Customized solutions for
effective governance

Ryan Consulting helps nonprofit boards close the gap between their potential and performance, equipping them for the high-value governance that contributes to organizational success.

We take a highly customized approach to help clients build boards that respond to their distinctive needs and reflect their unique culture.

In-depth guidance at
turn-the-corner moments

We serve leading and promising organizations in a variety of fields – from higher education to human rights and social services to social justice. We thrive on helping organizations at turn-the-corner moments, when the right investment in board development can pay off for years to come.

Whether they face a merger, executive transition, rapid growth, boardroom culture clash, or a strategic crossroads, we work side-by-side with boards and executive staff to help organizations reinvent or reposition themselves for success.

A culture of inquiry
backed by new skill-sets and mind-sets

We help our clients govern better. By the end of an engagement, they commit to a culture of inquiry: board and executives partnering together to frame, tackle and resolve questions that shape their future.

We start with deep assessments and best-in-class retreats. Stretch goals are set, road maps developed, and new structures, systems and practices are put in place. To ensure performance gains are sustained, we help executives and boards design and facilitate high-impact meetings. We leave behind the skillset and structures that support continued success.

William P. Ryan

Bill Ryan has changed the way nonprofit leaders approach governance. In 2005, Bill and his co-authors challenged conventional wisdom with their seminal book Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards (John Wiley and Sons).  Since then, Bill has consulted with dozens of nonprofits, helping make lasting improvements in their governance. Bill also spent 10 years as principal and research fellow at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University, where he now teaches in executive education programs at the Kennedy School of Government. Bill’s BA is from Columbia University and Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School.

Susan Katz McFall

Susan Katz McFall draws on extensive corporate and nonprofit experience. As General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, she led board development at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, one of the world’s largest private philanthropies. She served earlier as CEO of Nonprofit Enterprise at Work, Inc., consulting with nonprofits on management and governance matters. Prior to that, she worked at Ford Motor Company on international and domestic legal transactions as Assistant General Counsel. Her bachelor’s degree is from the University of Michigan and law degree from Marquette University.

Cambridge | Ann Arbor - Office: 617-864-1155 susan@ryanconsultinggroup.com