New York, NY – On July 1, 2023, Cause Strategy Partners, the national leader in nonprofit board placement, training, and support for corporate and nonprofit leaders, announced the appointment of two new roles within the organization’s leadership: Whitley Richards as Acting Chief Operating Officer, and Erin M. Connell as Acting Chief Program Officer.

Erin M. Connell, who is currently the Director of BoardLead, has been promoted to serve as the organization’s Acting Chief Program Officer. Erin brings a wealth of programmatic experience to this position, from her work first as a Senior Program Manager, then BoardLead Director, and now – in this new role – leading all programs and services. Erin will be responsible for overseeing program execution and development for our full suite of matching and training services, ensuring successful delivery for the companies, candidates, foundations, and nonprofits we serve. Additionally, Erin serves as an Adjunct Professor at The Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at NYU. Prior to joining Cause Strategy Partners, Erin provided capacity-building consulting services to nonprofits as an Associate Consultant with the Community Resource Exchange. Erin holds a Masters's degree in Public Administration from The NYU Wagner School of Public Service and a B.A. in Philosophy and Human Rights from Columbia University. She currently serves as Secretary of the Board of NOSH, a community-based food assistance organization based in Glen Cove, NY.

Additionally, Whitley Richards has moved from her current role as Chief Program Officer to Acting Chief Operating Officer. Whitley honed her leadership expertise first as the original Director of BoardLead, and most recently as the organization’s Chief Program Officer. Whitley has a proven background in operational excellence through managing Cause Strategy Partners’ Program Team, co-leading the development of Cause Strategy Partners’ internal and external diversity, equity, and inclusion training and thought leadership, and has demonstrated exceptional skills in driving organizational growth and performance while maintaining a strong, inclusive culture since her first role as a Consultant in 2017. Whitley has demonstrated her commitment to leadership externally through her experience as a 2020 graduate of the Coro Leadership Fellowship. Whitley holds a Masters's degree in Public Administration from The Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at NYU, and a B.A. in Global Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Day One, a New York City-based organization focused on partnering with young people to end dating abuse and domestic violence through community services, legal advocacy, and leadership development.

“Cause Strategy Partners has grown rapidly over the last eight years in large part due to the extraordinary leadership of Whitley and Erin,” shared CEO and Founder, Rob Acton. “Both began as graduate fellows many years ago and both have demonstrated exceptional commitment to our mission and capacity to lead, both internally and externally. These promotions will ensure that the progress we have achieved in elevating and transforming governance in the nonprofit sector will continue apace.”

Both Whitley and Erin will serve on Cause Strategy Partners’ Leadership Team, providing strategic direction and stewarding growth as the organization enters its ninth year in 2024.

About Cause Strategy Partners
Cause Strategy Partners works at the intersection of nonprofits and corporations in the US and UK to connect diverse and talented professionals to nonprofit board service opportunities via our BoardLead online platform and curated board matching and placement services.

Our Concierge Board Placement service connects senior executives at top companies with Board of Director opportunities at high-profile nonprofits.

Through BoardLearn, our nonprofit governance and best practices training platform, we provide self-paced and live training to help potential board candidates to be effective board members from day one and provide ongoing resources to help them grow their governance and leadership skills over time.

We partner with the world’s leading corporations, professional services firms, and foundations to help them advance their CSR and leadership development goals, increase employee satisfaction, and create meaningful connections within their local communities.