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Introducing: Standards for Excellence Institute® Licensed Consultants Class of November 2023

For Immediate Release 

Contact: Amy Coates Madsen
Director, Standards for Excellence Institute®

acmadsen@standardsforexcellence.org
443-438-2314  

Introducing: Standards for Excellence Institute® Licensed Consultants Class of November 2023

Baltimore, MD – December 11, 2023 The Standards for Excellence Institute, an initiative dedicated to promoting the highest standards of nonprofit ethics and accountability, announces its 2023 Class of Licensed Consultants. Twenty-six highly experienced nonprofit professionals completed the intensive, three-day training and are now equipped to provide organizational assessments, and expert assistance to nonprofits nationwide. The members of the class represent organizations from states across the country, including Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants use their extensive knowledge of the Standards for Excellence to help nonprofits strengthen their governance practices and build capacity, accountability, and sustainability in their organizations. Licensed Consultants provide nonprofits with organizational assessments, consulting, and training, and help them earn national Standards for Excellence accreditation.

Some licensed consultants work with Standards for Excellence replication partners (which are organizations licensed and trained to use the Institute’s program materials and resources to support other nonprofits in a specific geographic area or in a specific mission area).

The Licensed Consultant Program has continued to grow each year since its inception in 2006. See the complete list of current Licensed Consultants. Anyone interested in becoming a Licensed Consultant should consider joining the 2024 training – learn more and sign up to be notified when applications are available.


Testimonials:

Arianna Ross, of Poolesville, MD, spoke about the training: "I learned so much more than I could have imagined about the best practices for running and partnering with a nonprofit.  It is my hope that with this knowledge I can support not only my nonprofit, Story Tapestries, but also others in the community, allowing them to reach for the stars and become accredited. This course is a gift that will keep on giving over time."

April Mastroluca, of Henderson, NV, shared: “The Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultant Training Program introduced me to new ways of looking at topics and issues I have been working with for over 20 years. The program also gave me the opportunity to hear perspectives and ideas from the other class participants, consultants, and nonprofit professionals from across the country. Now I can share this knowledge with nonprofit organizations in Nevada knowing that I am sharing proven best practices and resources to help organizations focus on achieving their mission.

 

Standards for Excellence® Licensed Consultant Class of 2023
 

Introducing the Members of the Standards for Excellence Institute® Licensed Consultant Class of November 2023:       (*Participated as a member of a replication partner organization)

Sonji Branch
Bartlett, TN

Miriam Dicks
Greenville, SC

*Alex Fizz
Wilmington, DE

Rikisha Goree
Upper Marlboro, MD

Glenda Hicks
Conyers, GA

*Dorian Hines
Memphis, TN

Mya Hodge
Pikesville, MD

Jeffrey Holmes
Bowie, MD

Tara Huffman
Windsor Mill, MD

Wendy Jeffries
Baltimore, MD

Lili Leonard
Dickerson, MD

April Mastroluca
Henderson, NV

Erin McDermott
Challis, ID

*Lauri Monetti
Edmond, OK

Janet Olajide
Columbia, MD

Kandi Pickard
Fort Wayne, IN

Christopher Pineda
Parkville, MD

Tinesar Priester
Wilmington, DE

*Justine Ramos
Baltimore, MD

Michelle Ray
Wilmington, DE

Arianna Ross
Poolesville, MD

Joan Webb Scornaienchi
Columbia, MD

Dominique Stiger
Rosedale, MD

Amanda Wagner
Largo, MD

Laura Whitaker
Lexington, KY

Corae Young
Waldorf, MD

About the Standards for Excellence Institute®
The Standards for Excellence Institute® is an operating division of Maryland Nonprofits that serves nonprofits throughout the nation. The Institute is dedicated to promoting the highest standards of ethics and accountability in nonprofit governance, management, and operations. It has a dozen state, regional and national partner organizations, and is supported by 311 Licensed Consultants and 100 volunteers with professional experience in nonprofit governance and administration. Currently, there are nearly 200 individual nonprofit organizations that have completed a rigorous application and review process to demonstrate adherence to the Standards for Excellence®: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector. Learn more at www.standardsforexcellence.org.

 

 

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About the Author: Amy Coates Madsen

Amy Coates Madsen is the Director of the Standards for Excellence Institute, a national initiative to promote the highest standards of ethics and accountability in nonprofit governance, management, and operations, and to facilitate adherence to standards by all organizations. The Standards for Excellence Institute is a program of the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations where Amy has served for more than twenty-two years. Amy is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the association’s comprehensive ethics and accountability program and efforts to replicate the program nationally. She serves as a frequent trainer and writer in the areas of board conduct, program evaluation, program replication, fundraising ethics, and nonprofit management. She has taught courses on nonprofit ethics and accountability at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies Certificate Program on Nonprofit Management. She has held positions at the Trenton lobbying firm of the Princeton Public Affairs Group, and the Public Policy Liaison Unit at the world headquarters of Catholic Relief Services. Amy received her Master of Arts in Policy Studies degree from the Johns Hopkins University – Institute for Policy Studies in Baltimore, Maryland; and her Bachelors degree from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. Amy is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Amy serves on the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT). Amy is a former member of the Disaster Action Team of the Central Maryland Chapter of the American Red Cross and is qualified to provide disaster preparedness training to children and adults. She has also served as the former President of Central Maryland CAN TOO and was a member of the Board of Trustees of the largest United Methodist Church in Baltimore City. She serves on the board of her children’s preschool PTA and is a volunteer with the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland. Amy is currently leading an effort to establish an endowment for the Virginia Tech University Honors Program.