Interim Executive Solutions has developed a network of highly accomplished professionals with experience leading both nonprofit and for profit organizations. Our Associates bring general expertise in key areas such as assessing organizational needs, determining and acting on priorities, developing the capacity of staff, communicating with stakeholders, and collaborating with nonprofit boards on vision, strategy and future leadership needs.
In addition, many of our Associates have deeper expertise in particular practice areas such as finance, fund-raising, human capital, systems and operations, technology, public relations, and the law, and they are willing share their knowledge in these areas when needed by others.
Here we highlight just a few of the Associates currently available in our network:
Gaylon Alcaraz
Gaylon comes from a long history in Chicago as an activist, organizer and champion of human rights. For more than twenty-five years, she has worked on behalf of sexual minority women, anti-violence, gender equity, health prevention, reproductive rights, as well as race and culture issues. She has consistently applied her knowledge in practice towards quality improvement, increased access, and by challenging frameworks that do not allow for the exploration of diversity across multiple dimensions when working with, and on behalf of diverse constituencies. Gaylon is the past Executive Director of the Chicago Abortion Fund and is a founding board member of Affinity Community Services, a past board member of the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health and the Midwest Access Project. Currently, provides interim Executive Director services for organizations in transition.
Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois she was awarded her BA and MA from DePaul University. Gaylon is currently a PhD candidate in Community Psychology at National Louis University.
Gary Damon
Dr. Gary Damon, Jr. is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Pressure Point Consulting, LLC, a small boutique consulting firm that supports mission-aligned non-profit organizations. With over 22 years of experience in senior and executive leadership across multiple industries: health and human services, criminal justice, re-entry, public, private, international, higher education, and government. As President and Chief Executive Officer, Gary has provided on-demand, transformational interim or co-director support to many industry-leading organizations that serve under-represented, vulnerable, and at-risk individuals.
Gary has provided onsite technical support and assistance, program leadership coaching and support, and workforce development and training to current clients across multiple states, including Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and California. Gary also published “Everyday Experiences to Improve Work and Life: Reflection Strategies from a Motivational Leader.”
Gary has earned a reputation for his keen ability with people and performance management skills and for his integrity, character, openness, confidence, and bravery to lead a team toward high performance, high impact, and success.
Lastly, Gary earned a Doctorate of Education in Transformational Leadership from Concordia University, his Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Medaille University, and his Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education (5-12) & English from Niagara University.
Joe DiLorenzo
Joe DiLorenzo is President of MD Group Consulting, a company co-founded with former Massachusetts State Treasurer, Joe Malone, specializing in branding, strategic process improvement and business development. He has also served Regan Communications Group’s Chief Financial Officer, where he was formally a client with two entities. He also was Chief Strategic Officer of Hotbox Sports Ventures; President/COO of Plymouth Rock Studios; VP of Strategic Alliances and later CFO of Jenzabar, Inc.
For eighteen years he was Senior Vice President of Administration and/or CFO of the Boston Celtics, performing two NYSE IPOs, including the first-ever in professional sports with the Celtics and acquiring radio station WEEI and Fox TV25, that IPO and later oversight of its studio construction in its current location in Dedham, MA. He also came up with the concept, negotiated and constructed at no cost the Celtic’s world-class training facility in Waltham, MA and has participated in multiple private placement memorandums and credit facilities. He also spent many years with the Boston Garden/Boston Bruins organization, including as a multi-year department head. He was a founding owner of the Maine Red Claws, now Maine Celtics, the National Basketball Association Development League’s affiliate of the Boston Celtics and formerly of the Philadelphia 76ers and Charlotte Bobcats and founder of “Diversity/Inclusion, Leadership and Personal Development”, a Linked In Interest Group with more than 5,400 followers.
Mr. DiLorenzo has an undergraduate degree in Accountancy and a minor in Education from Bentley University, where he serves on the board of the Bentley Executive Club, and served many years as a Director, Officer, and two-term President of the Bentley University Alumni Association.
Pat Gentile
Dr. Gentile was the fourth President of North Shore Community College, Danvers MA, appointed in 2013. She was granted the honorary Emerita designation by the NSCC Board of Trustees for her work moving the college to the forefront of academic excellence in the country and state and capturing several national awards for outstanding student outcomes. The multi-campus college annually served 8,000 credit students and 3,000 workforce development non-credit students.
Pat was appointed by MA Governor Baker to the MA Autism Commission (2015-2019), the MA Gaming Commission Sub-Committee on Community Mitigation (2018-2020), the Higher Education COVID 19 Advisory Committee, and during 2019-2020 served as the Chair of the Massachusetts Council of Community College Presidents.
Prior to NSCC, Pat worked at Atlantic Cape Community College in New Jersey from 1999-2013, serving as Chief Operating Officer of the Cape May County Campus for her final 5 years. She previously held executive positions with several other nonprofit organizations including The Children’s Defense Fund, Washington, D.C.; Freedom Valley Girl Scout Council, Valley Forge, PA; Holly Shores Girl Scout Council, Newfield, NJ; the Women’s Humane Society, Philadelphia, PA.
Pat earned an MBA with a joint major in Finance and Public Policy & Management from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and received her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Higher Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Michael Halperson
Mike Halperson is a seasoned, experienced, flexible leader. His style is highly collaborative and inclusive and he has demonstrated the ability to manage teams through challenging transitions with highly satisfactory outcomes, some of which were complete turnarounds.
His experiences include Interim CEO of a the Worcester Ecotarium and also a Greater Boston medical academic-detailing nonprofit, Interim Managing Director of a for-profit software company, Chair of the Board of Directors of a multi-hospital healthcare system, and President of a suburban nonprofit nursing/home care agency. He has also served on many nonprofit and for-profit boards including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Ballet, New England Conservatory of Music, Kryptonite Corporation, Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, Business Products Industry Association, Norwood Hospital and Cape Cod Sea Camps.
Mike has hands-on experience in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Planning, and General Management with profit-and-loss responsibility. He holds degrees from Union College (Schenectady, NY), University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Denver. He was also a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force.
Amy Husten
Amy Husten has over 40 years of work experience having served in a wide variety of leadership positions. Most of Amy’s work has been in the Museum field but she also has held positions in the government and private sectors. She has worked as Executive Director of the Walkway Over the Hudson, a non -profit organization that partnered with New York State to transform a defunct railroad bridge into a 1.25 pedestrian park that is the newest addition to the New York State park system. Amy worked for 16 years at the Guggenheim Museum in a variety of management positions and most recently spent the last 10 years at Bard College in Development and later as Managing Director of Montgomery Place, a 400 acre historic farm, historic house and property that the College purchased in 2016.
Amy holds an B.A. and B.F.A from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from Tulane University. She lives in the mid-Hudson Valley.
Robin Jenkins
Robin Jenkins is an Interim Executive Director who values the ideas and innovative solutions needed to sustain an organization during transition. With nearly 20 years of experience, Robin brings persistence and mindfulness to the decision-making process so that she can maximize resources, reveal obstacles and develop solutions. Having successfully managed annual budgets ranging from $3 million to $18 million, Robin approaches every assignment with courage in order to prepare the organization for a new Executive Director.
As an Interim Executive Director, Robin has worked with clients whose missions include harm reduction, women’s health, the arts and direct services within communities. Areas of expertise include crisis management, mergers, and real estate transactions.
Robin holds a dual-MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business as well as a B.A. from Smith College. Robin currently serves on the board of the Association of Nonprofit Specialists.
Keith Kendall
Keith Kendall is a seasoned, experience senior executive with a strong background as an organization builder. He is an accomplished builder and leader of successful teams, with a proven record of success across multiple industries, countries, business sizes and stages of development.
Kendall has broad board experience including public, private, and non-profit boards in U.S. and U.K, He is adept at managing the diverse opinions and personalities in a board setting as well as the executive team. In multiple start-ups and distressed turnaround situations he has developed and implemented long term strategy, build the organization and processes / capabilities to deliver on those goals end ensure the delight of all constituencies. He has significant operating experience and, as leader with excellent communication skills, experience being the public face of the organization to the communities it operates in. Additionally, Kendall has deep financial expertise to help organizations ensure the alignment of goals and resources.
As a senior executive he has a strong, collaborative style balanced with accountability and bias toward action and results. He built strong leadership teams, succession plans and clear diverse corporate cultures. He has spent his career aligning, advising, leading various constituencies in organizations to agree on strategy, goals, tactics and measures of success. He takes great satisfaction and pride in building the consensus necessary to act and deliver an organization’s mission and maximize its impact within its field of endeavor.
Donna Lowry
Donna Lowry, MD is an executive/strategist with 30 years of experience in the nonprofit, education, and health care sectors. She has held leadership positions at the University of Pittsburgh, Hope College and Ready for School. Donna has developed a strong reputation around community-wide collaborations that leverage public-private partnerships. As a physician, she has designed outcomes-based programming connecting health and education to community development and been instrumental in raising the funds to bring these programs forward. She has worked tirelessly to develop and implement programming that elevates issues of diversity, inclusion, equity, and access, particularly around children’s rights to quality education and healthcare. As a professional interim, her strategies resulted in a 27% increase in top line revenue and stabilized staffing in a private medical practice during COVID.
In 2021 she formed her consulting practice to advise and coach educational institutions, medical practices and community startups in matters of strategy, program development, collaborations, and funding.
Charles McCrea
Charles McCrea is a Senior Consultant with an extensive background in the areas of leadership development, change management, team building, and developing a sense of community. He has worked with nonprofit, public sector and educational groups in strengthening leadership, governance, and teamwork such that the individuals and organization can work together to achieve goals that had previously been challenging.
Charles has experience as a supervisor and manager in a manufacturing environment as well as a division operations manager. He also held varied marketing positions (Director Environmental Stewardship, Director Polaroid Education Program, Director Corporate Packaging and Branding). Charles served as the Chief Operation Officer of a national nonprofit, The Environmental Careers Organization.
Charles has successfully delivered many supervisory and management training initiatives including Supervisor Certificate Programs for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, New Hampshire Rehabilitation Commission, and supervisor coaching for the Department of Children and Families.
Linda Noonan
Linda Noonan currently works with nonprofits and advocacy organizations at the national, state and local levels as a Board member and active volunteer. She previously served as Executive Director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education (MBAE), where she was responsible for advancing the organization’s mission to ensure a high quality public education to prepare every child in Massachusetts for success in college, career and citizenship. In this role, she has represented the business community on state task forces and advisory councils related to education and economic development. Previously, Linda directed international trade programs at Associated Industries of Massachusetts and also served as State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business.
Linda began her career in government at the U.S. Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts and subsequently was appointed Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Her civic and volunteer activities include serving on the Westwood School Committee and on the town’s Finance Commission, Permanent Building Committee, and Economic Development Advisory Council. She holds degrees from Cornell University and the University of Chicago.
John O’Hara
John O’Hara has spent his career successfully building and leading a variety of non-profit and for-profit healthcare organizations. He has a proven ability to align board members, managers and staff around rapid organizational transformation, growth, and the continuous improvement of operations and finances. John has an effective collaborative leadership style and a demonstrated ability to build and manage high performing teams through very difficult challenges, including complete turnarounds.
John is an innovator who builds trusting relationships with his colleagues and creates a positive environment for change to achieve an organization’s immediate and longer term objectives. He is a good listener and prides himself on being a supportive leader, coach and mentor. John has been an Executive Vice President of a community hospital, Administrator of a large urban ambulatory care center, CEO of a for-profit multi-specialty cardiovascular practice, the President of a multi-specialty physician enterprise, and the Vice-President of a public, safety net hospital.
He currently serves as a Board Member of a local healthcare organization and volunteers for a number of organizations in his community. John has a BA from Boston College, an MHA from The George Washington University, and a JD from Suffolk University.
Amanda Preston
Amanda Preston is a respected nonprofit executive/strategist with over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She has held senior leadership positions at the Harvard – Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Harvard University, among others.
Amanda’s background includes advancement, external relations, board development and governance, legislative affairs, and program design, review, evaluation, and management. She has an excellent track record in securing significant funding from individuals, foundations, and government agencies for a broad range of programs and organizations. She has also developed her skills and knowledge in the planning, implementation, management, and evaluation of small and large inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional partnerships. She is also deeply involved in mentoring and coaching early-career professionals.
In late 2018, she formed her consulting practice to advise and coach the leaders of scientific and educational institutions in matters of strategy, planning, positioning, program development, research collaborations, and funding.
She graduated from Wellesley College, while completing some of her coursework at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Ellen Rothberg
Ellen was President of VNA Health Care located in north central Connecticut , a $50M multi corporate, multi site agency. Services included home health, private duty, hospice, managed care contracting, durable medical equipment, pharmacy and social support agencies. The agency had severe financial problems and, working along with the Board of Directors and management team, she completed a review of all business lines, locations and organizational structure and completed a turnaround.
For the last six years Ellen has worked with agencies to assess and develop plans for improvement in all areas of operations from intake, marketing, billing , finance and clinical delivery and quality. She works with boards of directors to evaluate agency viability and with management to evaluate and develop plans for immediate and midrange improvement in operations.
Ellen has served on both state and national committees as a member of the board of directors of Visiting Nurse Associations of America and the Connecticut Association for Health Care at Home and gives presentations at state and national industry meetings.
Stephen Schaffer
Steve Schaffer is a senior executive with high level skills in strategic planning, program development, fundraising strategy, and Board and community relations. With strong operational, financial and program management expertise, he is a team builder, motivator and spokesperson.
As Executive Director, he grew one small local organization into a dominant regional entity with sites in multiple cities with a reputation for innovation and quality care. As Chief Operating Officer of a nationally known research and service organization, he modernized operations, and implemented new services and subsequently, as Interim President, launched the organization on its new strategic direction. He has continued this work as Interim Executive Director for the New Hampshire Humane Society, Children’s Study Home and Brighton Marine.
Steve earned a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell and an MSW from Boston University and now works with his nonprofit clients to strengthen executive – Board and executive – staff relationships, clarify their mission / vision / strategy, and ensure that operational management is aligned with strategy.