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’s background includes nearly a decade of senior leadership roles at TreePeople, a pioneering urban forestry organization 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.

René Castro, MSW, is the Principal and Founder of Facilitation Corps LLC, a mission driven consulting firm whose purpose is to connect traditionally marginalized communities with the institutions designed to serve them. A community social worker, educator and advocate, René brings 30 years of experience in the non-profit and government sectors.

For the last 25 years he has served as an adjunct professor for the Schools of Social Work at California State University, Long Beach and Dominguez Hills with a special emphasis on community development, community organizing, program development and design.

René served as Vice President for the California Conference for Equality and Justice for 12 years. In this capacity he led training initiatives in diversity, equity and inclusion for police departments, municipal employees, educators, foundations, private businesses and non-profits.  René is an expert facilitator and planner who is able to connect training outcomes to overall organizational development and effectiveness.

As the founding Director for Building Healthy Communities, Long Beach, a place-based effort to raise life-expectancies in Long Beach’s poorest neighborhoods René personally took the lead to map local assets, convene multi-sectoral workgroups,  build community capacity and establish the governance structure that is today known as Long Beach Forward, a progressive grassroots advocacy organization.

René currently serves on the board of the Economic Policy Impact Center and previously served as Co-Chair for the Mayor’s Affordable Housing Task Force and Chair of Mental Health America, Los Angeles. He lives with his wife, Elizabeth Jimenez in Long Beach, California.

René’s personal mission is to foster health equity for all Californians.

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 Green currently consults with nonprofit organizations to support leadership development, strategy, and business planning.  He has served 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.

Judy Guillermo-Newton has over 35 years experience as an Organizational Development consultant for private, nonprofit and public organizations. She has worked with leaders from a wide variety of organizations including technology/research firms, government offices, Division 1 athletic teams and coaches, and financial institutions; working to create inclusive environments in which each member of the community is valued, respected, and able to fully contribute their talents.  Her passion for identifying and encouraging leadership potential, working with leaders to successfully lead change and build organizations in which people thrive, are the driving forces that inspire her work with executives through emerging leaders.

Judy was a Senior Vice-President and Director of Organizational Development and Human Resources at Montecito Bank & Trust for ten years, serving as a member of the Executive Leadership Team.  She was responsible for helping create and cultivate a strong organizational culture, led the Bank’s leadership development efforts including coaching managers and directing the Human Resources and Organizational Learning Departments.

Prior to her work with Montecito Bank & Trust, Judy worked with leaders in the academic, administrative, and student service divisions of the University of California, Santa Barbara for 30 years. She served as the Campus Ombudsman, including serving as the Director of the Department. In this position Judy worked with UCSB community members, including faculty, staff, and students, who sought guidance with the resolution of problems, complaints, conflicts, and other issues that were not adequately addressed through usual procedures.

She was a past adjunct faculty member of the Psychology Department at Antioch University, Santa Barbara Campus and taught in the Graduate School of Education at UCSB.

Judy received her MA in Psychology from California State University, Northridge and was a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist for over 30 years.  She is currently working as an Executive/ Organizational Coach and consultant. She also facilitates strategy sessions for organizations as they develop their strategic plans and goals.

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 has served on the faculty of the Board Leadership Institute since 2019. He is a nonprofit consultant, certified executive coach, and certified interim leader who works with senior leaders, teams, and boards of directors to optimize peak performance. As a thought partner, Norbert helps organizations build capacity to maximize their missions and community impact, whether he is guiding strategic planning, boosting philanthropic revenue, or fine-tuning operations.

Norbert brings over 25-years of leadership and management experience from the non-profits, performing arts, higher education, entertainment, advertising, and legal fields. Norbert has facilitated numerous board and staff strategic retreats, moderated expert panels, press briefings, and political candidates’ forums, and emceed special events.

Norbert currently serves as the Deputy Director for AAPI Equity Alliance, which is the founding coalition partner of the Stop AAPI Hate national incident reporting center. Along with his executive coaching clients, Norbert’s recent local consulting clients include the Conejo Schools Foundation, the Ventura Fire Foundation, and Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation.

Norbert’s prior regional experience includes serving 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 $50M over his career for non-profit organizations.

Norbert earned his MBA in Non-Profit and Arts Management from UCLA’s Anderson School and his BS in Business Administration from UC Berkeley’s Haas School. Norbert was selected to join the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington D.C. as an Arts Management Fellow.

Jarrod Schwartz is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Equity Praxis Group, LLC. Jarrod is an educator and consultant with more than 30 years of experience working with schools, universities & colleges, nonprofit organizations, businesses, government, and communities. 

Jarrod’s unique approach draws upon the fields of social justice and organization development to foster inclusive, multi-stakeholder processes that result in organizational, community, and social change. 

Before starting EPG, Jarrod served for almost 20 years as the founding Executive Director of Just Communities - a nonprofit organization dedicated to making the Central Coast of California a more inclusive and just region.

From the early to late 1990’s, as the Program Director for The National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ), Jarrod developed and led a comprehensive, multi-issue social justice leadership institute for youth that became a national model. He also led an initiative to dismantle racism in the St. Louis Region. In 2001, Jarrod was invited to California to launch a new NCCJ office to serve the communities of the Central Coast. In 2007, this organization became Just Communities.

Steve Willmont serves as a vice president with Netzel Grigsby Associates, 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.