Elizabeth works with organizational leaders engaged in building sustainable, participatory infrastructures for a strong civil society—a sector where visionary people, mission-centered business models, and campaigns for humanity generate some of the world’s brightest hopes. Her clients are leaders in networks, philanthropies and nonprofit organizations, calling on her in high stakes intersections where the business case and building of assets must align with innovation and the development of people to advance social change. Her expertise includes: leadership coaching, facilitation of group processes, board and resource development, diversity, and strategic planning.

Elizabeth brings an unusual mix of professional experience to her current practice. In the year leading to 9/11, she served on the U.S. NGO Coordinating Committee for the United Nation’s World Conference Against Racism, where she chaired fundraising efforts and worked with the media. This followed a long and distinguished career in music, where she garnered two GRAMMY nominations in large ensemble jazz and served on the faculty of Mills College. As a young adult, she was one of the first professional female orchestral conductors in the world, founding the acclaimed Women’s Philharmonic, and navigating the complex economic and labor landscape needed to build a professional symphony orchestra from the ground up.

Of this background, Elizabeth says: “As a conductor and artistic director, I always enjoyed building the organizational side as much as the program. When we mix qualities like vision, timing and responsiveness with infrastructures that support the right people at the right time with the right resources—we move meaningful work forward.”

Elizabeth is past president and board member emeritus of GroundSpark: Igniting Change Through Film, a charter member of the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers, and a voting member of the National Academy for Recording Arts and Sciences She is a Certified Integral Coach trained in the New Ventures West Professional Coaching Course in San Francisco. Her graduate degree is from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has been in the executive role in three non-profit organizations focused on community cultural development.