Nancy Axelrod

Nancy Axelrod is a frequent speaker at leadership forums dedicated to governance, accountability, and board development. As a governance consultant, she provides customized services to associations, foundations, and other nonprofit organizations in board development, leadership transitions, and meeting facilitation. Nancy is the founding president of the organization now known as BoardSource, where she served as its first chief executive officer from 1987-1996. She currently serves on the faculty of the ASAE/Center for Association Leadership, a learning center and think tank in Washington DC, and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges’ Institute for Presidents and Boards Chairs. 

She is the author of numerous books, articles, and op-ed pieces. Prior to setting up her own consulting practice, Nancy served as vice president in the nonprofit practice of A.T. Kearney, a global management consulting and executive search firm, where she provided leadership services to national and international nonprofit organizations. Prior to her appointment as BoardSource’s founding chief executive, she served as vice president for programs and public policy for the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, where she designed and conducted educational programs for college and university trustees and their presidents. She has served on the governing and advisory boards of a number of organizations such as Independent Sector, the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives, the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, the Awards Panel of the National Association of Corporate Directors, and the Initiative on Social Enterprise at the Harvard Business School.