Systems for the common good are eroding.
More than ever, your constituents are counting on you.
Build leadership that your mission deserves.
I help nonprofit Executives and Board Chairs to lead and adapt with steadiness and care — together.
Save time and build trust through steady communication and annual rhythms that make adaptation less chaotic.
Clarify roles and install board practices that prevent burnout and misalignment.
Make smart decisions with clear input, defined authority, and follow through that honors contributions — even when the answer is “no.”
Strengthen your leadership partnership — so you lead with clarity and trust, even in hard moments.
Attract the right board members by leading with clarity, care, and credibility.
Even in the best of times, nonprofits have built-in collaboration challenges.
Board Chairs may Ask….
Am I providing the appropriate oversight?
I want to encourage innovation — but not overstep or micro-manage.
How do we inspire and help Board members honor agreements?
Is traditional strategic planning even relevant?
ED’s and CEO’s may Ask….
How do I challenge and inspire Board members to step up?
How do we help board members understand the adaptations we must make in these times?
It is important to plan for succession — but I don’t want to raise alarm bells.
Let’s talk about how ED’s and CEO’s can support Boards through unsteady times.
Testimonials
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Sarah Lightfoot listens deeply and does her homework. She arrived at each session well prepared but genuinely curious. Sarah gently holds the balance of thinking and feeling as she facilitates difficult and necessary conversations.
Rhonda James, CEO, STAND To End Family Violence
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Sarah’s facilitation style allows our conversations to flow freely, while providing structure and guidance to create actionable goals to improve the way we function as a team. Her empathetic and responsive facilitation style helped to create a safe space for the whole team to engage.
Joanna French, MA; Research & Policy, Innovate Public Schools
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With Sarah as a thought partner, I am able to make faster and more courageous decisions. I can lead more effectively knowing that we have examined all the angles and set the stage for powerful conversations.
Ginger Jui, Executive Director, East Bay Bike
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In the past, strategic planning has not been worth the effort — it didn’t lead to better outcomes. It’s different this time, though. In working with you, I now have a vision for a process that will set our agency up for success in the years to come.
Carol Carillo, MSW, Executive Director, Child Abuse Prevention Council of Contra Costa County
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Sarah is one of the best listeners I've worked with. She listened carefully and made adjustments to the retreat agenda to meet our needs. At an important moment in our organization, her facilitation of Board and staff led to a new level of mutual understanding and action planning around fundraising and programs.
Tracy Lamb, Executive Director, NEWS Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services, Napa
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I’ve been a participant in Sarah’s work “live” and online, and she is one of the best facilitators I’ve ever seen. She is especially rigorous about leading inclusive, equitable spaces that actualize the voices of everyone in the room.
Julie Hankes, PCC, Director, Alumni Education & Strategic Outreach, Stanford GSB
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The way you organized the entire Strategic Planning Committee process, built relationships quickly, and designed a VERY complex strategic planning process utilizing Appreciative Inquiry, Rumelt’s theory, and the latest in Change Theory was truly a sight to behold!
Kia Afcari, Director, Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley and Founder, Caravann Consulting
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Her facilitation style is a rare and skillful blend, deeply empathetic, laser-focused, and free of fluff. She listens with intention, moves with efficiency, and holds both complexity and emotion with grace. In our time working with her, Sarah showed up prepared, curious, and deeply attuned — balancing steady expertise with a genuine warmth that made space for vulnerability and truth. We are grateful for Sarah’s guidance on our community’s journey toward more peace, harmony, safety, and delight.
Anonymous client experiencing community conflict
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Everyone listened to each other. Guidelines and norms were set, openness and validation were present.
Large-group convening participant
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I liked the small table groups and how they were led because I and many others have difficulties speaking in big groups. This brought intimacy, and I liked having people taking turns and being able to talk without being judged.
Large-group convening participant
Case Studies
