JOHN BROTHERS - PRINCIPAL

John Brothers is a recognized leader in the nonprofit arena with nearly twenty years of sector experience and is a national expert in the field of executive transition management, nonprofit effectiveness and sustainability and assisting organizations in organizational crisis and turnarounds. Mr. Brothers gravitated toward non-profit work as a result of his experiences growing up in poverty and homelessness as a child in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Mr. Brothers is finishing work toward a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University in Boston, has an MPA in Nonprofit and Public Management from New York University and an MBA in Public Policy from American Public University from which he started at Columbia University.  He has taken additional studies at Georgetown and the London School of Economics. He is an adjunct professor in Nonprofit Finance at NYU’s Wagner School for Public Service and has taught Community Studies at George Mason University.  Mr. Brothers is a Visiting Scholar at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University and has served in fellowships with the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs and the Children’s Defense Fund.   Mr. Brothers is currently working in a joint project with ARNOVA and the Rockefeller Foundation in researching capacity building, program measurement and arts organizations.  Mr. Brothers is also a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).

In addition, Mr. Brothers is a Senior Fellow in executive leadership with the Support Center for Nonprofit Management, for which he also is the Editor of the Journal for Nonprofit Management.  He also is the Principal of Cuidiu Consulting, a consulting firm that has been contracted by over a hundred nonprofit organizations and government agencies throughout the United States and abroad, having trained thousands in all areas of capacity building and organizational development. Mr. Brothers also has extensive experience working with philanthropic organizations, including the Rockefeller, Ford and Kellogg Foundations. Mr. Brothers is participating in book projects with both SAGE and Wiley publishers about nonprofit leadership and change management and is a featured blogger with the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Among a number of memberships and affiliations, Mr. Brothers serves on the board of the One Acre Fund, the Center for Collaborative Change, the Advisory Council for Independent Sector’s Initiative for Nonprofit Effectiveness, the Board of Trustees for the Montclair Cooperative School and is active in his church, the Union Congregational Church in Montclair, NJ.  Mr. Brothers is married to Arlene Brothers and has two young children, Maxwell and Nina and live in Bloomfield, NJ.

 

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

John’s consulting career developed from the numerous requests he received to share his experience and expertise in the field of non-profit management and organizational development. John began JEB Consulting in 1997 (now Cuidiu Consulting); an endeavor aimed at assisting national and local non-profits, and federal, state, and local government agencies with program and organizational development.  One such early effort included a contract with the DC Public School system to develop and organize an office aimed at reaching the educational needs of homeless children and youth. Some of John’s current clients include the Office on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, the Children’s Aid Society, and Groundwork.  John is also the Senior Fellow with the Support Center for Nonprofit Management, concentrating on executive leadership and organizational development.

In 2007, John led the successful turnaround of Project Reach Youth (PRY), a community-based organization committed to helping low-income youth, adults, and families learn and grow in a creative and supportive environment.  John led the organization through a successful merger with a long-time Brooklyn partner, Lutheran Community Health Centers.

Prior to his turnaround work at PRY, John led a turnaround for a national non-profit organization building the capacity of non-profit and faith-based organizations around the United States.  John oversaw the day-to-day operations and facilitated several million dollars in grants and contracts under its umbrella.   

As a nonprofit executive, John was responsible for turning around a troubled effort in Northern Virginia dedicated to homelessness and poverty.  John increased the organization’s budget by over 300% while receiving national honors for the delivery of services to homeless children and families.   The organization maintained several homeless shelters, a legal aid and case management unit, a community wealth venture, and several other programs and initiatives aimed at alleviating poverty in one of the fastest growing regions in the United States.  Due to John's leadership, the region now maintains an additional shelter for pregnant women, a cold-winter shelter, a drop-in day center, a low-income training facility, a volunteer house and a long-term federally funded program supporting non-profit organizations serving low-income families. John also served as the National Director of States and Communities with America’s Promise, a youth development organization started by former Secretary of State Colin Powell.  He was responsible for helping shape youth efforts in several dozen neighborhoods, cities, and states across the United States. 

John also worked for the City of New York in developing child protection policies and programs for the Administration for Children Services and worked with the substance abuse initiative for the Rikers Island Correctional Facility.  In Brooklyn’s Red Hook public housing community, John helped to start an effort aimed at helping low-income children and families with employment and educational opportunities.  John started his career as a successful community and political organizer, having led several efforts in Minneapolis and throughout the Midwest and the South.

John has been an Early Childhood Policy Fellow with the Children’s Defense Fund, Urban Studies Fellow with the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs, Coro Leadership New York and a New York United Executive Leadership Fellow.

PREVIOUS & CURRENT BOARD MEMBERSHIPS

  • Current Board Member, One Acre Fund
  • Current Board Member, Center for Collaborative Change
  • Trustee, Montclair Cooperative School
  • Past Advisory Board Member for the nationally-recognized SEED Foundation
  • Past President and Chairman for D.C. Stand Up for Kids
  • Past Advisory Board Member for the International Institute for Justice and Peace

AWARDS

2001 National Spirit of Hope Award
2000 Greater DC Cares Circle of Community Leaders
2004 Fannie Mae Foundation's Good Neighbor Award for his work with the homeless
2003 National Points of Light Award for his work in youth development 

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

Association for Fundraising Professionals
American Society of Association Executives
Alliance for Non-Profit Management,
Board Source
International Association of Law and Policy
Governance Matters
Turnaround Management Association
American Association of Grant Professionals
Organizational Development Network
Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action
Association of Consultants to Nonprofits
American Society for Public Administration
American Management Association - Nonprofit Division
Independent Sector
National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
National Council of Nonprofits
Internal Revenue Service - Exempt Organizations Academic Institutions Initiative
Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy

EDUCATION

  • Currently finalizing doctorate (2011) at Northeastern University
  • New York University, M.P.A. Non-Profit and Public Management
  • American Public University, M.B.A. Public Affairs for which he started at Columbia University
  • University of St. Thomas, B.A. Political Science and Public Administration
  • Additional Executive Management Educaiton from Harvard and Georgetown Universities