The University of Wisconsin-Stout, Discovery Center is pleased to host the 2021 Leadership Speaker Series. We invite you to join us for a conversation around various leadership topics with regional, national, and international experts. We hope to help inspire you and spark energy, growth, innovation, and excitement for you and your organization.
This series was offered at NO COST to you with thanks to partial funding from EDA CARES grant ED20CHI3070030 that supports innovative leadership’s pandemic response.
Applying Futures Thinking for Nonprofit Organizations
April Riordan, Independent Consultant
Jen Thorson, Chief Operating Officer, Girl Scouts of Minnesota & Wisconsin River Valleys
June 17, 2021, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM (CST) Virtual on Microsoft Teams
Tool Kit - Applying Futures Thinking for Nonprofit Organizations
This session invites nonprofit leaders to come together to explore tools and strategies for moving forward with mission-driven work in spite of uncertainty. With the amplified need and diminished resources, have you adapted HOW you deliver service and/or programming? Has the purpose of your organization shifted? Why or why not? We have heard from many organizations that are unsure about whether or not they should move forward with strategic planning in the midst of all of this change.
Join us for an interactive event that will make the case for leaders of nonprofit organizations that core values, a clear vision, and a forward-thinking strategic framework are more important than ever.
April Riordan - Biography
April Riordan (she/her/hers) is a connector, an innovator, and a futures thinker who enjoys imagining new possibilities, designing solutions and tackling complex problems with curiosity, creativity, and hope. April is a nonprofit leader with 25-years of experience in youth development, housing, community development, and social justice. She is currently busy working as an independent consultant with a wide range of mission-driven organizations and completing a Master’s in Organizational Leadership. April serves on several nonprofit boards of directors and is also a recent graduate of the Humphrey Policy Fellows program.
April Riordan LinkedIn
Jen Thorson - Biography
Jen Thorson (she/her/hers) is the Chief Operating Officer for Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys, serving more than 25,000 girls and 9,000 volunteers in 49 counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Jen has more than 25-years of experience with demonstrated success in every aspect of nonprofit leadership, including strategy and vision, operations management, program development, revenue growth, financial management, marketing, communications, advancing equity, and fundraising. Jen is an advocate, writer, and public speaker for women’s heart health and a former national spokesperson for the American Heart Association. She is a current board member for Leaders of Today and Tomorrow, a mentorship program for early-career professional women.
Jen Thorson LinkedIn