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Standards for Excellence Ethics Standards Committee Advances Nonprofit Transparency and Accountability

The Standards for Excellence Institute, an initiative designed to help nonprofit organizations operate more ethically and accountably, announces its 2017 Ethics Standards Committee. The National Ethics Standards Committee is charged with overseeing the accreditation and recognition program of the Standards for Excellence Institute. 

Members of the Ethics Standards Committee are trained individuals responsible for evaluating a nonprofit organization's application for compliance with the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector. They serve on Committee as volunteers, and typically have at least 10 years of management or governance experience working with nonprofit organizations across a broad spectrum of areas. Nonprofit senior staff, board members, funders, educators, and experienced nonprofit consultants, accountants, and lawyers are eligible for recruitment or nomination to the Committee. This process ensures that individuals with diverse opinions and expertise in the nonprofit sector review application packages and that the outcomes will be fair and unbiased. 

Seven individuals will be joining the Ethics Standards Committee this year: 

Janetta Cravens, Oklahoma City, OK 
William Gorman, Washington, DC
Karen Ito, Colorado Springs, CO 
Carmen Marshall, Silver Spring, MD 
Harry Schwarz, Columbia, MD 
Ann Skeet, Santa Clara, CA 
Lise Anne Slatten, Lafayette, LA 
Debra Thompson, Erie, PA 

Existing members of the Committee are: 

Julio Galan, Lake Charles, LA
James Gardner, Sarasota, FL
John Geist, Catonsville, MD
Julie Hart, Arlington, VA J
oyce Hoebing, Baltimore, MD
Kate McGuire, Baltimore, MD
George Neighbors, Silver Spring, MD
Susan Shubin, Pikesville, MD
Rhonda Watson, Germantown, MD 

The Committee’s main roles and responsibilities include reviewing and approving or denying all nonprofit applications for Standards for Excellence accreditation, or Standards Basics Enhanced recognition. They also conduct periodic review of the content of the Standards for Excellence code, in addition to providing advice and guidance to Institute staff regarding application policies, procedures, and processes. 

The Standards for Excellence Institute accepts nominations to the Ethics Standards Committee year-round, and reviews nominations for acceptance to the Committee every winter. More information is available at standardsforexcellence.org/professional-opportunities/

 

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About the Author: Susan Larsen

Susan Larsen joined the Standards for Excellence Institute in January 2013 and currently serves as the Marketing and Communications Coordinator. After receiving her BA from the University of Maryland Baltimore County she held positions with Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, MD working with Internal Communications and television production for two of their popular networks. She found her calling with the nonprofit sector after volunteering with several local community organizations. Susan has previously served on the board of the Young Nonprofit Professional Network of Baltimore as Co-Chair of their Communications Committee, and helped to establish marketing and communications strategy for the organization as well as launching their website. Susan is very active in her local community, including her daughter’s PTA, and is thrilled to apply her expertise in communications, logistics and operations to support a strong nonprofit community. She presently resides in Catonsville, MD with her husband, daughter and cat.