Catapult Institute Workshop: Transcendent Teams

Join us for this provocative panel discussion and workshop that will explore the changing leadership and management practices required in this "new era of exponential change." The session will include:

• Examination of how we build and maintain high performing teams at the intersection of a pandemic/post-pandemic period - examining the new layers of complexity that deserve deep reflection on common practices and dramatic changes in how we behave in the future.
• A discussion about the characteristics of creating dynamic teams - and how we define and measure productivity, diversity, and team dynamics in this new environment. What leadership behaviors and attributes do we need to add or modify in our toolkit?
• Is the focus and attention on racial equity and workplace flexibility for a season or the long haul?
• What will business as usual look like to attract, retain, and inspire teams going forward?

$20 ticket includes breakfast, lunch, workshop, and follow-up virtual booster session.

About the Facilitator

Kim L. Mitchell is the new VP of Program Strategy at NPower who’s mission is to create pathways to economic prosperity by launching digital careers for young adults, military veterans and veterans spouses. She is responsible for leading the programmatic direction and strategic growth agenda for impact and expansion.

Kim is a seasoned professional with decades of leadership experience in Philanthropy, Human Resources, Consulting and Diversity & Inclusion as a consultant and while at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Xerox Corporation. As the former Northeast Region Executive for JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Kim led philanthropic, civic and employee engagement activities and managed a social investment portfolio of over $40 million in grants and strategic sponsorships.

Given this unique blend of experience, Kim is recognized for her expertise and proven record in leading high profile projects, building and leading high performing teams and advising senior business and community leaders on integrating organizational assets to achieve business and community outcomes. Her work in corporate diversity has been a valuable asset in service to the nonprofit sector. As funder and thought partner Kim has worked with organizations fighting housing, education and economic inequality to help identify solutions at the organizational, policy and systems level.

Prior to joining NPower, Kim served as Senior Fellow at the Support Center providing consulting services in capacity building, strategic planning, diversity and inclusion, team building, board development and philanthropic advising.

Kim currently serves as Co-Chair the National Board of Directors of Jumpstart for Young Children, and formerly on the Board of Directors for the Center for Children’s Initiatives (CCI), and advisory committees for FirstStep NYC and The Educational Alliance College Access & Success Program. An important voice and business champion for strong early learning systems, Kim also has deep content knowledge and is a noted public speaker on educational and economic equity, community revitalization, and strategic philanthropy.

A graduate of Lake Forest College with a B.A. in Urban Studies, Kim enjoys building and working with teams that have a thirst to learn, compulsion to share, and a bias for action (Jack Welch).

About the Panelists

Ronna D. Brown serves as a leadership coach and organizational consultant to nonprofits, including foundations. Prior to starting her own practice, she served for 13 years as the President of Philanthropy New York, a nonprofit membership organization supporting and serving the New York foundation community. Philanthropy New York champions effective grant making by building a vibrant philanthropic ecosystem striving to advance meaningful social change. Under Ronna’s leadership, Philanthropy New York’s membership grew, and its mandate expanded, fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among its approximately 285 member organizations.

Prior to her service at Philanthropy New York, Ronna served for nine years as President of the Metro New York Better Business Bureau and earlier in her career, worked as an attorney in the New York State Attorney General’s office, Consumer Frauds and Protection as well as in the Legal Aid Society and a private law firm. Ms. Brown has served on a variety of boards of nonprofits and currently is a board member of FJC, a nonprofit supporting donor advised funds.

George Suttles, Executive Director, Commonfund Institute

George Suttles leads Commonfund’s educational, market research, and professional development activities as Executive Director of Commonfund Institute. He also serves as a member of the Commonfund Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office. Prior to joining Commonfund, George was a Program Officer at the John A. Hartford Foundation, an independent, national private foundation focused on improving care for older adults. Before joining the foundation, he was a Vice President, Senior Philanthropic Relationship Manager at U.S. Trust/Bank of America. In this role he worked with private and institutional clients on issues related to best practices in strategic grantmaking.

Mr. Suttles is a member of numerous nonprofit boards including Laundromat Project and the New York Foundation, where he chairs the investment committee. Currently, he is on the Adjunct Faculty at the New York University (NYU) School of Professional Studies, teaching classes on private and corporate philanthropy. George received a B.A. from Wesleyan University, an M.A. in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy (IUPUI) and an M.P.A. from Baruch CUNY School of Public Affairs.

MariaElena DelValle, Managing Director at SEED Commons

MariaElena Del Valle is an internationally respected bilingual consultant, facilitator and mediator specializing in economic development, improving workplace culture, and the design and delivery of creative strategic interventions that build individual and organizational capacity sustaining long-term success in complex and diverse organizations. The new Managing Director at SEED Commons, MariaElena was most recently Training Manager and Workforce Innovations Consultant at Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI), the nation’s leading authority on the direct care workforce.

A skilled facilitator and trainer, the Ms. Foundation contracted with Maria Elena, to emcee plenary sessions, coordinate conference cultural work and provide musical performances for the closing sessions at four Women & Economic Development Institutes held in Georgia and California. She also designed and delivered the workshops “Empowerment through the Tool of Photography” and “We Come with our Voices” and performed at for UNICEF at the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace in Beijing, China.

Photo and Video Consent

By registering for this event, you are giving the Grunin Foundation permission to use photos and video on our website and social media. You will also be added to the Grunin Foundation mailing list.

This event is presented by the Grunin Foundation in partnership with Support Center and Center for Nonprofits.