Dorothy Norris-Tirrell and Susan Tomlinson Schmidt

Dorothy Norris-Tirrell, PhD
Vice President of Programs and Research
Nonprofit Leadership Alliance

Susan Tomlinson Schmidt, ACNP
Content Specialist, Early Childhood Innovation Center
University of Missouri, Kansas City

Multiple disciplines and numerous theoretical foundations built the basis for study of nonprofit organizations. This article explores the disciplinary debate with data from the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance about the majors of students earning the Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) credential over the last 10 years. Our analysis suggests that with a focus on the competencies needed for practice, nonprofit education works in any discipline. Embedding a competency-based, applied pedagogy allows many disciplines to ensure successful outcomes for students.

Dorothy Norris-Tirrell, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Programs and Research for the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance – a national network of 50 universities and national nonprofit partners working to create a talented and prepared nonprofit workforce. In this position, Dr. Norris-Tirrell facilitates the development of programs to develop strong nonprofit leaders. Her previous experience includes over twenty years as a faculty member and administrator at the University of Memphis and the University of Central Florida. Dr. Norris-Tirrell’s teaching and research focused on nonprofit organization leadership, governance and resilience, volunteerism, and cross-sector collaboration. Her research is published in the book, Strategic Collaboration in Public and Nonprofit Administration, and in book chapters and journals including the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Policy Studies Journal, American Review of Public Administration, International Journal of Public Administration, and the Journal of Health and Human Services Administration. Dr. Norris-Tirrell has extensive experience as an agency manager, board member, consultant, and volunteer for a wide range of nonprofit organizations.

For her work in connecting student learning, nonprofit agency needs, and academic knowledge, Dr. Norris-Tirrell received the 2009 University of Memphis Excellence in Engaged Scholarship Award, and the 2014 Don Pugliese Award from the Southeastern Conference for Public Administration. She received a Ph.D. in Public Administration from Florida International University.

Susan Tomlinson Schmidt has spent more than 30 years of her career advancing the missions of a variety of service organizations, by focusing on building capacity through partnerships with universities and their local communities.

Currently, Schmidt is a senior advisor to the Executive Director of the Early Childhood Innovation Center (ECIC) at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. ECIC is part of the Institute for Human Development. The Center supports a range of community-based programs that lift the quality of the early childhood workforce across the State of Missouri.

Previously, Schmidt was President of the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, a national network of professionals, nonprofit organizations, and universities building capacity in the nonprofit workforce. While there, she successfully introduced several key initiatives, Leaderosity, a robust, virtual professional development platform. Leaderosity trains as many 15,000 nonprofit professionals annually reaching across the globe to provide targeted training in nonprofit leadership. Schmidt’s leadership in converting the Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) program from an analog, B2B model to an innovative, virtual, B2C model increased access and affordability to earning the nationally recognized workforce credential.

She received her master’s in public administration from the University of Memphis and is an Advanced Certified Nonprofit Professional.

Alex Skailes, Centre for Charity Effectiveness

Alex Skailes
Director, Centre for Charity Effectiveness (CCE)
Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), Faculty of Management
City, University of London

Navigating the Future of Charitable Leadership

The past decade has witnessed a whirlwind of change and uncertainty across the globe. Despite these challenges, the UK’s charitable sector has continued to make significant contributions to the philanthropic field. To thrive in this ever-evolving landscape, charity leaders must continue to adapt and develop, meeting the cascading demands of their roles.

A pioneering research project, led by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness (CCE) at Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), City, University of London, is taking a proactive stance by investigating the critical attributes that charity Chairs of the future will need to embrace. This ambitious initiative brings together a diverse array of thought leaders and experts in the sector to delve into this vital topic. The research methodology encompasses roundtable discussions and in-depth interviews with contributors, culminating in a thought-provoking report set to be launched in Spring/Summer 2024.

The Bayes Centre for Charity Effectiveness leads this project, with funding from the Higher Education Innovation Fund, additional sponsorship from Green Park Recruitment and support from strategic partners including the Association of Chairs and Crowe UK LLP.

Research Objectives and Impact

This research project has set forth several key objectives:

• Shaping Future Leadership: The project aims to provide insights that will shape the future development and recruitment of charity Chairs, ensuring they possess the requisite skills and attributes.
• Sustainability and Governance: By highlighting long-term considerations for board discussions, the research contributes to the future sustainability and impact of the charity sector.
• Influencing Best Practices: The findings intend to inform regulatory measures and best practice guidelines within the sector, emphasizing the ever-evolving nature of charity governance.
• Value of Governance: The project underscores the critical value of effective charity governance, emphasizing its continuous evolution to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world.

A Decade of Change: Anticipating the Future Charity Chair in 2033 and Beyond

The journey of the CCE Future Charity Chair steering committee commenced in July 2023, when representatives from diverse charitable organizations convened to share their invaluable insights and experiences. Reflecting on the past decade and the profound changes witnessed, the workshop sparked discussions about the skills and attributes necessary for future charity Chairs in 2033 and beyond.

The decade between 2013 and 2023 brought seismic shifts that reshaped our world. From political transitions to technological advancements, the pace of change was relentless. We adapted to living in a state of perpetual crisis, moving from one transformative event to another. This relentless change underscores the need for the charity sector to thrive amid uncertainty, making it crucial to explore and understand the evolving role of charity Chairs.

A pivotal workshop with Good Innovation provided an opportunity to examine the disruptive elements likely to impact the sector. Representatives from various charities engaged in fruitful discussions, touching on topics such as Artificial Intelligence, climate challenges, funding dynamics, stakeholder expectations, and regulatory changes. While the sector’s diversity remains evident, common threads emerged, offering valuable insights.

Key takeaways from the workshop include the evolving nature of leadership, with discussions on movements, networks, and collaborative and generative leadership. Sustainability, succession planning, and the focus on collective impact were also central themes. Emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and ongoing personal development were highlighted, as was the importance of trust-building, vulnerability, and team empowerment. The necessity for increased diversity was recognized, including a focus on less visible forms of diversity. The increasing importance of creating social value from outside of the sector was also part of the debate, with more corporate entities seemingly entering the space once uniquely occupied by charities.

As this research project advances, with individual interviews and further roundtables, these initial findings and reflections will be explored in greater depth. For those interested in contributing or learning more, please keep an eye on the project’s website.

NACC Member Representative

Alex Skailes is a senior academic within the faculty of management and Director at the Bayes Centre for Charity Effectiveness (www.bayes.city.ac.uk/faculties-and-research/centres/cce).

Alex is an experienced strategy and finance director with a successful track record of advising and leading clients in the nonprofit and private sectors. She believes passionately in the power of cross sector working. Alex has combined the first class skills and expertise gained from her earlier senior career with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deutsche Bank with a period of post graduate academic study and consulting work focusing specifically on the nonprofit sector. As a result of her cross sector experiences, she is able to harness best business practise and strong commercial experience with leading edge thinking for a sector that is currently undergoing transformation.

Alex specialises in strategic and business planning, feasibility and options studies. She teaches and co-leads the main core module ‘Resource Management in the Voluntary Sector’ on the MSc Charities programme. She has a particular interest in mergers, collaborations and sustainable business models and was a founder member of the mergers and collaborations advisory group within Bayes’ Centre for Charity Effectiveness (Bayes CCE) in 2014. In 2018 Alex joined the Executive PhD programme. Her research focuses on merger and acquisitions within the social purpose organisations, an exploration of the resultant social value created and the factors that drive this form of organisational change.

As a Director at Bayes CCE, Alex leads the team of core directors and associate consultants. The team are expert in nonprofit management, have senior cross sector career experience and come from both practitioner and academic backgrounds. The Centre is a leading nonprofit and philanthropy centre in the UK and overseas and delivers a world class blend of postgraduate master (MSc) degree programmes, research, consultancy and leadership development programmes both in the UK and overseas.

Alex is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (FCA), holds their post graduate diploma in charity accounting and has an MSc with distinction from Bayes Business School (formerly Cass) in Voluntary Sector Management. She holds a BA from University College, London. Alex is a Fellow of both the Royal Society for Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce and the Royal Geographical Society and is a Freeman of the City of London. She is on the finance and audit committee of The Seckford Foundation, former Chair of Community Action Suffolk and is a member of the International Women’s Forum UK branch.

Dr. Euan Hague, DePaul University

Dr. Winifred Curran
Professor, Urban Geographer
Geography and GIS, Sustainable Urban Development
School of Public Service
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
DePaul University

Dr. Euan Hague
Professor, Director of School of Public Service
Geography and GIS, Sustainable Urban Development
School of Public Service
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
DePaul University

Resistance is not about any one project or tactic, but rather is a constellation of practices and events that creates an alternative of what a neighborhood could be and who it should serve. This requires what we call “long resistance,” a sustained and multi-faceted engagement with community-building and contestation that utilizes a full array of tools in the community organizing toolbox, from direct action to electoral politics. In Never not Organizing, Winifred Curran and Euan Hague, Professors at DePaul University, illustrate one such case of long resistance by detailing the history of struggle at one site in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, a predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood on the lower west side. Through decades of activism around housing justice, activists have reshaped the conversation around urban development, leading to successful organization against market rate housing and the city’s commitment to build affordable housing on the site.

Offering a new theoretical framework for understanding gentrification and displacement, A Research Agenda for Gentrification focuses on resistance as the central research area in this subject field. Arguing that the future of gentrification research should focus on accomplishing the end of gentrification, chapters provide practical organizing and policy strategies using international case studies which are rooted in community-based research.

Dr. Winifred Curran is an urban geographer. Her research has focused on understanding the effects of gentrification on the urban landscape, looking at labor, industrial retention, policing, environmental gentrification and the gendering of urban policy. She is the author if Gender and Gentrification (Routledge 2018) and co-editor, with Trina Hamilton, of Just Green Enough: Urban Development and Environmental Gentrification.

Professor Euan Hague is a cultural and urban geographer with interests in gentrification, urban activism, Confederate commemoration, and cultural relationships between Scotland and America. His work examines how Chicago’s cultural and urban landscapes have developed historically and are continuing to change and he lives in that city where he regularly engages in community-based research and collaboration with local non-profit organizations. Dr. Hague’s recent work includes partnerships with the Pilsen Alliance, the Chicago Furniture Bank, and the DC-based food justice organization, Roots for Life.

Dr. Kylie Kingston, Queensland University of Technology

Dr. Kylie Kingston
Lecturer, Faculty of Business and Law, School of Accountancy
Queensland University of Technology

Advancing Beneficiary Accountability Through Research: A Conversation with Dr. Kylie Kingston

Dr. Kylie Kingston, a dedicated lecturer and emerging researcher within the School of Accountancy at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), has been making significant strides in the realm of nonprofit studies. With a rich background spanning two decades in diverse educational settings, Kylie’s journey has been driven by a fervent commitment to improving the conditions of marginalized individuals and stakeholder groups. Her interdisciplinary and collaborative approach has resulted in a body of research that intertwines critical perspectives on accounting, accountability, evaluation, ethics, and education, yielding insights that hold immense value for the nonprofit sector.

Kylie’s journey into academia was shaped by her profound experiences working and volunteering in various nonprofit organizations. She identified a crucial gap in the voices of beneficiaries and their influence within these entities. This realization kindled her interest in pursuing a doctoral degree to delve deeper into beneficiaries’ participation in evaluation, with the aspiration of enhancing their impact within organizations.

Her path led her to QUT, where she continued her pursuit of knowledge and exploration. Having completed a coursework Master of Business at QUT’s Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS), Kylie’s association with the institution kindled her passion for research and set her on a trajectory to become a leading scholar in the field.

Kylie’s recent research paper, “Examining the re-territorialisation of beneficiary accountability: Digitising nonprofit services in response to COVID-19,” delves into the evolving landscape of nonprofit accountability amidst the pandemic. This comprehensive study, conducted through case studies of Australian nonprofit organizations, explored the repercussions of digitizing services in response to the pandemic. The research found that digitalization had both positive and negative impacts on beneficiary accountability, shedding light on the intricate dynamics between technology, service delivery, and stakeholder engagement.

Surprisingly, one organization witnessed an improvement in accountability through digitalization, as it extended access to services for beneficiaries, particularly those in regional areas. In contrast, another organization revealed a longing for the return of face-to-face interactions despite the digital offerings. These findings underscore the importance of considering the diverse needs and preferences of beneficiaries while navigating digital transformations.

Dr. Kingston’s work has far-reaching implications, urging nonprofit organizations to critically assess the consequences of unexpected changes on their beneficiaries and accountability practices. Her dedication to empowering marginalized voices continues as she delves into further research, interviewing older individuals and staff in the Australian aged care sector to refine practices and policies surrounding beneficiary participation in evaluation.

Dr. Kylie Kingston’s trajectory exemplifies the profound impact that dedicated research can have on the nonprofit sector, amplifying the voices of those often unheard and fostering more inclusive and accountable organizational practices. Her commitment to advancing the field through interdisciplinary collaboration and critical inquiry serves as an inspiring model for aspiring academics, researchers, and administrators within the nonprofit domain.

Our full interview with her is below.

Q&A with Dr. Kylie Kingston

What interested you in pursuing a doctoral degree? What interested you in philanthropy and nonprofit related studies? 

My interest in pursuing a doctoral degree arose from my industry experience working and volunteering within a variety of nonprofit orgainsations. Here I noted that beneficiaries frequently had less voice (both verbal or non-verbal) within organisations than other stakeholders, and I was interested in researching ways that might be changed. My doctoral research focused upon beneficiaries’ participation in evaluation as a way of increasing their organisational impact.

What made you decide to attend QUT? How has your experience at QUT influenced or advanced your career path and/or your service to your community?

I chose QUT for my doctoral studies because I had completed a coursework Master of Business at their Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS). Involvement with the ACPNS spurred my interesting gaining research qualifications to become a researcher within this area.

What issues are you passionate about? What’s a big idea you think about?

I am passionate about beneficiaries being listened to and their voices (both verbal and non-verbal) impacting services they receive and organisations they are involved with. I often think about how we can do this better for beneficiaries that are non-human, like animals or the environment.

What would you like to share about your recent research article, “Examining the re-territorialisation of beneficiary accountability: Digitising nonprofit services in response to COVID-19”?

This research focusses upon accountability toward beneficiaries within nonprofit organisations. The research involved case studies within two Australian nonprofit organisations where changes in accountability toward beneficiaries, in response to the digitalisation of services during the COVID-19 pandemic, where noted. We explored the impact of these digitalised changes upon beneficiaries as we wanted to understand if beneficiary accountability was improved or hindered during this period.

Our findings revealed unexpected results, where accountability was improved within one organisation where online services enabled more beneficiaries, particularly those living within regional areas, to be able to access services. Here beneficiaries hoped that newly digitalised services would continue after COVID-19 had ended. Within the other organisation studied, digitalised services allowed beneficiaries to continue their connection to the organisation even when it was shut down due to COVID-19 restrictions. But in contrast, these beneficiaries were eager to return to former face-to-face services as soon as possible.

These findings are relevant to both academic and practitioner audiences, as they highlight both benefits and limitations of digitalising services. The findings encourage nonprofit organisations to reflect upon how they respond to unexpected change (such as that caused by COVID-19) and to seriously consider the impact upon their beneficiaries and accountability relations.

What other research are you working on, and/or what do you hope to research next?

I am currently furthering my PhD findings in relation to beneficiaries’ participation in evaluation through conducting research within the Australian aged care sector. I am interviewing older people using aged care services and staff, to better understand their views on evaluation, and hopefully impact upon practice and policy refinement.

Dr. Kylie Kingston is a lecturer and early career researcher within the QUT School of Accountancy. Her research focuses on exploring ways to improve social and organisational conditions for marginalised people and stakeholder groups. Kylie integrates critical perspectives on accounting, accountability, evaluation, and participation, into organisational practices and policies. Kylie’s research is interdisciplinary and collaborative. She has a 20-year background working in diverse educational settings and engages in research that spans accounting, accountability, evaluation, ethics, and education.

Amanda J. Stewart, North Carolina State University

Exploring Nonprofit Education Impact: The Nonprofit Education Survey Project

The Nonprofit Education Survey Project (NESP) is a joint project between Kerry Kuenzi, Amanda J. Stewart, and Marlene Walk. The collaborative project began in 2017, and has compiled research evidence about nonprofit education alumni and outcomes.

Early works of the project focused on the profile of nonprofit graduate alumni, the role of nonprofit graduate education as a workforce pipeline for the nonprofit sector, and how nonprofit alumni think of their graduate degrees, including if school debt detracts from nonprofit sector commitment. More recent research has investigated the effect of COVID-19 on nonprofit graduates and how these workers fared during the pandemic.

NESP has partnered with 10 graduate programs to-date, and welcomes others who are open to surveying their alumni to understand the utility of their degree and how alumni use the degree in their work. NESP’s current research inquiry has engaged nonprofit executive recruiters to understand how they view nonprofit degrees as important to executive appointments.

Kuenzi is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and has her PhD in Public Affairs from the University of Colorado, Denver. Stewart is an Associate Professor at North Carolina State University and has her PhD in Public Administration from American University. Walk is a faculty member at the School of Business and Economics at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg (Germany) and has her PhD from the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jayce Sudweeks, Georgia Southern University

Jayce Sudweeks, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Public and Nonprofit Studies
Georgia Southern University

Five Nonprofit Leadership Challenges: A Proposed Typology of Common Issues that Nonprofit Leaders Face
Journal of Nonprofit Education & Leadership, 2023 | Vol. 13 Issue 2, p31-58. 28p.

Nonprofit leaders face many challenges and would benefit from a typology that helps highlight the core issues organizations experience. The Nonprofit Studies Minor at North Carolina State University identified five nonprofit leadership challenges, through a combination of practitioner experience and academic research, that could serve as a typology. The challenges identified are earning the public trust; aligning mission, methods, and resources; capitalizing on issues associated with diversity; balancing individual interests and the common good; and moving beyond charity to systemic change.

This research, co-authored by Dr. Richard M. Clerkin (University of North Carolina Wilmington), Dr. Sapna Varkey (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine), and Dr. Jayce Sudweeks, revisits the academic literature to assess whether these challenges encompass the research agenda of nonprofit and voluntary action academic studies. Using qualitative content analysis, we examined abstracts from three major nonprofit journals from 2005-2017. Results indicate that the five leadership challenges were present in the abstracts of all three journals. Chi-squared analysis showed statistically significant differences in the presence of leadership challenges based on journal, location of the study, and unit of analysis.

Both Dr. Clerkin and Dr. Sudweeks have successfully used this typology as a key framework in their undergraduate and graduate courses in nonprofit management. Students have found the typology very helpful in classifying and analyzing the myriad of issues facing nonprofit organizations. It allows students to quickly identify the issue and then begin to understand how to apply concepts taught in the courses to address the issue. Student feedback often includes comments about the power and usefulness of the Five Nonprofit Leadership Challenges.

Dr. Jayce Sudweeks joined the faculty of Georgia Southern University in the Fall 2019 as an assistant professor in the Department of Public and Nonprofit Studies. He received his Ph.D. in Public Administration from North Carolina State University in August 2019. His dissertation entitled, Should We Let Them Go: A Narrative Policy Framework Analysis of the Policy Narratives Surrounding the Release of Genetically Modified Mosquitos in Brazil and the Florida Keys, examines the role of policy narratives on the decisions to release genetically modified mosquitos in Brazil while releases in Florida were delayed.

His primary research interests are the management and leadership challenges faced by nonprofit organizations. Professor Sudweeks holds both Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in Molecular Biology from Brigham Young University. He has presented his research at and is a member of the Association for Research on Nonprofits Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA), and the Southeastern Conference of Public Administration (SECOPA). Dr. Sudweeks teaches graduate courses in nonprofit administration, strategic management, and foundations of public administration. He teaches undergraduate courses in nonprofit management, strategic management for nonprofits, international nongovernmental organizations, and social entrepreneurship and innovation.

Elizabeth Dale, Seattle University

Elizabeth Dale, PhD
PhD, Philanthropic Studies
Director and Associate Professor, Nonprofit Leadership
Seattle University

I was so pleased to be included in the new book, The Fundraising Reader, which is an excellent compilation of both classic and contemporary work on fundraising approaches, theory, research, and practice. Its diverse and interdisciplinary sources reveal both the art and science of fundraising, with attention to the philosophical, prosocial, and motivational components as well as the more technical and applied.

The foundation of fundraising is based on interpersonal relations, skillful communication, and managing emotions and motivations, in essence, a set of job functions that personify “traditional” female characteristics and traits. Fundraising work mirrors a number of these so-called female occupational characteristics including a caring, relational approach; an emphasis on communication; a need to put others before yourself; and the production of events that draw on hospitality and entertaining-type skills. Within fundraising, the most economically rewarded tasks are those directly related to securing gifts at the highest dollar amounts. Finally, a gender analysis cannot ignore the recent trends of both nonprofits and funders to place greater emphasis on adopting more business-like practices and the values of the private sector, which reflect the masculine bias of society at large. In addition to values, the language of fundraising is also male-oriented.

Elizabeth J. Dale, Ph.D. is program director and associate professor in Nonprofit Leadership at Seattle University. A former development director and Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), her research interests include social justice philanthropy, giving among women and LGBTQ+ donors, and the intersection of gender and philanthropy. She has presented her research nationally and internationally and has provided commentary for The New York Times, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and The Guardian. She completed her Ph.D. in Philanthropic Studies at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and women’s and gender studies from Ohio Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in women’s studies from The Ohio State University.

Elise Lael Kieffer, Murray State University

Elise Lael Kieffer, PhD
Program Director and Assistant Professor
Nonprofit Leadership Studies, Organizational Communication and Leadership
Murray State University

The Benefits of Photo-Elicitation in Arts Administration Research
American Journal of Arts Management | Volume 11, Winter 2023

This article by Dr. Elise Lael Kieffer explores the benefits of incorporating the photo-elicitation method into interviews within arts and cultural administration, leadership, and management research. Photographs are often used to open communications when traditional verbal communication is less reliable, or hindered by cross-cultural interactions. Within the arts and culture, researchers often use different terminology than administrative practitioners, and administrators often use different terminology than art makers and creative practitioners. Photo-elicitation serves to bridge those gaps in communication and open participants up to opportunities for deeper reflection. This article gives examples from one narrative inquiry study that utilized both exclusively verbal questions and also photo-elicitation in order to provide guidance for the usefulness of photographs as an interview tool.

While this study focused on rural arts organizations, photo-elicitation, as a qualitative research method, is valuable in any work that reaches across borders, boundaries, cultures, and identities. Evoking responses through images breaks through colonial constructs by empowering participants to speak and represent themselves. This is work that is important across the nonprofit sector, as we research, educate, and work with diverse populations.

Dr. Kieffer’s first love was musical theatre. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Jacksonville University (Florida). After graduation, she began a successful career as a performing artist on the East Coast and Midwest. She left performance to return to school for her Master’s in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management from Tennessee State University. After earning that degree she moved to New York and worked for an international humanitarian aid organization, specializing in fundraising. While her primary assignment was growing the base of individual donors, she is also remembered for the dramatic growth in funding coming from foundations and corporations under her leadership.

The next chapter in her nonprofit sector journey combined her passion for the arts with her growing commitment to strengthening community engagement and building sustainable organizations. She moved to rural Cumberland County, Kentucky, at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains to found the Burkesville Academy of Fine Arts (BAFA). This interdisciplinary arts education organization offering year-round arts education and performance opportunities for children was launched in rural South- Central Kentucky. BAFA found strong support through local youth serving organizations such as 4-H and the public schools, becoming an integrated part of youth development across the region.

With a long-time aspiration to play a role in the development of leadership and management capacity for those serving the community, in 2017 her family relocated to Tallahassee, Florida, for Dr. Kieffer to pursue her PhD at Florida State University. While studying arts administration, with a focus on nonprofit leadership and management, she focused her research on strengthening rural nonprofit arts organizations. During her academic journey, she has pursued scholarship and engaged in teaching across the leadership and management curriculum. Among her many professional awards, it is worth noting that she was recognized with the Emerging Scholar Award at the International Society on the Arts in Society in 2019, 2020, and 2021. In addition, she received the Emerging Scholars Award at the International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities, and Nations in 2021.

Upon receiving her Ph.D., Dr. Kieffer joined Murray State University as Program Director and Assistant Professor of Nonprofit Leadership Studies and Director of the Murray State Nonprofit Resource Center. She is currently co-writing a textbook, “Rural Arts Management” for Routledge.

Christopher S. Galik, School of Public and International Affairs, North Carolina State University

Christopher S. Galik, PhD
Professor
Director, Sustainable Futures Initiative
Department of Public Administration
School of Public and International Affairs
North Carolina State University

Institutional Stability and Change in Environmental Governance
Policy & Politics | Policy Press, 2023 | Volume 51: Issue 3

Efforts to better understand what prevents institutions from changing to meet contemporary demands – or what facilitates the evolution of existing constructs to address new challenges – are of particular import and relevance to environmental governance. While the existing literature provides valuable conceptualisation and empirical evaluation of institutional stability and change, the lack of a consistent and holistic typology complicates the evaluation of institutions over time.

In this article, Christopher S. Galik, Yuhao Ba (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore), and Christopher Bobbitt (North Carolina State University) use a combined stability–change typology to assess the dominant modes of institutional change and stability over a multi-decadal timespan across three environmental governance systems – air quality governance in the US and China, and climate governance in the European Union. Across cases, they find that these modes are not mutually exclusive but can occur simultaneously, in concert or in conflict. They also find that observed patterns of change and stability are reflective of the social and political context in which systems operate, as well as the focus of the system itself (for example, localised air quality versus global climate change).

Apart from providing a proof-of-concept analysis of institutional change and stability, their findings raise questions about the mechanisms underlying spatial and temporal patterns across identified modes. Indirectly, the findings also further highlight challenges to designing systems both resilient to exogenous stressors and capable of adapting to new situations. Their combined stability–change typology may help to advance understanding of whether and how such balancing has occurred in the past, thus facilitating future efforts to address contemporary challenges.

Christopher Galik joined NC State in August 2016 as a Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program cluster hire in Sustainable Energy Systems and Policy (SESP). Galik is a professor in the Department of Public Administration, and is primarily interested in the areas of institutions and the portability of governance systems. He brings an interdisciplinary perspective to his work, leveraging expertise in institutional theory, economics, and the natural sciences to address energy and environmental management and policy challenges. Recent research includes an evaluation of institutional stability in environmental governance, the influence of historical transitions on the adoption of sustainable practices at the local level, and the contribution of voluntary actions to climate change mitigation objectives.

Galik obtained a bachelor’s degree in biology from Vassar College, a master’s degree in resource economics and policy from Duke University, and a Ph.D. in forestry and environmental resources from North Carolina State University. Galik returns to NC State via Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, where he worked for a decade on a variety of environmental and energy policy research and outreach initiatives. He has published multiple whitepapers, briefs, and online discussion papers, as well as articles in journals such as Nature Climate Change, Global Environmental Change, Climate Policy, Applied Energy, Energy Policy, and others. Galik has also worked with private sector, NGO, academic, state government, and federal agency stakeholders to plan and convene multiple panels, workshops, and symposia on a wide variety of energy and environmental policy issues.

Kelly Ann Krawczyk, Auburn University

Visit to Liberia

Kelly Ann Krawczyk
Associate Professor
Program Director, PhD in Public Administration & Public Policy
Program Director, Political Science
Auburn University

Women’s Contributions to Development in West Africa: Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives
Palgrave Macmillan Singapore, 2023

“This edited volume zooms-in on the human-centric aspects of sustainable development, illuminating the various barriers that women in West African countries face in social, economic, and political spheres … The many lessons drawn from this work offer practical insights and ideas for future research that are applicable to a variety of developing democracy contexts beyond the African continent.”

—Alisa Moldavanova, University of Delaware, USA

Women’s Contributions to Development in West Africa, edited by Kelly Ann Krawczyk and Bridgett A. King (Auburn University), examines women’s participation in social, economic, and political development in West Africa. The book looks at women from the premise of being active agents in the development processes within their communities, thereby subverting the dominate narrative of women as passive recipients of development.

The volume features all women contributors from the global North and South. It illuminates women’s significant contributions to development in West Africa and provides insights for the future. The book offers a valuable resource for students, academics, practitioners, and policymakers.

Kelly Ann Krawczyk’s research investigates the potential role of civil society in promoting democracy and development. She examines how civil society can foster sustainable development in local communities, and the role of civil society in strengthening democracy and increasing civic engagement. She is specifically interested in how civil society impacts political behavior. Her research has been published in journals of public administration, civil society, and local governance, including Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, and the Journal of Civil Society. Her co-edited volume, Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives: The Contributions of Women to Development in West Africa (2023) is available from Palgrave Macmillan. She has also authored book chapters, as well as governmental and professional publications for the Governance Commission of Liberia and the World Bank.

Krawczyk teaches graduate and undergraduate courses at Auburn University on a wide range of nonprofit topics, including Nonprofit Law & Governance, Nonprofit Management, and International Nongovernmental Organizations. She also teaches graduate courses in public administration and nonprofit management in the MPA and Ph.D. programs. She is currently serving as the Ph.D. Program Director.

Krawczyk earned her Ph.D. in political science and a Masters in Public Administration from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Before beginning an academic career, Kelly worked with a wide range of nonprofit organizations, both domestic and international, and has applied experience in nonprofit management and leadership, governance, capacity building, fundraising and development, volunteer and event management, and proposal writing. She designs and delivers outreach initiatives in West Africa, including curricular design and implementation of training and professional development workshops, impact evaluations and assessments, policy analysis and recommendations. She served as an international election observer for multiple national elections in Liberia and Ghana. She has also worked with The World Bank Group in Liberia on projects related to decentralization and civil society. She is a Founding Committee Member of the Strengthening Research on Civil Society in West Africa project, an initiative of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), funded by the Ford Foundation.