Deb Taft

Deb Taft, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Owner, leads Lindauer with over 25 years of executive and senior-level experience across the nonprofit sector, from education to healthcare/academic medicine to the youth service and voluntary sectors. Her considerable expertise includes governance, strategic planning, fundraising, program and staff management, strategic marketing, analytics, and constituent engagement, as well as talent recruitment, retention, and development.

Taft was previously Senior Executive Vice President and Managing Director for Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A), headquartered in Chicago and one of the world’s leading philanthropic consultancies. She led the firm day-to-day and oversaw all domestic and global consulting practices. She was also Interim Chief Financial Officer, Practice Area Leader for Analytics, and drove consultant recruitment, training, and resource utilization efforts.

Taft also served as Chief Development Officer and Interim Chief Strategy Officer for Girl Scouts of the USA, based in New York. As one of the most senior officers in this iconic leadership organization representing girls in 112 US councils and 94 countries, she played a critical role in transforming organizational talent, culture, and social impact. She led the hiring and onboarding of a new national Executive Team and the $1 billion ToGetHerThere campaign, the largest fundraising campaign for girls in the world. She was also Executive Sponsor for the global alumnae initiative to acquire and engage 50 million former Girl Scouts. Her work at Girl Scouts is representative of the lasting impact she has made on numerous leading nonprofits in the education, healthcare, and youth service arenas.

Taft held prior executive and senior development roles at Simmons University, Tufts Medical Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, and Concord Academy. She was one of the founding team members of City Year, which today has youth service teams in more than 31 regions across the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa.

Taft serves on the Editorial Board of Giving USA, the Boards of the Giving Institute and Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, and recently completed her service and leadership of the Board of Directors for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation in Washington, DC. As Chair of the Industry Advisory Council, she serves ex-officio on the Board of Trustees for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Taft continues to advance inclusion and equity in nonprofit leadership including through her service on the steering committee for Allies in Action for Women of Color in Philanthropy (WŌC), the CASE Opportunity and Inclusion Center, and through various appointed leadership roles.

A recognized speaker, facilitator, and presenter, her honors include being a recipient of the CASE Crystal Apple for excellence in teaching and recognition as a 2021 member of the YW Boston Academy of Women Achievers and a 2019 Leading Woman of Massachusetts by Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts. Taft holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and an MBA from Simmons School of Management.