2019 Nonprofit Workshop Series: Sensible Stewardship: Managing Governance Risk
No registration fee.
Every nonprofit mission deserves a highly engaged board. Yet many boards wind up being under-resourced teams that consume more than they contribute. This ‘free’ workshop begins with a fast-paced overview of best practices in nonprofit governance, followed by a tour of the thorny risks that snag well-intentioned boards. Our guest speaker, a national thought leader on governance and risk, will explain how to anticipate and avoid governance dangers, and also how to get untangled when issues such as board conflict, staff-board tension, bad behavior, and chaotic meetings threaten your nonprofit’s mission and well-being.
The second half of the program features a panel of leaders with deep experience as board members and advisors to governing teams. Panel members will share practical tips and insights on how to inspire, implement and sustain best practices in governance throughout the lifecycle of your nonprofit. Topics that will be covered during the panel segment include: crisis management, board recruitment do’s and don’ts and legal compliance for boards.
| Host: Guest speaker: Panelists: | David J. Madara, Client Relationship Manager, OceanPoint Insurance Agency Melanie Lockwood Herman, Executive Director, Nonprofit Risk Management Center Linnea Michel, President, Legal Center for Nonprofits |
Same Event with two location options
Tuesday, April 16th, 2019
| 9:00 am to 11:00 am 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm | Rhode Island School of Design Museum, 20 North Main Street, Providence, RI BankNewport Corporate Training Center, 184 John Clarke Road, Newport, RI |
No registration fee, please pre-register by contacting David Madara, OceanPoint Insurance Nonprofit Practice Leader
dmadara@oceanpointins.com or 401-367-1165
Melanie Lockwood Herman
Executive Director, Nonprofit Risk Management Center, Leesburg, VA
In a world that is fraught with danger, it is comforting to know that Melanie Lockwood Herman is holding on tight to the handlebars of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. The Center provides training, technical assistance, and informational resources to help nonprofits take a practical approach to managing risk so that they can fulfill their missions and stay out of trouble.
A prolific author of a more than a dozen comprehensive (and comprehensible!) guides on various risk management topics, Melanie has delivered countless workshops, seminars, and keynote presentations for organizations simply unwilling to leave success to chance. Melanie earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Urban Affairs from American University (Washington, DC) and a Juris Doctor from George Mason University (Arlington, VA). She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association.
In August 2018, Melanie was named to The NonProfit Times Power & Influence Top 50, whose editor has described her as “One of the most prolific writers and lecturers on the topic of nonprofit risk…[and] the architect of the risk plans of some of the nation’s largest nonprofits.” The 2018 list honored leaders “for innovation, influence on the broader sector, and for developing organizational models that can be replicated.” This is Melanie’s 10th appearance on the list: she was first recognized in 2007, and then again in 2008 and 2011-2017.
In addition to her professional career, Melanie is an active volunteer in both professional organizations and community-serving nonprofits. She currently serves on the boards of three national organizations: the American Foundation for the Blind, the National Human Services Assembly, and Camp Fire. Melanie is the former chair of the Legal Section Council of ASAE/The Center for Association Leadership, and during 2010-2013 she served on the Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee (NAC) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
Linnea Michel
Founder & President, Legal Center for Nonprofits, Inc., New Bedford, MA
Linnea R. Michel, Esq., is an attorney with over ten years’ experience helping nonprofit founders, boards, and volunteers understand the nonprofit legal environment so their organizations can thrive. Prior to law school, she spent more than 20 years in a variety of management roles in the nonprofit sector and naturally gravitated to nonprofit and tax-exempt law. Following law school, she spent 4 years supervising student attorneys in the Community Development Clinic at Southern New England School of Law, which during that time became the University of Massachusetts School of Law Dartmouth. Subsequently, Linnea founded the Legal Center for Nonprofits (LCN) in 2012, a 501(c)(3) public charity with a mission is to build capacity in the region’s nonprofit organizations through educationally-focused legal services and trainings on various aspects of nonprofit governance and management, at affordable, sliding scale rates for nonprofit boards of directors, volunteers, and staff.
David Preston,
Founder & Owner, New Harbor Group, Providence, RI
David Preston, Esq., has been helping companies and organizations avert and defuse crises for nearly 30 years. He is the founder and owner of New Harbor Group, a full-service communications firm based in Providence. An attorney, Preston specializes in crisis communications and community relations, as well as providing external and internal communications counsel to clients in the public and private sector.
Over the years Preston has worked with clients in every sector of the economy to prevent and resolve crises resulting from natural and man-made disasters, government and community relations challenges, banking and financial crises, civil and criminal matters, and consumer-related issues.
A Marine Corps veteran, he is active in the community with a lengthy record of volunteer leadership on prominent boards, including the United Way of Rhode Island. He was recently appointed by the Governor to Rhode Island’s “Complete Count” Census 2020 Commission.
Ron Bouchard,
Vice President, Cash Management, BankNewport, Newport, RI
Ron Bouchard has 20+ years of finance & banking experience working with commercial clients across various industries. Today, Ron is the Cash Management Sales Manager at BankNewport and works with commercial clients on enhancing/ protecting their cash flow cycles, while integrating into the organization’s daily operating business continuity plan. This is done using a specific suite of commercial bank services designed to customize end-user thresholds and tolerances that tie directly into required corporate governances and/or control protocols.
Ron has partnered with commercial clients ranging in annual revenue of $500,000 up to $25,000,000 spanning various industries throughout the Northeast.
David Madara, CPCU, AAI, CRIS
Nonprofit Practice Leader, OceanPoint Insurance Agency
David has dedicated his career working with his clients to manage their business risks and protect their assets with well-crafted insurance protection. From working in a third-generation family owned independent insurance agency where he embraced the values of intimate client care, to lead the regional Nonprofit Practice for an international brokerage firm where he managed complex business relationships, Madara brings a sense of practical-ness to his mission based clients as their trusted advisor. In working with his clients, he empowers them to identify and manage their business risk as a necessary component of success, while implementing strategies and insurance protections to avert outcomes that negatively distract their mission. Madara resides in Westport MA and spends much of his free time working as a local Boy Scout leader, a Red Cross disaster response team member and a men’s group leader in his faith community.
