How I help CEOs, COOs and trustees better serve artists and audiences

Navigating change with results-oriented advice

Growing up in Tucson, Arizona, I was a writer of fiction and non-fiction, and I played the piano. My parents were concerned. Though musical themselves, they felt honor-bound to disabuse me of the notion I could make a living in the arts. So instead I went off to school to exercise my left-brain skills. I received a Stanford University B.A. and University of Virginia Law School J.D. before passing the California Bar Exam.

It was not long before I imagined and then landed in a career that would thoroughly integrate the creative and analytical halves of my nature. For over 30 years, it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to be of service to premier nonprofit arts, cultural and educational institutions as a CEO, COO and freelance management consultant.

Read More about David at Minneapolis StarTribune

In a rapidly changing environment for nonprofits, I help senior management and trustees become better stewards of their organizations, focusing on crisis and change management, audience engagement, financial and human resource development, and long-term strategic planning and operating performance.

I am known for my results-oriented approach, which is the product of 25+ years as a successful CEO and COO:

• Hone in quickly on challenges
• Align the team to mission and sustainable execution
• Build collaborative relationships with all stakeholders – board, staff, donors
• Implement solutions in less time and more effectively than others

Recent demand for my services has involved:

• Maximizing earned revenues
• Acquiring outstanding C-suite talent – hiring and collaborating closely with executive search firms; constituting and managing search committees and processes
• Creating the case for successful capital fundraising

Not until 20 years after I had left Tucson did I earn my Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA (fiction), the creative degree I might have pursued sooner were it not for my parents’ influence. But I do greatly appreciate my law degree, which has been indispensable in nonprofit governance (including B corporation) and myriad contract matters, including the structuring of key partnerships with artists, publishers, sister arts institutions and units of government.

My success as a CEO, COO and nonprofit management consultant derives from my balanced sensibilities. I deeply understand the drive and struggles of the artist, and at the same time I know, in the 21st century, how difficult it can be to sustain institutions whose missions are to bring diverse artists and audiences into dialogue.

I am grateful for the continuing opportunity to help nonprofit cultural organizations in this important effort.