BoardWalk Consulting Leading Chief Philanthropy Officer Search for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul
November 6, 2026 – BoardWalk Consulting was recently selected by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) to lead in its search for a chief philanthropy officer. The search is being led by Terri Kohan and Patti Kish.
Philanthropy is central to that ambition. SVdP USA’s leadership aims to grow national fundraising substantially over the next three to five years, and just as importantly, to help build a culture of philanthropy across the entire Society. All the foundational pieces are in place; what the program needs now is a leader. The organization seeks a chief philanthropy officer to build, lead, and evaluate a comprehensive national fundraising program. Reporting to the CEO, the CPO will bring strategy, structure, and discipline to the work, develop a talented team, and personally cultivate the relationships that will carry the Society’s mission forward. For a builder with a heart for the mission, this is a rare opportunity to put a lasting stamp on one of the nation’s most venerable charities.
The chief philanthropy officer will be SVdP USA’s senior philanthropy leader responsible for building, leading, and evaluating a comprehensive national fundraising program that advances the mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The role provides strategic leadership and spans major and principal gifts, annual and mid-level giving, foundation and corporate giving, donor stewardship, advancement services and prospect research, and fundraising communications.
The ideal candidate for chief philanthropy officer will be a proven fundraising leader and a builder of people and programs with a genuine love for the mission of the Society. This individual will combine strategic vision with the discipline to execute and the relational gifts to earn trust quickly with donors, colleagues, volunteers, and board members alike.
The vast majority of SVdP’s donors are Catholic, and the Society’s work is rooted in the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching. Knowledge of the Catholic faith and Catholic Social Teaching principles is strongly preferred. While it is not essential to be a Vincentian, a full embrace of Vincentian values is.
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The Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA is a Catholic lay organization dedicated to serving individuals and families experiencing poverty and hardship. Founded in 1845, the organization operates through a nationwide network of local conferences and councils, providing assistance with food, clothing, housing, utilities, and other essential needs.
Serving Non-Profits
BoardWalk Consulting, based in Atlanta, is a national executive search firm that recruits CEOs and senior leadership for mission-driven non-profit organizations. Founded in 2002, the firm leads executive searches for clients from across the non-profit sector with global, national, regional, and local missions. Many of the firm’s team members have previously served as non-profit executives, grant makers, and board leaders. BoardWalk Consulting is also an active partner in Panorama, the global network of independent executive search firms.
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Ms. Kohan, senior associate, collaborates closely with internal teams and client stakeholders to execute C-suite and leadership searches for non-profit and mission-driven organizations. She is an accomplished executive search professional with over 30 years of experience in retained executive recruitment across domestic and international markets. Her expertise spans all facets of senior-level talent acquisition for both non-profit organizations and corporate entities across diverse industries.
Ms. Kish, director of research, works closely with search consultants to develop and implement research strategies and proactively recruit senior level executives into non-profit leadership roles. Prior to joining BoardWalk Consulting in 2015, she led full life-cycle talent acquisition for a national search firm that specialized in C-suite executive search for consumer products organizations. She began her career with EDS (now HP) where she spent several years managing the entire talent acquisition organization for the southeast region. A career recruiter, Ms. Kish has placed CEOs, presidents, executive directors, and CFOs for organizations with national and global impact.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
