Succession Planning for Resilient Nonprofits

Succession Planning for Resilient Nonprofits
Thursday, February 12 | 12:00 PM– 1:15 PM | Webinar (Dunleavy & Associates)

Presented by: Shannon Mason, Ph.D., Carolyn Rammel, and Ashley Tobin of Dunleavy & Associates | Melissa Sines, Interim Standards for Excellence Director, PANO

Offered in Partnership with: Dunleavy & Associates

A Webinar for Nonprofit Boards & Executive Leaders

Nonprofit leadership transitions are inevitable — but crisis doesn’t have to be.

PANO, in partnership with Dunleavy & Associates, invites nonprofit executive directors and board members to a practical, equity-centered webinar focused on executive succession planning. This session is designed to help boards fulfill one of their most critical governance responsibilities: ensuring leadership continuity and organizational stability.

Whether your organization is facing a planned transition, an unexpected departure, or simply wants to be better prepared, this webinar will provide a clear, board-ready framework you can use right away. You’ll walk away with a clear executive succession planning framework, practical tools and templates aligned with the Standards for Excellence, and concrete next steps your board can act on.

Why Board Members Should Attend

Executive transitions are primarily board-led moments. This session will help board members:

• Understand their role before, during, and after an executive transition
• Distinguish between transition planning and succession planning
• Prepare for both emergency and planned departures
• Reduce risk, disruption, and loss of institutional knowledge
• Ensure transitions are equitable, transparent, and mission-aligned

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Define executive succession planning and why it matters now
• Apply a step-by-step framework for building or updating a plan
• Clarify board and senior staff roles in succession planning
• Incorporate equity into leadership transitions
• Begin a realistic succession plan within 30 days

Who Should Attend*

• Nonprofit board members (especially board chairs and governance committee members)
• Executive directors and senior leadership teams
• Organizations with founder-executives or long-tenured leaders
• Nonprofits that want to be proactive rather than reactive

*Registrants are strongly encouraged to sign up with one or more board members. Attending together ensures shared understanding, better planning, and smoother decision-making when transitions.

Single Login Cost:
$35 per person for PANO Members | $78 per person for Not-Yet Members

Terms of Participation
Your purchase entitles you to a single login. Please do not share the login information with others, as it may interfere with your ability to join. If multiple individuals from your organization would like to view the webinar, please purchase separate tickets for each person or consider a group screening ticket (below).

Group Screening Cost (4-10 individuals):
$115 per group for PANO Members | $255 per group for Not-Yet Members

Terms of Participation
If you have 4-10 individuals interested in viewing the webinar, please have one person register selecting the group ticket. You can then enter the names and email addresses of up to 9 other individuals to add to your group ticket. Each person registered will receive their own unique login instructions and may join from wherever is most convenient for them.

This option makes the most sense when you have 4-10 individuals interested in viewing the webinar. For fewer than 4 attendees, a single login ticket for each person is the most cost-effective option. For more than 10 attendees, please email Christina at christina@pano.org to discuss options.

Materials & Login Instructions:
Materials (PowerPoint and other handouts), along with login instructions, will be emailed to attendees within 24 hours of the webinar. PANO uses Zoom as our webinar platform; you can familiarize yourself with Zoom and/or join a test meeting prior to these sessions.

Can’t attend? All registrants will receive a recording of the webinar following the live session!

About the Co-Facilitators:

Shannon Mason, Ph.D., Dunleavy & Associates

Dr. Shannon Mason is a highly ethical influencer whose work centers on aligning practices and values. A counseling psychologist by training, her curiosity about individual motivation and keen understanding of personal development has contributed to a successful career supporting organizations in transition and coaching leaders and staff towards organizational effectiveness. Shannon’s experience includes 15 years as an organizational strategist and leadership coach, 13 years with Mercer Street Friends in Trenton serving as Executive Director and also as Director of Children and Youth Services/Clinical Director, Research Assistant at Treatment Research Institute, and an adjunct professor at Rider University and Biblical Seminary. A minister for many years, Shannon has served as the Senior Pastor of New and Living Way Ministries for 16 years.

Learn more about Shannon here.

Carolyn Rammel, Dunleavy & Associates

Carolyn brings over 25 years of experience in the non- and for-profit sectors. Areas of expertise include strategic planning, facilitation, leadership development, governance and culture design. Additionally, Carolyn brings experience in leading a global, multi-cultural leadership development program across Asia, Europe and the US. As an adviser and collaborator who employs active listening, constituency engagement and a laser focus on purpose, Carolyn guides her clients to create defined strategic goals, driven leaders, engaged partners and desired cultures.

Learn more about Carolyn here.

Melissa Sines, PANO

Melissa Sines is a dynamic leader and strategist and one of the co-founders of Colmena Consulting. Melissa brings deep expertise to her work with public sector organizations, focusing on building collective vision, nurturing emergent strategy, and developing and holding meaningful spaces for building community, learning together, and supporting leadership at all levels for nonprofit and philanthropy boards of directors, executive leadership, and program and operations staff. Throughout her career and her work as a volunteer and organizer in her own community, she has touched every part of nonprofit governance and management structure and processes: as a founder, as a funder, as a board member, a committee member, a programs professional, an event planner, an operations and financial professional, a database administrator, a fundraiser, and a volunteer manager. And she is bringing all that to her current role as PANO’s Interim Standards for Excellence Director.

Learn more about Melissa here.

Ashely Tobin, Dunleavy & Associates

Ashley Suhler Tobin is an impact-driven nonprofit professional who enhances, empowers and drives outcomes for organizations, teams and executives. Ashley honed her skills in the corporate world before entering the nonprofit sector and likes to distill the complex while creating systems and order. She develops and coaches team members and gets energy from their successes.

Learn more about Ashley here.