ABOUT NICKY
WHO IS NICKY GOREN?
I am the founder and president of NG Strategies. I am a seasoned leader with a growth mind-set, a passion for people and teams, and the belief that to make community change we must start with ourselves. I have successfully led organizations -- big and small, from a billion-dollar federal agency to a small public charity, to a mid-sized regional independent Foundation. In each of those organizations, I have shifted strategy, practice, and process towards better and more equitable organizational and community outcomes.
While I am not a racial equity expert, I have experience in centering equity into all aspects of my own leadership and my organization's practice, programs, and culture. I believe deeply that equity is a 21st century leadership competency that every leader must lean into and develop and I have the difficult experience of incorporating it institutionally and all that goes with that.
Leadership can be lonely and can be hard. With 30 years of experience and a track record of successfully leading change, I have been refined by the fires of how hard this work is and learned so much along the way. I bring that experience and wisdom into my work with organizations and leaders, and will partner with you with empathy, compassion, and humanity as you navigate the adaptive leadership challenges of today.
Photo credit: Lydia Kearney Carlis
MY BACKGROUND
My career spans 30 years across the federal government, nonprofits, and philanthropy. My work includes 13 years in CEO roles at a grantmaking federal agency (AmeriCorps), a Washington regional public charity (Washington Area Women’s Foundation), and a private Washington regional philanthropic institution (the Meyer Foundation).
During my time at Meyer, I led a 7-year effort to shift the foundation’s mission, vision, values, and operations to focus on racial equity and justice, internally and externally. This included transforming the organization from one that was 75% white board and staff when I arrived, to 75% BIPOC board and staff within 5 years, as well as shifting all aspects of operations, practice, and culture. I also seeded and led several collective funding initiatives over the course of my 11 years in the nonprofit/philanthropic sectors. In all my leadership roles, I have led change-management initiatives focused on operations and grantmaking, in each case tailored to the organization’s size, goals, and context.
I have served on many nonprofit boards, including as Chair of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, and on the boards of Trinity University, the Federal City Council, the Association of State Service Commissions, the Women’s Funding Network, and the USTA for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Through these experiences, I have developed deep and extensive expertise in executive leadership, nonprofit management and leadership, systems and organizational change, and equity, and am well-positioned to design, facilitate, and lead conversations on these topics.
A little bit more about me: I earned a BA from Brandeis University and JD from Cornell Law School. I spent my formative years in London, England where I went through the French school system, before returning to the United States to attend college and law school. I am the proud parent with my husband of two boys and I have lived in Washington, D.C. for more than 30 years.
“Moving from a transactional to a transformational paradigm requires structural change.”
john a. powell
BELIEFS & CORE VALUES
I operate from a belief that we must remake our organizations and systems with equity at the center and that every one has a role to play in building an anti-racist country -- starting with ourselves and our institutions. I deeply value equity, integrity, humanity, and transparency. I am excited to share my experience and thought-partnership with you.
