Executive Director Leadership Academy offers comprehensive training – and a safe space
Leading a nonprofit organization can be deeply meaningful—and deeply lonely. Executive Directors are responsible for finances, staff, boards, fundraising, operations, and long-term vision, often while carrying the emotional weight of their organization’s mission. Yet many step into leadership roles without formal training or a trusted peer network to lean on.
That’s where the Executive Director Leadership Academy comes in.
Stronger, more effective leaders who don’t have to go it alone
Offered every 18 months, the Academy is a ten-month, in-person seminar series designed to strengthen both the management skills and leadership abilities nonprofit executive directors need to succeed. Participants meet one Friday each month for four hours, creating the rare opportunity to step out of day-to-day demands and focus on becoming a stronger, more effective leader.
“You don’t have to go it alone,” Wendy Willoughby says to nonprofit leaders. Willoughby has been producing the Academy through the Center for Nonprofit Leadership (now a program of the Community Foundation of Nevada County) on and off for 16 years. “You create a network with your fellow leaders in this cohort that you can now go to any time, that you know well — you have spent 9 or 10 months together. They understand what you are going through. You can get advice, answers, a shoulder to cry on.”
A cohort experience that builds deep, lasting relationships
The curriculum reflects the full scope of executive leadership. Sessions explore effective decision-making and delegation, conflict resolution, presentation skills, and building high-performing teams with both staff and boards. Participants dig into the executive director’s role in philanthropy, finance, and operations, while also assessing their own leadership strengths, instincts, and growth areas.
But the Academy is more than a training series—it is a cohort experience. By studying together over ten months, participants build deep relationships with fellow nonprofit leaders. The result is a trusted peer network that offers advice, perspective, and support long after the formal program ends.
That peer connection proved transformative for Stephanie Fischer, who joined the Academy shortly after becoming Executive Director of Community Beyond Violence.
“Every single session was a fire hose of information,” Fischer said. “The best outcome was the relationship building and friendships, and knowing who my peers are in the field. I may not remember all the content in all the sessions, but I still have those relationships with peers who were going through similar challenges. It made it less intimidating for me, moving as a young person into a position of leadership.”
Investing in our community
Fischer and her cohort continued meeting monthly for years after the Academy ended, sharing resources, templates, and accountability. Today, she co-facilitates the ED Leadership Academy and teaches sessions on nonprofit finance and grant management, passing forward what she gained as a participant.
By investing in nonprofit leaders, the Executive Director Leadership Academy ultimately invests in the entire community. Strong leaders build resilient organizations. Resilient organizations retain staff, steward donor dollars responsibly, and deliver more effective programs for the people they serve.
“We are creating leaders that are responsible for important work and solution finding that are now connected,” said Willoughby. “Strong, connected leaders benefit the whole community.”