Board Leadership Institute

Caryn Bosson is the principal of Caryn Bosson Consulting, supporting individuals, teams and nonprofit organizations to achieve their greatest impact. Caryn brings skills and wisdom gained from three decades of successful nonprofit management. Her specialities include executive leadership and coaching, strategic planning, fund development, communications, leadership and organizational development.

Caryn also serves as part-time Executive Director of The CREW, which since 1991 has provided employment and leadership experience to local youth as they participate in vital conservation work. Caryn’s background includes nearly a decade of senior leadership roles at TreePeople, a 44-year-old urban forestry pioneer in Los Angeles. Prior to that, she founded and led as Executive Director for ten years the innovative Ojai Valley Youth Foundation, which she grew into a statewide model for involving young people as partners in strengthening their communities.

Caryn believes in strength-based, shared leadership as the essential way to grow stronger communities and organizations, and in the power we all have to envision and shape a better future. She has been named an Ojai Living Treasure, a Woman of the Ojai, and received the Carla Bard Community Service Award. Caryn has served on several boards in Ojai, where she is an active community volunteer. She has a BA in Literature from UCSB's College of Creative Studies, and a MS in Organizational Leadership from Manhattan College.

David Greco is a nationally recognized speaker, author and consultant on creating a more sustainable and effective social sector.  He brings more than 25 years of experience in in driving the growth and impact of social sector organizations.  In 2013, David founded Social Sector Partners to provide training and capacity building support to funders and nonprofits to develop a culture of sustainability that incorporates real cost, sustainable business models, and a focus on impact.

He regularly speaks at national, regional and local conferences and has trained thousands of nonprofit leaders on increasing their sustainability and impact.  David has spoken at national conferences such as BoardSource, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Independent Sector, Social Enterprise Alliance, Association of Corporate Contribution Professionals, and Exponent Philanthropy as well as numerous local and regional conferences.

He has trained more than 1,000 social sector leaders on financial sustainability through the Annenberg Alchemy program, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit capacity building programs.  He led the development and delivery of the Scaling What Work workshops with Grantmakers for Effective Organizations that reached hundreds of funders around the country.  And delivered workshops for thousands of nonprofit leaders through his work with the Nonprofit Finance Fund.

He has worked with the staff, trustees and grantees for dozens of foundations including the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, Flora & William Hewlett Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Weingart Foundation, Ford Family Foundation, Greater New Orleans Foundation, and Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

Most recently, David led the Real Cost Project in California, a statewide initiative that aims to increase the number of funders providing real cost funding. He also served as Interim President and CEO for Northern California Grantmakers and led their efforts to launch a new strategic direction and business model. Previously, he was the Vice President of the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) for more than 5 years and Vice President of the Youth Leadership Institute.

He serves on the Southern California Advisory Board for Opportunity Fund and was previously on the board of Social Venture Partners Los Angeles. He is a professor with Pepperdine University in the Masters in Social Entrepreneurship and Change program and the author of "Nonprofit Financial Management" featured in "Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals" edited by Darian Heyman.  David served for ten years in the Air Force and Air Force Reserves and earned his M.A. in Political Science from Villanova University and B.S. in History & Politics from Drexel University.

Doug currently serves as the Chief of Staff for the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers and as a professor of nonprofit studies at Savannah State University, an HBCU located in Savannah Georgia. 

Doug has an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business and a BA in English from the University of North Florida. He co-founded the Nonprofit Leadership Institute at Pepperdine University and is currently a featured faculty member for the Center for Nonprofit Leadership at California Lutheran University.

Doug is a skilled consultant, teacher, writer, financial analyst, and community-based researcher. He has consulted with nonprofit leaders throughout the country to help them do their good work more effectively. His work is informed by diverse experiences with organizations in times of great change. Doug thrives on challenges and enjoys collaborating on multifaceted projects that draw on his range of skills in communication, analysis, and group facilitation.

Doug currently lives in Jacksonville, Florida where he serves as back-up caregiver for his amazing father, Roy Green.

Rebekah Harding 

Debbie Brokaw Jackson has extensive experience in all aspects of nonprofit and business administration. She served as Executive Director of a youth-serving nonprofit in Oregon for eighteen years, and is currently Vice President and Chair of the Board of Brokaw Ranch Company, a local family business.

 Since 2007, as an organizational consultant, she has been assisting nonprofits and family businesses negotiate through periods of transition. The services she provides to nonprofits include board and staff development, strategic planning, interim director services, and coaching. Family businesses benefit from her knowledge of their unique challenges. She works with owners and the greater family to help them manage succession from one generation to another, and ensure continued business success. Selected clients include:

• Leavens Ranches
• Farm Bureau of Ventura County
• Oregon Boating Foundation
• City of Thousand Oaks/ Alliance for the Arts
• House Farm Workers!
• San Miguel Produce

Debbie earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of California at Davis. She received additional training in Leadership, Effective Organizations, Facilitation, and Community Collaborations through the Ford Family Foundation. She also completed the training and examinations required to be a Certified Myers Briggs Practitioner.

Debbie currently serves on the boards of the Santa Paula Art Museum and the Fillmore Pumpers Association. She was on the faculty of the Ventura County Community Foundation, providing instruction in organizational development and leadership.

Becca Merrell, CFRE is an executive vice president for Netzel Grigsby Associates. She works with a wide variety of nonprofit organizations guiding them to achieve their goals.

Becca believes that empowering nonprofit volunteers and staff with tools and knowledge will ensure long-term organizational stability. Her extensive knowledge has been valuable in creating and implementing dynamic programs to fund services, while helping donors enjoy their giving.

Becca has partnered with nonprofits in fundraising and development planning to impact communities. She has secured significant dollars and exceeded goals on campaigns for compelling projects such as Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme, Casa Pacifica Center for Children and Families, First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara, Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Santa Barbara Zoo, and Stuart C. Gildred YMCA in Santa Ynez.

Becca is an advisory board member and workshop facilitator for the Center for Nonprofit Leadership at California Lutheran University (CLU). Active in the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Becca is a member of the San Luis Obispo Chapter and is a past president of the Santa Barbara/Ventura Counties Chapter, where she was selected as Fundraiser of the Year in 2008.

Becca earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from California State University, Northridge, graduating summa cum laude.

Norbert Tan is a certified executive coach and consultant who works with boards, senior leaders, and their teams to optimize peak performance and advance their organizations. As a thought partner, his approach is actively collaborating with clients to maximize results and sustain life-changing behavior. 

Norbert also helps organizations build capacity to maximize their missions and community impact, whether he is guiding strategic planning, helping boost philanthropic revenue, or fine-tuning operations. Norbert has facilitated numerous board and staff strategic retreats, moderated expert panels and political candidates’ forums, and emceed special events. 

Norbert’s recent consulting clients include the Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council, Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation, California Lutheran University, Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra, and the Ventura Botanical Gardens. He serves and advises on a variety of non-profit boards, including the Ventura County Ballet, Ventura County Leadership Academy, and Rubicon Theatre. 

Norbert brings over 25-years of leadership and management experience from diverse fields, and recently served as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement at Antioch University, Executive Director for the Ventura College Foundation, and the Managing Director of Rubicon Theatre Company. He has been directly involved in raising over $30M over his career with regional non-profit organizations. Norbert earned his MBA in Nonprofit Management from The Anderson School at UCLA and his BS from the Haas School at UC Berkeley. 

Steve Willmont serves as a vice president with NETZEL GRIGSBY ASSOCIATES, INC., Steve directs major capital campaigns, feasibility studies and organizational development for a wide spectrum of nonprofit organizations, primarily in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties.

Steve brings the experience of over 30 years of professional nonprofit management to his clients. He has led successful capital campaigns, board development programs, annual fundraising campaigns, volunteer and staff development training, and planned giving programs.

Prior to joining the firm, Steve served as President & CEO of California YMCA Youth & Government where he worked extensively with the California legislature to increase support for the Y's program, including the passage of a bill adding the Y as a tax form donation recipient. Under his leadership, the program grew to over 90 YMCAs in the state, serving over 3,500 students. He has also served as executive director and program director at multiple YMCA branches. Steve also has extensive expertise as an instructor and presenter. He served as director of training events for the YMCA of the USA and regional programs.

Steve has been an active member of Optimist International in both northern and southern California, serving as District Lt. Governor and Club President. He is a Lifetime Optimist Member and has been honored as Optimist of the Year.

Steve graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Occidental College in Los Angeles.