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Strategy, Communication, Development, and more, in service of Mission & Values.
Good questions, helpful answers.
Let's talk.
Strategy, Communication, Development, and more, in service of Mission & Values.
Good questions, helpful answers.
Let's talk.
I help great organizations navigate through turbulence to measurable impact. I've served as a senior leader in both long-term and interim roles. I have broad experience, deep knowledge, and proven expertise. I'm an inclusive, collaborative, value-centric leader with strong leadership, strategy, management, communications, finance, development, and organizational growth and change skills.
I'm deeply committed to finding shared values and strengthening democracy. I have particular skills in productive collaboration across differences, and aligning strategy, teams, and resources with opportunities to flourish.
"Ken is a joy to work with: a great listener, creative thinker and asks the best questions of anyone I know. Ken's skills can move you forward."
A graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School and a former journalist, I blend a wide-ranging understanding of theories, practices, and people with firsthand experience from classrooms to boardrooms. Through a variety of roles and organizations, I've worked with a diverse set of people, settings, and resource bases.
I've been fortunate to work with people who address injustices, bridge differences, build communities, and develop leaders...with an emphasis on the rising generation. I've been doubly fortunate to continually and humbly learn from mentors, colleagues, and teachers about developing my own capacity to support a society where everyone us received.
In all my work, I emphasize:
• diverse experiences and shared commitments
• hard questions, rather than easy answers
• compelling, measurable results.
"We're going to be a better organization because of your efforts. We've come a long way."
I help writers, speakers, and organizations find their authentic voices, and engage readers, listeners, and stakeholders in productive, respectful conversations that lead to intended outcomes.
If your goal is to share a specific message with a particular audience for a desired outcome, I can help. My goal is for you to communicate with clarity and impact—in your voice.
I’m an editor, journalist, and communications specialist. I’ve edited hundreds (thousands?) of articles, reports, scripts, t communicate with clarity and impact—in your voice. e professionally published books. I’ve been a daily newspaper reporter, magazine features writer, and worked on the editorial staffs of several national magazines, including a stint as the Editor. I’ve served as Communications Director for internationally respected nonprofits, run campaigns, turned out reports and videos, and placed opinion pieces in major newspapers.
"[Ken's] editing skills are exceptional. He helped me reframe many ideas that could be convoluted or unclear to someone not familiar with the subject matter. He...also...caught and changed more errors than my publisher’s editor."
I'm also an effective, drama-free writer, fluent in a variety of writing styles: reports, blogs, op-eds, scripts, and more. I've had hundreds of pieces published on a variety of topics.
I respect your knowledge, intentions, and voice. As a seasoned professional, I can help you reach your goals.
"What impressed me about working with Ken was his ability to build consensus among a large number of extremely smart, strong-willed and vocal [stakeholders] while maintaining high standards and integrity. I would welcome future opportunities to work with Ken."
"Having worked with many leaders from different organizations as a consultant in various industries, I found Ken to be one of the most savvy, personable, and effective leaders I've worked with. He's professional, astute, communicative, and delightful. Ken is committed to high level results and meaningful work. His level of competence and sophistication as a leader motivates and inspires his team to strive for excellence and to enjoy their work. These skills translate across various types of leadership roles. It would be my pleasure to recommend Ken for whatever leadership role he decides to pursue."
"Ken was absolutely great to work with: very smart, creative--Ken's thinking was years ahead of the pack with respect to the social networking phenomenon that is now dominating the Web. Ken can also apply his intelligence to practical, real-word challenges. In our work he was always on time and on point with his deliverables. Ken is also emotionally intelligent, knows how to listen, and has a great sense of humor. I recommend him highly."
"Ken has a professional, personable approach combined with an attention to detail that I greatly appreciated. He is open to others' thinking while clearly articulating his view. He always asked excellent questions and could be counted on when he committed to a deliverable to be accurate and timely. When he said he would do it, he did it. An art many have lost in today's busy environment. I would work with Ken on any project now and in the future, it's been a real pleasure to work with him."
"Ken was an inspiring leader with passion and commitment. He worked tirelessly to first enact and then to push for funding for the Clean Elections Law. His negotiating ability helped to keep together a fragile, but broad, coalition charged with promoting the law.
Ken's unparalleled rapport with the media kept the issue always in the public eye.
Similarly, Ken's vision and leadership brought together disparate groups...in the Coalition for Legislative Reform.... Ken's industry and creativity was the glue that held the Coalition together.
As do all good leaders, Ken was always looking to the future. He pushed Common Cause to become more involved in the area of civic engagement and stewarded several projects in the area including the innovative "Do Democracy" campaign....
Ken was also mindful of the bottom line and kept the state organization "in the black" when many others faltered. His well-written appeal letters and successful large-donor fundraising program created the largest increase in the state-based fundraising in the history of the organization."
"Ken had handled several immediate challenges (funding issues, hirings, etc.) during his tenure. He also had teed up several longer-term issues for me to resolve, by supplying me with information and context. This enabled me to make decisions based on my judgement on the best direction for CCSLS, and my management style.
Ken was a quick study at our core services and people, getting up to speed quickly. He reassured our staff, board, funders, and other stakeholders that our services would not suffer during the transition, and that we would continue to deliver effectively on a complex web of more than a dozen government and foundation contracts with very specific requirements.
As a seasoned professional, Ken proved to be calm in a storm, and delivered on that promise. He communicated transparently and effectively, and modeled competence and trustworthiness. Ken engaged empathetically with our staff, board, funders, and other stakeholders, and reassured everyone that CCSLS would emerge from the leadership search a strong organization, well-positioned to navigate a constantly changing environment.
He then led CCSLS to those outcomes and more. CCSLS was in a better place after Ken's tenure, in terms of systems, confidence, and relationships."
"Ken is the best kind of collaborator: he listens deeply and with discernment, generates a clear vision, challenges ideas that are unclear or off-course, and works to create synergy; he is practical and tough-minded; he has a lively wit and laughs easily. I love working with him, and seek projects that can involve his special genius."
"Ken came into a complex situation where many constituencies were vying for influence over direction, and managed the organization to greater cooperation and a shared sense of mission. He was practical and pragmatic in his management of the annual budget and resources, achieving much with very little."
"Ken is a joy to work with: a great listener, creative thinker and asks the best questions of anyone I know. Ken's skills can move you forward."
"Ken edited a forthcoming book of mine, for which I am very grateful. His editing skills are exceptional. He helped me reframe many ideas that could be convoluted or unclear to someone not familiar with the subject matter. He is also an outstanding copy editor. He caught and changed more errors than my publisher’s editor."
"It was a total delight to be able to have Ken's professional and personal assistance on this [book] project. It was a perfect combination because he applied both his expert knowledge and also his sense of how I might want to say something, which was usually better than what I said!"