Leading Together Conference 2019

Following a successful inaugural event in 2018, TNOYS will be hosting its 2nd Annual Leadership Conference for Nonprofit Executives August 7-8, 2019, in Austin. This event is designed to give nonprofit executives the opportunity to focus on developing their leadership and management skills alongside other leaders from a variety of nonprofit settings across Texas. Submit your registration by July 25 to receive an early bird discount. 

This year, the conference will focus on collaborative leadership — how executives can work to strengthen their partnership skills both within their organizations and with the broader community. Topics that will be covered include organizational capacity building, managing and motivating staff, fundraising, and much more. 

 
View the conference program

Our conference program has all the details you need about our keynote presentations, workshop content, and networking events. Click here to view the program.

 
Become a conference sponsor

Conference sponsorship opportunities are now open! Click here to access the sponsorship packet or click here to submit your sponsorship online. 

 
Event Schedule

Wednesday, August 7 – Opening Reception (appetizers and bar)

Parkside (2nd floor), 301 E 6th Street, Austin TX 78701

  • 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.: Appetizers and Networking 

Thursday, August 8 – Conference

St. David’s Episcopal Church, 301 E. 8th Street, Austin TX 78701

  • 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.: Breakfast, Networking, and Registration
  • 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.: Opening Keynotes with Pamela Benson Owens and Dr. Michael Hole
  • 10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Workshops
  • 12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Lunch with Keynote Dr. Colleen Bridger
  • 1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: Workshops
  • 3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.: Closing Keynote with Mary Flanagan
  • 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Interactive Closing Session with Lynda Frost and Anna Jackson
 
Featured Speakers
Neeraj Aggarwal – Program Director, Rebuild Texas Fund

Neeraj is currently Program Director of the Rebuild Texas Fund, a $100M fund setup in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey as a collaborative between the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF) and OneStar Foundation. The Fund raised money from 33,000 donors and currently supports over 250 organizations, which have collectively impacted over 1 million people affected by the hurricane. Neeraj previously led the Mission Investing function at MSDF in the U.S, which made over $25M in impact (debt and equity) investments across the Foundation’s education, health and Central Texas initiatives. Prior to joining MSDF, Neeraj worked in investment banking in Australia. Neeraj has a Bachelor of Commerce / Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Sydney and an MBA from London Business School.

Colleen Bridger – Interim Assistant City Manager, City of San Antonio

As Interim Assistant City Manager for the City of San Antonio, Colleen Bridger, MPH, PhD. has oversight of the Metropolitan Health District, Parks and Recreation, Office of Equity and Department of Human Services. Previously, she was director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, where she was responsible for implementing policies and programs aimed at improving the health of the population in San Antonio and Bexar County. Prior to joining Metro Health, Dr. Bridger was director of the Stokes County (1997-2002), Gaston County (2002 – 2010) and Orange County (2011 – 2017) Health Departments in North Carolina. As Health Director, she tackled tough issues like poverty, transportation and access to care and exceeded community goals for reductions in teen pregnancy and infant mortality rates. Under her leadership, the Health Departments won numerous awards including multiple Ralph Ketner awards for Innovation in Government, and multiple GlaxoSmithKline Child Health Recognition awards. A nationally recognized speaker, trainer and innovations expert, Dr. Bridger has over 20 years of experience in community development and improvement.

Mary Flanagan – President & CEO, HERdacity

Mary Flanagan is the President & CEO of HERdacity, a women’s leadership nonprofit dedicated to supporting women’s economic empowerment.  Mary speaks regularly on leadership, diversity in the workplace, career development, and business development  In addition to nonprofit leadership, Mary has 20+ years in corporate roles in Tech, Finance, Strategy and Consulting in Fortune 500 companies. Prior to HERdacity, Mary led Strategy and Marketing teams for Dell/EMC’s multi-billion-dollar Retail segment.  While at Dell,  Mary was selected to lead Dell’s PRIDE community global pillar to drive LGBT Diversity and Inclusion. Dell earned the Human Rights Campaign Foundation “Best Place to Work” for LGBT 2016, 2017.

Lynda Frost – Founder, Lynfro Consulting

Lynda Frost, J.D, Ph.D., runs Lynfro Consulting, which is committed to helping foundations, nonprofits, and governmental agencies maximize their impact in improving health, human services, education, and criminal justice outcomes. She’s passionate about fair and effective process, with expertise in facilitating groups to maximize the engagement of each participant. Liberating Structures is a key part of her strategy for making positive change on the ground. Dr. Frost founded Lynfro Consulting in 2018, after 14 years with the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, bringing extensive experience in grantmaking, program design, strategic planning, and public policy to her practice.  She is an experienced administrator, professor, and attorney with legal expertise in human rights, juvenile justice, criminal law and mediation. Whether with individuals or organizations, she prioritizes building capacity and catalyzing strengths to formulate and reach defined goals.

Michael Hole – Founding Director, Opportunity Ventures

Michael Hole is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Population Health, and Public Policy at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is the Founding Director of Opportunity Ventures, as well as faculty at Dell Medical School and the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Dr. Hole teaches business, design, and public policy to graduate students, and he is a “street pediatrician” onboard Children’s Health Express, a mobile clinic serving Greater Austin’s children experiencing homelessness. Dr. Hole started his career as a social worker fighting child trafficking in Middle America before leading international development campaigns co-funding a primary school in Uganda, an orphanage for children abandoned during Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, and a new food product serving 50,000 malnourished youths yearly. Dr. Hole earned his MD and MBA from Stanford University and completed pediatrics residency at Harvard Medical School. In 2019, Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush named him a Presidential Leadership Scholar.

Anna Jackson – Founder, Alpinista Consulting

Anna Jackson, MSSW, is the founder of Alpinista Consulting, which specializes in organizational capacity building, program design and evaluation, and participatory approaches to change. Anna facilitates gatherings in person and in virtual settings with participants around the world using Liberating Structures, robust methods that tap into the wisdom of groups. She incorporates a social justice framework in her practice and has worked in youth engagement, leadership development, experiential education, healthcare services and systems change, and international domestic violence and human trafficking prevention and intervention. Before Alpinista, Anna served as Deputy Director of Via Hope, an education and consultation center whose mission it is to transform the Texas mental health system into one that is person-centered and recovery oriented. She holds a Master of Science in Social Work from The University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Anthropology from the University of California, Davis.

Pamela Benson Owens – President and CEO, Edge of Your Seat Consulting; Vice President for Business Development, Fayruz Benyousef Consulting

Pamela Benson Owens has been an entrepreneur for over 20+ years and serves in dual roles as the President and CEO of Edge of Your Seat Consulting, and the Vice President for Business Development for Fayruz Benyousef Consulting. For many years Pam has toured the U.S. delivering customized presentations, interactive trainings and leadership programs focused on the importance of nonprofit best practices, intentional leadership, proactive HR practices and culture building, teaming, board governance and effectiveness, fund development, curriculum design, executive coaching, conflict resolution and strategic planning in both the nonprofit and for profit arenas. In addition, she is a skilled human resources consultant and is often asked to come into organizations of transition in an interim capacity to create staffing infrastructure, stabilization, organizational culture change and to establish processes and procedures. Pam holds an undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University in Journalism and a Master’s degree in Human Services with a concentration in Conflict Resolution and Mediation from St. Edward’s University. Pam has a certification in Diversity Education and has also completed course work toward an advanced theological degree.

 
Hotel and Parking Options

We are arranging a discounted parking rate ($12 for the day) at the Premiere parking garage on site at St. David’s Church. Obtain a discount voucher at the registration desk.

There are multiple hotel options close to the event venues: