The Center for Healthy Nonprofits is offering a 7-session series for leaders who report to a nonprofit ED or CEO, and for leaders who are exploring the possibility of serving as a nonprofit ED or CEO in the future or aspire to a senior leadership career in the sector.

Hosted by Patti Caldwell and Paula Van Ness, both drawing upon decades of experience as nonprofit CEO’s, this series is designed to provide practical information about the roles, responsibilities, and skills of well-rounded and successful CEOs/EDs and senior leaders. The program will consist of seven two-hour sessions offered over Zoom.

Facilitated conversations, with the occasional guest speaker, will include the topics of the CEOs/EDs roles as a mission advocate, partner in board leadership, strategic analyst, fund development professional and organizational and workplace culture leader. Each session includes opportunities to network with your counterparts. Whether you are planning for your career path or want to learn how to be more successful at “managing up,” you will learn useful information and tips that can be applied immediately.

The Center for Healthy Nonprofits is a program of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona working to strengthen the nonprofit community by offering free and reduced cost capacity building workshops and training for nonprofit professionals and volunteers.


Dates of the Program

All Zoom sessions are 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM on the following dates:

  • February 24, 2022
  • March 24, 2022
  • April 28, 2022
  • May 26, 2022
  • June 23, 2022
  • August 25, 2022
  • September 15, 2022

About the Facilitators

Patti Caldwell, MSW, is a successful, well respected community leader.

Over the past 30 years she has served in senior leadership and executive positions in not for profit organizations, including nearly half of that time as the full-time CEO of 3 different organizations in Tucson.

She currently works as an organizational development consultant and facilitator.  In that role, she has served as the Interim CEO/ED for 3 organizations during times of leadership transition.

Paula Van Ness, MS is a seasoned nonprofit executive with more than 40 years in CEO/Executive Director positions locally and nationally.  Previous she served in the top executive position for Family Planning Centers of Greater LA, AIDS Project Los Angeles, National AIDS Fund, National Alliance to End Homelessness, Starlight Children’s Foundation, Make-A-Wish America, and Connecticut Community Foundation.

She has a master’s degree in organizational development and currently manages the Center for Healthy Nonprofits at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona.