Meet the Team: Elena Hermanson

Position: Chief Operating Officer

Random Fact: I am a crazy Michigan Wolverines fan (mostly football and basketball). My husband doesn't like to watch the games with me because I am so loud. The Big House is my happy place :)

Explain your journey to becoming a consultant.
I was always interested in nonprofit consulting, even in school. I graduated from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and was always more interested in helping other nonprofits succeed more than starting my own. I like working with many different organizations with different missions and programs. I want to make the sector better and help organizations become more effective and sustainable. So I have always been drawn to consulting.

What are the causes you most care about and why?
I care most about improving our society to be more equitable for everyone. We have a lot of systemic issues that contribute to inequality in America, and it is important that we tear down the current systems that make it harder for some of our citizens to succeed. Social justice and racial equity are always at the top of my list, but they take different forms within nonprofits and subsectors.

What has surprised you most about working as a nonprofit consultant?
Our commonalities. Even with organizations that have competing missions and seem to work in opposition to each other, there is still more that they have in common than they realize. If we can sit down and talk to each other, we would find most nonprofits deal with the same issues, have the same concerns, and that our problems aren't just our own.

How would clients describe you?
My clients would probably describe me as “no nonsense but optimistic.” I am always on a mission and have big ideas and can definitely turn my idealist side on too strong sometimes. I think all of my clients know that I really care about them and their mission enough to ask the tough questions and make them think.


Want to learn more about Elena and the rest of the team? Check out the Meet Our Team page!