Linda Jacobs has served as the Chief Executive Officer with Center for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership (CVNL) since 2002. CVNL advances nonprofits and volunteerism by strengthening leadership, encouraging inovation, and empowering individuals in the communities they serve. She oversees CVNL’s four business divisions: Executive Search, Consulting Services, Leadership Programs, and Volunteer Services.
What we do best
Listen
We value the expertise and insight each of our clients bring to the table
Assess
We apply rigorous analysis to our projects and invite clients to participate in the learning process
Relate
We communicate effectively and keep people at the center in all our client relationships
Tailor
We create solutions specific to each client's goals, circumstances, and needs
Our in-house experts
We are skilled in our core areas, but know when to engage outside experts to help you reach your goals. That’s why we work with a diverse group of affiliate consultants, a carefully selected group of practitioners with a wide range of specializations. Our partnerships = your goals and vision realized.
Gina guillemette
Grounded. Insightful. Focused. I see my work first and foremost as people-centered, change-management work. Any consulting project presents an array of important questions and variables all of which build upon people-dynamics. Holding all of this and sorting it in order to focus on what is most important is where I bring value to the clients I work with.
I approach my work with a curiosity about what is possible and a discerning eye for what is meaningful and practical.
My 20+ years in the nonprofit sector have given me deep expertise in both strategic and operational leadership. I have honed my skills to hold the big picture, ask critical questions, listen well, and focus on solutions. I specialize in working thoughtfully and intentionally with groups. Whether they be nonprofit boards, staff teams, or ad hoc groups – my focus is to leverage individual and collective knowledge and expertise toward a shared goal. My work often focuses on issues of strategy, systems, governance, and effective group process.
I’m excited to be starting a new project with a client to bring its programs, people, and finances into strategic alignment several years after a merger so that they can harness the vast potential of their mission. Another recent favorite project involved developing a day-long workshop to equip corporate employees to be great nonprofit board members – after a successful pilot we’ve now delivered the workshop in four states and many of the employees have made new connections with nonprofits.
LINDA JACOBS
Linda has significantly grown the organization in size, scope, and geography with services and programs available from Silicon Valley to Sacramento. With over 40 years of combined executive and nonprofit management experience, Linda frequently presents on issues and trends in the nonprofit sector and consults with nonprofit leaders on board governance, succession planing, and leadership development.
Linda serves on the Board of Directors for the School to Career Partnership and the Points of Light Affiliate Assembly. She is the former Board Chair of the California Association of Nonprofits, a former Board member of the Marin Economic Forum, a former appointee to the Marin County Women’s Commission, past President of the Marin National Organization for Women, and a former member of the Marin Independent Journal Editorial Board. Linda was inducted into the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2013 she received the “We’re All in this Together, Community Building” Award from the North Bay Leadership Council and was recognized by the North Bay Business Journal with a Nonprofit Leadership Award.
Linda graduated from University of South Florida and is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management.
Elaine Tokolahi
Engaging, practical, fun. I take complicated concepts and turn them into easy-to-use tools that organizations can use right away to improve their work. I consult in three primary areas: volunteer engagement, emergency planning, and continuity of operations planning. I either teach nonprofit leaders how to implement cutting-edge practices in these areas, or I implement the practices with the client’s team directly.
I love listening to my clients and tailoring my consulting products to their needs. Each client is different and I find each one fascinating – they all have the drive to reach their goals, and my approach is to give them the strategic expertise they need to reach those goals in a shorter period of time.
I have 15 years of volunteer engagement experience and nearly 10 years of disaster-related consulting experience. I recently completed a project where I revamped a national nonprofit’s local volunteer engagement plan so they now they know all of the steps required to recruit, manage and retain top-notch volunteers. On the disaster front, I recently provided technical assistance to a cohort of a dozen nonprofits so they can readily contribute to the recovery of communities after large-scale disasters.
We appreciated the thoughtfulness, and thorough way in which Gina approached our needs. She was a great partner from start (immediately understood what we were trying to achieve) to finish (provided great feedback and suggestions for next steps). Thank you.
Deirdre (Dee) Reel, PHR, SHRM-CP Sr. Program Manager, Corporate Citizenship, Intuit
Cinzia listened and was able to adjust a difficult conversation quickly in a way that was acceptable by all and I think in the end achieved the outcome we have all been wanting but afraid to tackle.
Call of the Sea