BoardWalk Consulting is the first call for mission-driven organizations facing leadership transitions too consequential to get wrong.
We specialize in high-stakes searches where hiring the wrong leader will carry real organizational and reputational consequences, such as CEO departures, founder exits, post-crisis hires, and strategic pivots. Our clients are foundations and nonprofits of every scale and focus, both national and local, with some spreading beyond our borders with international chapters.
Before developing a leadership profile, we conduct a listening tour: engaging boards, staff, and community partners to surface what the organization needs beyond the role. The result is a call to action for leaders that reflects not just a laundry list of duties, but the moment. This process surfaces candidates who are both able and eager to take our clients into their next chapter.
We run a small number of searches at a time, on purpose. Every engagement receives senior attention from start to finish. Finding leaders that matter for missions that matter® is not just our tagline. It is our reason for being.
At BoardWalk Consulting, our own team members model the power of diversity in leadership. Our individual journeys to executive search were very different, but we share a commitment to better lives and a better world, and we feel privileged to engage in such meaningful work.
As a team, our multifaceted experience contributes to our ability to identify the mission-critical strengths, trajectory and sense of purpose our clients expect in their leaders. Our own experience, expertise and empathy give us a competitive edge in finding leaders that matter for missions that matter. ®
Since 2002, BoardWalk Consulting has conducted hundreds of leadership searches for foundations and nonprofits in every region of the country. Recruiting CEOs is our primary work, but we are pleased to recruit board members and other senior leaders who can add exceptional value to a client’s mission, whatever the stage of the organization.
Executive recruitment firm BoardWalk Consulting has assisted in the recruitment of Hollis R. Towns as the first chief operating officer of Deep South Today. Founder Sam Pettway, director Cynthia Moreland, and senior research associate Lysondra Somerville led the assignment. His appointment is the result of a national search conducted over the last six months by BoardWalk Consulting. “Hollis Towns is bringing precisely
Executive search firm BoardWalk Consulting has named Crystal Stephens as managing director and CEO. She succeeds Sam Pettway, who founded BoardWalk in 2002 and will continue to serve as founding director. Mr. Pettway will remain active in market development, select client engagements, and the continued growth of the firm’s reputation. “For 23 years, BoardWalk’s focus has been simple but
Executive recruitment firm BoardWalk Consulting has assisted in the placement of Heidi Dusek as executive director of the Lumpkin Family Foundation. Founder Sam Pettway and senior research associate Lysondra Somerville led the assignment. Bruce Karmazin, the foundation’s executive director since 2001, told the board of his intention to retire this summer. “Deep appreciation is also given to the search committee, chair Steve Shirar,
The Wilderness Land Trust has retained executive recruitment firm BoardWalk Consulting to lead in its search for a new executive director. Senior director Crystal Stephens and senior associate Terri Kohan are leading the assignment. The ideal candidate will join a mission-driven organization with deep roots and proven impact, leading strategic initiatives that balance conservation urgency with practical partnership development. The role
ATLANTA, GA, February 13, 2018 – The board of directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, a nonprofit that leverages the power of mentors on behalf of metro Atlanta’s youth, Feb. 13 announced the appointment of Kwame Johnson as its new CEO. Johnson, the executive director of the greater Atlanta region for PowerMyLearning, succeeds
ATLANTA, GA, September 3, 2016 — Kanuga Conferences has appointed the Rev. Michael Radford Sullivan as president effective early November. Most recently, Sullivan served as rector of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Parish in Atlanta, where he has been since 2009. Sullivan brought stability to finances of the 2,500-member parish and has extensive strategic planning and fundraising experience, including a
LOUISVILLE, KY, July 18, 2016 — The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky Board of Directors unanimously selected Ben Chandler as the new president and CEO of the Foundation, effective in September. Chandler is currently the Executive Director of the Kentucky Humanities Council but is most notably recognized for his work as Kentucky U.S. Congressman from the 6th Congressional