Steven E. Mayer has over 30 years of experience conducting studies of organizational and grantmaking effectiveness throughout the nonprofit arena. As the founding director at Rainbow Research, Inc. (24 years), his evaluation work and consultation have been consistently acknowledged for their contribution to improved understanding and performance by his clients: foundations, nonprofit organizations, and community groups. Now at Effective Communities, LLC, the intent of his work is the same: to help socially concerned organizations respond more effectively to social problems and opportunities.

Organizational Effectiveness – Steven Mayer’s formal training is in industrial and organizational psychology (Ph.D., 1973, University of Minnesota), where he specialized in the question, “How do we know if an organization is working well?” His work has been local in nature but in a variety of settings throughout the United States, in Minnesota, and in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. He does his work in the spirit of constructive co-discovery, helping nonprofit organizations improve – rather than prove – their organizational effectiveness. His work with foundations helps them develop their grantmaking skills, programming performance, and standing in their communities.

Program Evaluation – Most of Steven’s projects and publications focus on the effectiveness of work done by foundations and nonprofit community organizations. He has helped pioneer the “lessons learned” and “best practices” styles of evaluation, as well as procedures for organizational self-assessment. One of his favorite activities is to demystify the process of evaluation so that people can use it constructively.

Capacity Building and Strategic Grantmaking – Steven’s key publications have included Moving Philanthropy Closer to Racial Equity and Social Justice; Community Philanthropy and Racial Equity: What Progress Looks Like; Building Community Capacity: The Potential of Community Foundations, Successful Neighborhood Self-Help: Some Lessons Learned, and Community Philanthropy in Central and Eastern Europe.

Dr. Mayer has done work for many of the country’s Top 25 foundations, for dozens of its community foundations, and hundreds of its nonprofits and community groups.

Susan Doherty is a trainer and facilitator of group and individual efforts, and a skilled program designer. Her formal education included an emphasis in intercultural communication and cross-cultural psychology, group process, training methodologies, leadership, and conflict resolution, achieving a Master of Arts degree (Antioch University, 1993). Until 2000, her professional career was based in Alaska.

Training – For more than 25 years, Susan has designed and conducted training for a variety of groups, especially in the fields of education, youth leadership, and school reform. She is currently…As the Director of Alaska’s Student Leadership Project, she designed and conducted leadership workshops for secondary students throughout Alaska on topics such as team building, group process, planning processes, and meeting management. She also served on the design team and then on staff of Altemus Leadership Development Programme for young adults from Central and Eastern Europe. As a member of the National School-to-Work Technical Assistance Providers network, she provided training and assistance to administrators, teachers, employers, and community organization members involved in School-to-Work systems throughout Alaska. She designed and conducted in-service training for teachers and counselors throughout Alaska. She also served as adjunct faculty at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Planning and Group Facilitation – Susan has designed and facilitated planning meetings for such diverse groups as school district staff, private industry councils, regional job centers, statewide summits on domestic violence, community-based youth development projects, and public housing resident councils. Working with a statewide council of more than 30 educators, employers, government agency staff, and community-based organization representatives, Susan designed and facilitated a process designing Alaska’s School-to-Work system. She was on a team that designed Alaska’s Human Resource Investment Council. Susan also facilitated cross-cultural exchanges for high school students in the U.S. and Asia.

Nonprofit Management – Susan started and served as director of Leadership Experiences International (LEI), a nonprofit organization based in Anchorage with the mission of building the capacity of youth to work together for common purposes in groups and organizations. She has also been the Executive Director of the Oregon Governor’s School for Citizen Leadership and served as Interim Director of the Youth Farm and Market Project in the Twin Cities. She has served on the boards of Hospice of Anchorage and Youth Farm and Market Project.