Women In Nonprofit Network
Where Women Nonprofit Leaders of Boston Learn, Connect and Collaborate
The Women in Nonprofit (WIN) Network is a joint initiative between the Women’s Foundation of Boston and the Red Sox Foundation to better connect women Executive Directors/CEOs of Boston-area nonprofits.
With WIN, we seek to facilitate the sharing of best practices, strategies and resources among women nonprofit leaders. We also strive to create channels that allow these leaders to mentor and learn from each other.
Our mission is to host value-added events that provide quality professional development opportunities to increase leadership skills and nonprofit outcomes. Nonprofits have limited budgets and resources for leadership training. WIN does not charge membership or event fees and all women nonprofit leaders are welcome to join regardless of organization size or income. Since inception in 2019 we have engaged over 335 members, offered multiple events providing professional development and camaraderie during challenging times.
If you would like more information or have questions about Women In Nonprofit (WIN) Network, please email info@womeninnonprofit.org.
In 2020 we started offering events on Zoom. Here’s our past events and links to recordings on our Women In Nonprofit YouTube channel.
The Benefits of Collaboration: How to increase impact, brand and fundraising, October 12, 2023
Hear nonprofit leaders discuss the many benefits of collaborative partnerships, not only for participants outcomes but also in funding, marketing and overall mission fulfillment.
Collaborative Impact: Partnership Opportunities for Nonprofits & the City of Boston, May 2, 2023
Hear City Officials Jose Masso, Brianna Miller and Tania Del Rio discuss opportunities for nonprofits to create a more accessible and inclusive City.
Staff Recruitment, Retention and Development, September 28, 2022
Hear best practices and key learnings on staff recruitment, retention and development from nonprofit leaders Robin Gilbert, Emily Burnor Crump, Stacey Brown and V. Faith Montgomery. WIN moderator Bekah Salwasser addresses how to effectively recruit talented staff, how to retain your current workforce, how to develop and support your employees and how to incorporate remote work and create an inclusive culture under remote working conditions. At the end there is a section with Lidia Zayas, Senior Programs Manager for the Red Sox Scholars Program; Allyce Najimy, UMB Sport Leadership & Administration BA Program Director who talk about talent pipelines that they are developing. Hear from one of their participants as they talk about their journey.
Fundraising 2.0: Capitalize on Change, April 8, 2022
Hear nonprofit leaders and fundraising experts from the Red Sox Foundation, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, Dream Big!, Camp Harbor View and the YMCA of Greater Boston discuss fundraising in the current environment: what they learned, how they adapted and practical tips on how to enhance your relationship with your donors.
Measuring that Matters:Yardsticks for Success, November 9, 2021
Features program evaluation and measurement experts Marla Capozzi from McKinsey, Elisabeth Babcock, CEO, Economic Mobility Pathways – EMPath and Julia Gittleman of MGA Consultants with moderator Bekah Salwasser, ED of the Red Sox Foundation. They discuss why nonprofits should measure and evaluate their programs, when to effectively and economically assess them, and how to best appraise outcomes. They outline strategies to improve program performance, better inform stakeholders, and expand fundraising potential.
Branding and Marketing for Next Level Fundraising, April 29, 2021
Features three expert panelists: Colette Phillips, CEO of Colette Phillips Communications, Tina Cassidy, the Chief Marketing Officer of GBH and Erin McAleer, CEO of Project Bread and moderator, Bekah Salwasser, ED of the Red Sox Foundation. Panelists impart their wisdom about branding as storytelling with a mission focus while at the same time relevant and current. They share their thoughts about effective social media strategies and that directed strategies should include emerging philanthropic groups such as women and people of color.
Leveraging Your Board
Features Yolanda Coentro, CEO of the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, Josh Kraft, former CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Boston and Deb Taft, CEO of Lindauer Global and moderated by Bekah Salwasser, Executive Director of the Red Sox Foundation. Focuses on effectively utilizing your Board of Directors as critical component of nonprofit success. “Leveraging your Board” offers tips, wisdom, and suggestions for how to engage, motivate and generate revenue through your Board.
Fundraising Through Change
A pivotal conversation, featuring Paul Francisco, Chief Diversity Officer and SVP of State Street Corporation, Charmane Higgins, Executive Director and Trinity Boston Connects, and Sara Conahan, Managing Partner of New Profit and moderated by Bekah Salwasser, Executive Director of the Red Sox Foundation. These panelists are local leaders in their fields with expertise in driving racial equity and social justice topics and practices as well as hands-on fundraising. Drawing from these unique perspectives, the panel aims to define strategies that help organizations fundraise and pursue their missions while advancing racial equity and social justice.
Fundraising Strategies in the New Normal
Lori Britton, Shoma Haque, Kristen Sherman, Tara Small and Bekah Salwasser, five Boston-local nonprofit leaders in a variety of nonprofit fields, talk about their recent experiences in virtual fundraising and thoughts about managing during the pandemic in June of 2020.
Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, was named President and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2016. She is also Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Previously, she was the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean and Professor of Medicine of Weill Cornell Medicine and Provost for Medical Affairs of Cornell University. Dr. Glimcher is a distinguished immunologist, widely renowned for her work in one of the most promising areas of cancer research.
Linda Henry is the CEO of the Boston Globe Media Partners. She is a co-founder of HUBweek, a civic collaboration between the Boston Globe, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and MIT that explores the future being built at the intersection of art, science and technology. Linda is also an early-stage impact investor, an Emmy-Award winning television producer with two shows currently airing, and a community activist. She serves as a director of the Red Sox Foundation, is a trustee of the Liverpool Football Club Foundation, chair of the Boston Globe Foundation, and chairman of the John W. Henry Family Foundation. In addition, she is a founder of the Boston Public Market, serves on the advisory board of MassChallenge, and is on the board of the Engine at MIT. She earned a BS from Babson College and her MS from MIT.
Bekah Salwasser joined the Red Sox Foundation as the Executive Director in January of 2018. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and has extensive experience in philanthropy and both professional and semi-professional sports. After four years working as Community Relations Director for the Boston Celtics, Bekah went on to lead Scholar Athletes as its Executive Director, a program that supports public high school athletes with both their athletic and academic achievements. Earlier in her career, Bekah served as a professional soccer player for the Boston Breakers and as Executive Director of the Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center.
Kimberly Fay Boucher is a business executive who has driven high performance organizations in technology, consumer products and social enterprise/nonprofit industries over the past 25 years. She is currently the Technology Commercialization Business Leader for the CTO at Analog Devices, where she is responsible for driving new technologies from incubation stages to successful businesses. Kim is also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she teaches Disciplined Entrepreneurship in the Martin Trust Center. She holds a BS in Management Industrial Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a NCAA Academic All-American Women’s Basketball player and has been inducted into the WPI Hall of Fame.
Ami Kuan Danoff (Co-Founder and CFO) is a private investor and the trustee of a foundation. She is a Harvard Quantum Founder and a member of the Harvard FAS Dean’s Council. Ami earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in Visual and Environmental Studies and holds a dual master’s degree in Applied Economics and International Finance from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. She was a portfolio manager in global equities at Putnam Investments and co-manager of the Putnam International New Opportunities Fund, and also worked as an international equities analyst at Fidelity Investments.
Christina Heenan Suh holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in English and Marketing and a master’s from Columbia University. A former management consultant, her work focused on strategy and implementation projects for Fortune 100 clients. She was also an account executive at Hill+Knowlton (WPP) marketing consumer packaged goods. As an Executive Board Member of the Brookline Education Foundation, which funds professional development in the Brookline Public Schools, Christina led their Grant and Oversight Committees. She currently sits on the board of the Brookline Library Foundation and teaches ESL at Rosie’s Place in Boston.
Christina Gordon (Co-Founder and CEO) holds a dual master’s degree in International Finance and Applied Economics from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University and also studied for a joint master’s degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology at Brandeis with a focus on women in the workplace. Christina is a former assistant fund manager and technology industry equity analyst at Wellington Management. She also worked as a stock analyst at Fidelity Investments. She is a trustee of a private foundation, a member of Women Moving Millions and currently sits on the board of Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women in Boston.