Executive Director-Board Relations: How to Make It Work

Barbara Gibbs, Consultant

Barbara works directly with a wide diversity of client organizations to provide management consulting services. With over 30 years working in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, Barbara brings a rich array of experience and wisdom to her capacity building work.

Barbara served as a Senior Consultant at the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO) for five years. Before joining NAO, Barbara worked for seven years as a Program Officer and the Director of Policy and Strategy at the Meyer Memorial Trust. Prior to her foundation work, Barbara held different leadership roles in social services and arts organizations where she led strategic and business planning, capital campaigns, facility renovations, and program innovation. Barbara is particularly proud of the successful capital campaigns she managed for an art museum and social service agency.

She considers herself fortunate to have worked both as a grant seeker and a grant maker. Barbara holds an MBA in Arts Management from the Graduate School of Management at UCLA. When not busy in her consulting role, you can find Barbara enjoying hill walks, hiking, attending galleries, museums, and performances and reading.

Mary Ann Frantz
Partner, Miller Nash Graham & Dunn and Board Chair, Girl Scouts of Oregon and SW Washington

Mary Ann Frantz is a partner of the law firm Miller Nash Graham & Dunn. Her law practice is concentrated on securities and corporate transactions and compliance, including M&A, corporate governance, equity and debt financings, SEC reporting, and executive compensation. Mary Ann also has worked with and participated on many community boards throughout her career, including her current position as board chair of Girl Scouts of Oregon and SW Washington and previously as board chair of Neighborhood House and of a drug and alcohol outpatient program for adolescents. Mary Ann can be reached by phone at 503.205.2552 or by e-mail at maryann.frantz@millernash.com.

Karen Hill
Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Oregon and SW Washington

Karen Hill is the CEO of Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington, a nationally affiliated nonprofit with 80+ staff, 90 seasonal employees and a $8 million annual budget serving 14,000 girls and 9,000 adult members. 

She previously served as CEO/Executive Director of “I Have a Dream” Foundation – Oregon, the YWCA of Greater Portland, Northwest Human Services, a health and mental health organization, and as CEO/VP Operations for two small telemedicine companies. 

She can be reached by phone at 503-977-6829 or by email at khill@girlscoutsosw.org.

Margaret Everett, Ph.D
Interim Provost and Vice President, Portland State University - Academic Affairs and Chair Elect, WorldOregon  

Margaret Everett holds a B.A. from Smith College and a PhD in anthropology from Yale University. Dr. Everett has over 20 years of experience in higher education. She currently serves as Interim Provost at Portland State University, where she previously served as Vice Provost for International Affairs and Dean of Graduate Studies. Prior to working in academic administration, Everett taught anthropology, Sociology and International Studies at PSU. Her research areas of interest include health policy, health promotion and cultural dimensions of health and healing. Dr. Everett has conducted community based participatory research with Latino communities in Oregon regarding food access and healthy communities. She has also published numerous articles about health and social change in Oaxaca, Mexico. Dr. Everett has served on numerous community boards and committees, including the Healthy Eating Active Living Coalition with the Multnomah County Health Department, the Genetic Research Advisory Committee of Oregon, and World Oregon, where she is currently the Incoming Chair. In July, Dr. Everett will begin a new position as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

Derrick Olsen
President, WorldOregon

Derrick Olsen is President of WorldOregon. Prior to joining WorldOregon on March 1, 2016, Derrick was the Vice President of Regional Strategy at the regional economic development nonprofit Greater Portland Inc for almost four years where he led the implementation of Greater Portland Global, the region’s Global Trade and Investment Plan developed as part of the Global Cities Initiative, a joint program of the Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase. He also served on the Board of Trustees for WorldOregon during that time. Previously, Derrick managed international trade and investment issues for over four years with Business Oregon (the Oregon Business Development Department). Derrick also has over 13 years of experience managing political and economic issues as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State in Latin America, Asia, and Washington, DC, with four overseas tours including as Chief of the U.S. Embassy’s Political Section in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Fluent in Spanish, Derrick grew up in Oregon and graduated from Tigard High School. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Government and History from Dartmouth College and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. He and his wife Rebecca are proud parents of their son James and daughter Morgan, both college students.