Marci B. Sternheim, Ph.D.

Non-Profit Organization Development Practice Leader & Executive Coach

Marci Sternheim’s expertise includes assessing organizational capacity and needs, strategic visioning and planning, developing governance training and development programs, board development, organizational culture building, facilitating meetings and board retreats, constructing grant making programs, mediating board/leader/staff dynamics, leading special projects, interim leadership and public speaking. She is a broadly experienced and deeply knowledgeable consultant, facilitator, coach and advisor dedicated to the effectiveness and success of nonprofit organizations, foundations, and academic institutions. In highly customized engagements, she works closely with boards of trustees and leaders to cultivate excellence in governance and organizational capacity and build organizational capacity to maximize mission impact. As a mediator and executive coach, Marci builds strong interpersonal relationships that support an organization’s ability to thrive. Additionally, she specializes in the complex dynamics of family philanthropy to align values, vision, and best practices to fulfill their mission. And, as a trained scholar, teacher and former university professional, she brings a nuanced understanding of academic culture to the organizational, governance and philanthropic needs of higher education.

Some of her consulting engagements include Asian University for Women, Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, Connecticut Fair Housing Center, Harry and Leona Helmsley Charitable Trust, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Highstead, the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, Mountain Top Arboretum, New Alliance Foundation, the Russell Berrie Foundation, and many others.

Prior to consulting, Marci served President of The Dibner Fund, a $100M private family foundation where she was responsible for the foundation’s overall leadership and administration, led its strategic planning, evolved the Fund’s mission, expanded its grant making, strengthened its governance, evaluated programmatic effectiveness, developed four family funds and advised peer organizations over the course of 9 years. During this time, she also served as a Board Member of the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy. During the prior decade, Marci worked for Yale University as the Founding Executive Director of the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life where she oversaw a merger integration, strategic planning, construction of a 20,000 sf $6M facility, raised a $10M endowment, oversaw annual fund campaigns and administered an operating budget of $2.5M. Her prior role at Yale as Assistant University Secretary and Vice President included responsibility for University-community outreach efforts, student outreach engagement, oversight of complex University events, special projects, and oversight of the campus security program and crisis management. She teaches nonprofit professional practice classes in the UConn Encore! Program. Marci is a frequent public speaker and conference presenter on organizational culture, philanthropic partnership, mentoring, and advocacy. Marci has taught at both Yale and Wesleyan universities and she was a regular guest lecturer at NYU/Stern School of Business’ Women in Business Leadership course.

Marci is a Certified Mediator through the University of Connecticut and Quinnipiac Law School, a BoardSource-trained Nonprofit Governance Consultant and she received Interim Executive Director leadership training from the Support Center in New York. She earned her Ph.D., M.A., and M.Phil. from Yale University with a doctorate in Spanish and Latin American Literature. Her B.A. is a double major in English and Spanish from Colgate University where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She is concluding her service as Board Secretary and Governance Chair of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) and currently is a Board Member of Temple Israel in Westport CT and Consultants’ Network Chair of the Fairfield County Community Foundation.