Are you a newly appointed CEO or hoping to be in the next year, this program is a perfect opportunity to prepare for this career move. Join our next cohort!

The Center for Healthy Nonprofits’ Survival Series is designed to give a cohort of newer Executive Directors and CEOs practical information to help them survive as an extraordinary leader of a successful nonprofit organization. The program consists of eight two-hour sessions, divided into Spring and Fall semesters, including a one-on-one coaching session each semester.

Facilitated conversations cover the competencies and key relationships required of nonprofit executives, including tips for effectively managing your Board and staff, building and maintaining a culture aligned with your mission and values, and healthier management of your time and your life. Each session includes opportunities to network with your counterparts, creating relationships for continued sharing of successes and challenges.

2025 Executive Director/CEO Survival Series (March 25-October 7)

Trainers/Coaches Rose Snyder and Guest Presenters (see details below)
Location: CFSA Campus for Sessions 1, 6 and 8; Zoom for Sessions 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
Fee: $450 co-pay per participant.  Full and partial scholarships are available.

Session Schedule and Topics
There will be eight two-hour sessions taught during this program. It is required to attend all sessions pending emergencies. Please be sure the following dates will work for your schedule before applying. The March and October meetings will be in-person, and all other sessions will be on Zoom.

Session #1: Tuesday, March 4, – CFSA Campus – 9 AM to 11AM

  • Overview, introductions, group agreements, Shapes communication session with Rose Snyder.
  • Overview of CEO/ED Role: Four key roles of the nonprofit ED/CEO. How to serve your organization’s operational and strategist analyst, fund development and donor stewardship leader, organizational thought leader, and mission advocate in the community.

Session #2: Tuesday, April 8 – ZOOM – 9 AM to 11 AM

  • Governance & CEO/ED and Board Chair Partnership with Betsy Wallace
  • Effective Boards: Learn about effective board management, meeting facilitation, structure, nonprofit governance leading practices and more
  • The power of the CEO/ED and Board Chair Partnership

Session #3:  Tuesday, May 6 – ZOOM – 9 AM to 11 AM

  • Human Resources with Joan Hibdon
  • What you need to know about Human Resource Management, supervising and mastering feedback, conflict resolution, and more

Session #4: Tuesday, June 10 – Zoom – 9 AM to 11AM

  • Identify your leadership style and engage staff and key stakeholders with Amy Glass
  • Understanding your role as a leader, addressing challenges and building your bench.

Session #5: Tuesday, July 8 – ZOOM – 9 AM to 11 AM

  • Operational issues, financial management, business and spending plans with Leslie Edwards.
  • Create a toolbox and KPIs, and use financial information for decision making

Session #6: Tuesday, August 5 – CFSA Campus – 9 AM to 11AM

  • ED/CEO self-management, self-care, managing time with Beth Morrison
  • Being a strong leader means developing self-awareness and self-care

Session #7: Tuesday, September 9 – ZOOM – 9AM-11AM

  • Executive Circle Panel Discussion
  • Listen and learn from CEO Survival Series alums who will share their experiences, and advice as you move forward in your role.

Session #8: Tuesday, October 7th – CFSA Campus – 9:00-11:00AM

  • Building an inclusive workplace culture with Rose Snyder
  • Cohort Graduation Ceremony

About Our Faculty

Rose Snyder, Director for the Center for Healthy Nonprofits, Certified ICF Coach

Rose Snyder is passionate about helping leaders discover their own unique gifts and how to use these gifts to foster a healthy organizational culture. She has her own consulting and coaching practice in addition to being the Director of the Center for Healthy Nonprofits at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona.

Rose has a master’s degree in organizational management and a bachelor’s degree in education. She is a certified nonprofit consultant through BoardSource and has worked with local and national nonprofit organizations across the country. Rose is one of only a handful in the world trained to conduct Psycho-geometrics® (Shapes) communication sessions and enjoys presenting these transformational workshops for local nonprofits as well as global corporate clients.

Rose is a credentialed leadership coach through the ICF (International Coaching Federation), certified also in Emotional Intelligence Positive Intelligence, and is a certified Organizational Culture Coach through the Maslow Research Center.

Beth Morrison, Consultant/Coach

Beth Morrison has 40 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, having recently left the CEO seat with over 25 years as a CEO. Beth has led organizations, large and small, and is recognized as an accomplished turnaround specialist with vast experience in operational and functional restructuring. In short, Beth has been in the thick of it – merger successes, merger failures, rightsizing, leading through difficult culture shifts, hands-on leadership during the pandemic, and building new buildings and new teams.

Beth’s purpose in her nonprofit consulting work is to enhance the value of the organization she is assisting, working to support struggling or growing organizations to strengthen and better serve their mission.

Beth is a graduate of Central Michigan University and the University of Arizona. She holds certifications in Professional, Positive Psychology and Well-Being Coaching; Interim CEO; Lifecycle Capacity consultant; and Playing Big Facilitator. In her spare time, Beth loves to swim, be in nature, read ALL the books, dabble in writing, bake for others, and spend time with her family.

Amy Glass, PhD, Consultant

Amy L. Glass, PhD is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in community development, strategic planning, program evaluation, and grants management. Currently, she is a consultant focusing on Interim Executive Leadership, executive leadership coaching, strategic planning, grant writing and project management, as well as program evaluation. Amy is passionate about promoting healthy organizational development in the nonprofit sector. She is a skilled facilitator of collaborative processes and provides a systemic approach to strategic planning and program evaluation.

Dr. Glass received her PhD in Social Policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University and her MSW From Simmons College School of Social Work. Career highlights include participation in the Robert Wood Johnson Evaluation Team of Systems of Care implementation across 8 states, creation of the Center for Collaborative Social Work and the Center of Excellence in Child and Adolescent Behavior Health at Georgia State University, and extensive experience teaching across social work and developmental disability fields.

Joan Hibdon, CPCC, PCC

Joan (Joni) is a passionate and dynamic speaker known for her ability to inspire and empower audiences. With a global and diverse industry background, Joan brings a unique perspective to those she works with.

After a 30+ year-long career in human resources, coaching and professional development, Joan channeled her passion for cultivating cultures where people thrive, and engages with organizations in various capacities such as one-to-one executive coaching, performance coaching, leadership development and team building with the sole purpose of helping those organizations achieve extraordinary results. She has gained the reputation of being a trusted advisor, coach, and valuable business partner.

Joan is a Denver Colorado native and now resides in Glendale, Arizona. Joan graduated from the University of Phoenix with a bachelor’s degree in business management. She holds several certifications in leadership coaching and team effectiveness. In her spare time, Joan loves cycling, backpacking, sailing and performing in various music venues and hanging out with her husband and daughters.

Betsy Wallace, Consultant

From a career start as a communication skills coach with a master’s degree in organizational communication, to corporate HR, and now nonprofit consulting, Betsy Wallace has focused her passion and expertise on helping leaders and organizations increase their impact and effectiveness. While at Merrill Lynch, Betsy managed an Executive Development group where her team designed succession planning and development processes for the top 300 leaders of a 15,000-person business unit.

In 2017 Betsy attended board training to become a more effective nonprofit board member. That experience led to her calling to help nonprofit leaders, both as a board member focusing on governance, and as a nonprofit consultant specializing in board best practices including board health, recruiting, onboarding and development, meeting facilitation, and shared leadership. She is passionate about preparing for unexpected transitions and thoughtful succession planning for nonprofit executives and board leaders. She also coaches incoming board officers and CEOs/EDs as they assume their new roles.

Leslie A. Edwards, Finance Specialist

Leslie is an Audit and Assurance Specialist with Beasley, Mitchell, & Co., LLC where she serves nonprofits through her consulting, accounting and audit work. Leslie is a lifelong Tucsonan committed to seeing this community thrive. She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Capella University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Governmental Accounting at Rutgers Business School. In her career, Leslie has had the honor of working with the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, Educational Enrichment Foundation, and CITY Center for Collaborative Learning. She has also served as the Treasurer and Past President of the Live Theatre Workshop and is currently the Treasurer of the LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund held at CFSA. When not working, studying or volunteering, Leslie can be found hanging out with her wife and three dogs in the backyard of her “A” Mountain neighborhood home.

Important Information
While most of this program is covered by the Center for Healthy Nonprofits at CFSA, there is a $450 co-pay for this series. Scholarships may be available based on need.

Application Process
We are accepting applications from those interested in participating. Space is limited.

Questions?
Contact the Center for Healthy Nonprofits at center@cfsaz.org or 520-770-0800.