BoardWalk Consulting Tapped to Find President for Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance

November 17, 2020 – Executive recruitment firm BoardWalk ConsultingĀ hasĀ been enlisted to find the next president for the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA), a non-profit that promotes energy efficiency as a catalyst for economic growth, workforce development and energy security. Mandy Mahoney, who has led SEEA for 10 years, recently announced that she depart next spring to pursue public office. Leading the assignment are senior director Jon Sparrow and Patti Kish, director of research.
āHer successor will inherit a strong and highly regarded $2 million organization that is well positioned to traverse a dynamic and rapidly evolving energy landscape,ā said BoardWalk Consulting.
The new president has several important mandates: The individual must identify and raise contributed and earned revenue in both novel and traditional ways. He or she will also be expected to advance SEEAās commitment to diversity, integration and inclusion. Recruiting and nurturing a talented team of employees, ensuring that SEEA thrives as a place for exceptional staff and unique organizational culture, is also necessary. In addition, the president must respond to the changing energy sector in a way that balances current and emerging economic opportunities with SEEAās core values and key priorities.
An Engaged Leader
āThe new president will be an engaged leader with gravitas and credibility,ā said BoardWalk Consulting. āThe president will have a compelling presence and strong relationship skills. They will bring thought leadership, proven expertise in growing revenues and an authentic commitment to pursuing equity.ā
The president will be expected to capably and consistently lead SEEA with a passion for the role that energy efficiency can play in making communities stronger, said the search firm.
The new leader must also actively lead SEEAās fundraising efforts and grow income. The president will be expected to be exceptionally good at building relationships, articulating the case for energy efficiency and inspiring support for the mission. He or she will grow and diversify the organizationās base of support and sources of earned and contributed revenue. With a proven track record of cultivating resources, and ideally, funding relationships outside SEEAās traditional philanthropic network, the president will find ways to financially capitalize on organizational expertise, the value SEEA provides and inspire innovative thought leadership that will enable the organization to achieve its goals.
Key Qualifications
The ideal candidate will be an experienced leader who is comfortable with the role of externally representing the organization, said BoardWalk Consulting. The individual should ideally have superlative leadership, communication, interpersonal, relationship building, fundraising and strategic planning skills being sought in prospective candidates. A working knowledge of the energy industry and energy efficiency will be highly valued, as will imagination and new ideas that can help advance SEEAās work.
Specific attributes for this role include: passion for optimizing energy usage to impact quality of life; experience in working with boards and channeling talent and support towards important outcomes; an acute ability to cultivate personal and organizational relationships and the judgement to know how to manage them in concert with SEEAās objectives; strong fundraising and resource building acumen, or experience in developing resources to support a mission and goals; and a demonstrated passion and capability around economic, social and racial equity and justice issues.
Founded in 2007, the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance is one of six U.S. regional energy efficiency organizations working to transform the energy efficiency sector through collaborative public policy, thought leadership, outreach and technical advisory services. The non-profit promotes energy efficiency as a catalyst for economic activity, workforce development and energy security across 11 southeastern states. SEEA brings together private interests, utilities, governments, public utility commissions, energy service companies, manufacturers, retailers, energy and environmental organizations and universities to promote energy efficiency policies and practices.
Non-Profit Focused Recruiters
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 firmās 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.
Mr. Sparrow brings over two decades of experience in non-profit administration and performing arts venue management to BoardWalkās clients. Since joining the firm in 2013, he has worked with a diverse scope of clients including those serving education, civil and human rights, public media, public safety, childhood diseases, museums, youth empowerment, environment and the needs of institutional churches.
Ms. Kish works closely with search consultants to develop and implement research strategies and proactively recruit senior-level executives into non-profit leadership roles.Ā 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.
Ms. Kish began her career with EDS (now HP) where she spent several years managing the entire talent acquisition organization for the southeast region. She has successfully placed CEOs, presidents, executive directors and CFOs for organizations with national and global impact. Clients include the Centers for Disease Control Foundation, the Jane Goodall Institute, Anti-Defamation League, Trustees of Reservations, Year Up, StriveTogether, Goodwill of North Georgia, and many others.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief;Ā Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor;Ā and Stephen Sawicki, Managing EditorĀ āĀ Hunt Scanlon Media