Susan Hyatt is the founder and CEO of Business Nonprofit CONNECTIONS, Inc., a private consulting company that provides small and mid-sized companies with ideas and tools for actively managing their community impacts and giving strategies. Leveraging 20 years of experience in corporate social responsibility, business philanthropy, organizational development, and nonprofit resource development and partnerships, Susan helps clients transform their good intentions into real impact in their communities and on their bottom line. Her clients have included CARE, Habitat for Humanity, Save the Children, Pathfinder International, Heifer International, the US Agency for International Development, and dozens of businesses and local, state, and national agencies.

Susan specializes in community involvement audits, strategic planning to integrate community and business goals, and designing unique all-win community involvement initiatives. She loves clients who are motivated by the business value created by social responsibility and are committed to Doing Good AND Doing Well.

Susan previously worked extensively with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) for fourteen years providing consulting, facilitation, curriculum design, and training to Governors’ Commissions on National and Community Service, AmeriCorps, VISTA, Learn and Serve America, and Senior Corps (FGP, SCP, and RSVP). She’s created state and national programs on topics such as leadership, board development, performance management, program evaluation, and strategic public-private and trisector partnerships.

Susan holds a Master’s degree in Community/Public Health Nutrition with a specialization in international development from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She completed her PhD work in Sociology at Colorado State University in social change and organization development. She was a Fulbright Scholar to the Sociology Department at the University of Helsinki, Finland, and an AAAS Science, Engineering and Diplomacy Postdoctoral Fellow at the U.S. Agency for International Development in Washington, DC.  She is also a certified professional effectiveness coach. Susan lives in Denver, Colorado and proudly drives a Prius.

“Be the Change You Want to See in the World”

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Selected Experience

SUSTAINABILITY AND RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

• 10 years experience providing training (live, webinars, and telephone), speaking, and coaching on developing strategic partnerships between businesses and nonprofits.
• Facilitated resource development planning processes including needs and strategies for securing resources for more than 25 organizations.

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION

• 15 years experience training and coaching nonprofit staff in designing performance measures to capture program outputs and outcomes.  Provided one-on-one assistance to over 300 programs on designing data collection instruments and systems, conducting data aggregation and analysis and using results for reporting to funders and other stakeholders.
• Designed training curricula/materials and provided statewide and multistate training in 43 states to over 6,000 nonprofit staff on needs assessment, performance measurement, and evaluation.
• Designed and conducted survey of 1800 organizational leaders to research the role of women in administration.
• Assisted Save the Children in developing evaluation procedures, tools, and systems for the Appalachian Region programs.
• Designed and conducted evaluations for local, national and international nonprofit and government clients including the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Diplomacy Fellows Program, State of Indiana’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives AmeriCorps Portfolio, the National Crime Prevention Council’s Teens, Crime and Community Program, the Denver District Attorney’s Juvenile Diversion Program, the OJJDP-funded Youth For Justice Program, and the USAID-funded AVSC Family Planning Program.

LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

• Conducted needs assessment and analysis of organizational processes to identify strengths, gaps and issues and propose solutions in order to increase effectiveness.
• Provided training and technical assistance to assist nonprofit organizations and government agencies in continuous improvement.
• Served on three administrative standards review teams for Governors’ Commissions on National and Community Service – team leader for two reviews.  Assisted with standards preparation for four additional states.
• Served as Affiliate Faculty for at the National Service Leadership Institute at the Presidio, San Francisco.
• Planned and conducted nonprofit and government program staff retreats for action planning and teamwork enhancement for more than 30 organizations.
• Planned, designed curricula/materials and conducted board development training and retreats for all 50 Governors’ Commissions on National and Community Service including new commissioner orientation, board development, clarification of board/staff roles and responsibilities, and identification of committees.
• Planned and conducted organizational strategic planning processes, meetings to enhance interagency coordination and cooperation, statewide planning processes, and special cross-state and organization initiatives for more than 15 organizations.