Applications for Executive Director Intensive Are Live

Being an executive director can be both rewarding and challenging. While executives assume leadership roles because they are passionate about the communities they serve, they increasingly face operational disruptions, increased demand for services, and a host of sustainability challenges. Now more than ever, executive directors need timely, relevant training and networks of support.

In partnership with the Kresge Foundation and the Hilton Foundation, the Greater New Orleans Foundation is excited to host the 2025-2026 Executive Director Intensive (EDI), a comprehensive leadership program exclusively for nonprofit executive directors, CEOs, and presidents. EDI combines experienced trainers and peer learning to support leaders as they develop critical technical and leadership skills; inspire their staff, board members, and other stakeholders to deeper impact and greater responsiveness; and envision organizations that simultaneously meet community needs and successfully navigate changes in the nonprofit sector.

Program Content

The program’s curriculum draws on research; experiences with individual coaching and organizational capacity building in the region; and the collective wisdom of EDI alumni to create a powerful space to cultivate core leadership skills, think creatively, try fresh ideas, and identify action steps to successfully lead your organization. Session topics include:

• Setting organizational strategy and strategic priorities;
• Organizational sustainability and financial health;
• Organizational business models and revenue streams for your model;
• Mutually supportive and interdependent partnerships with the executive director’s board (generally) and their board chair (specifically); and
• The executive director’s role in people management and talent development.

Program Format

Over six months, cohort members will engage with readings, videos, and relevant tools; reflect on learnings between sessions; and apply new practices and strategies in their day-to-day work. Attendance is required for all of the sessions detailed below in the program calendar. Because the program is cohort-based and peer learning continues to be an impactful experience in the program, we encourage full and active participation in each session.

Additionally, all cohort members will have access to a financial coaching session. Participating in the financial coaching session is optional, but of great value to nonprofit leaders.

Program Calendar

*All in-person sessions will be at the Greater New Orleans Foundation, 919 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130.*

Commitment to Participation

The ability to attend all non-optional sessions is critical to the community learning experience. Please ensure your availability to participate in all non-optional sessions at the time you apply and hold all program dates on your calendar as you await the cohort decisions.

Cost

The fee for the program is $400. Payment will be due upon acceptance into the program. However, we never want funding to be a barrier to participation. A limited number of partial scholarships for qualified participants is available. Scholarship applications will be available after cohort decisions have been announced.

Application

Click here to apply. Space is limited, and we anticipate high demand for this program. First-time executive directors and executive directors who have been in their current role for 3 years or less will be given priority. To encourage applicants from throughout the Foundation’s 13-parish region, we will offer travel support to cohort members who live in Washington, Tangipahoa, Lafourche, Terrebonne, Assumption, and St. James Parishes as needed. The deadline to apply is Friday, August 29, 2025, by 11:59pm.

If you have any questions about the program, including scholarships, please contact Devon Turner, Director of Nonprofit Leadership and Effectiveness, at devon@gnof.org or 504.620.5279.

Meet the Trainers:

Marla Cornelius, MNA

Nonprofit Leadership, Management, and Board Governance Consultant

Certified Gallup Strengths Coach

Marla Cornelius works with organizations and leaders committed to social justice. She is skilled at designing programs and consulting engagements that blend highly relevant theory with practical application. Her deep understanding of nonprofits, the challenges facing leaders, and the way that power plays out in organizations enables her to create environments where clients can explore new realities, learn new approaches, and achieve their goals. Marla is an expert trainer, coach, and consultant who has also co-authored a number of national studies and research reports on leadership. She has extensive board experience and currently serves on the board of Cat Town, an animal rescue and rehabilitation organization in Oakland, CA.

Hilda Polanco

Market Managing Partner, BDO USA LLP

Hilda Polanco leads BDO’s Nonprofit & Grantmaker Advisory specialty services group, which exclusively serves nonprofit organizations and their funders, and is the new home of FMA, the specialty practice she founded in 1999 as Fiscal Management Associates. Passionate about helping nonprofits develop a resilient long-term financial strategy, Hilda has also worked closely with some of the nation’s largest foundations to illuminate the full cost of delivering nonprofit programs and has joined them in calling others in the philanthropic sector to better understand nonprofit revenue models and ultimately, to work toward more knowledgeable financing of those business models. Hilda is widely known for providing nonprofit leaders with the skills and confidence they need to tell their organization’s financial story, as well as working with boards to strengthen their capacity to execute their fiduciary responsibility. Currently on the faculty of Columbia Business School’s Tamer Center for Social Enterprise, she is also a frequent speaker with the AICPA and philanthropy-serving organizations such as GEO, PEAK Philanthropy, and Philanthropy NY.