Ann. Her proposal was customized with our needs (and skepticism) in mind and while the first meeting exposed some challenges in getting people on board she worked smoothly and professionally through them. In the end we had an updated Mission statement, created our first Vision statement and developed a strategic plan that will drive our resource allocation and keep us focused. She orchestrated our meetings with a gentle determination and the result was perfection!