Areas of Expertise
- Roles & Responsibilities
- Composition & Board Development
- Structure & Culture
- Board-Staff Relations
- Assessments
Jenifer Gager is an independent consultant based in the greater Washington, DC area and served as an on-staff consultant for BoardSource for nearly a decade. Prior to starting JLG Consulting, she was Associate Vice President, Consulting for BoardSource. After more than two decades helping organizational leaders advance nonprofit governance and financial sustainability nationally, Jenifer founded JLG Consulting with a vision for what’s possible when shared human endeavor takes place at the outer limits – beyond boundaries – which is also a principle of The Power of Possibility campaign she helped build while at BoardSource. A passionate believer in the power of groups, Jenifer helps clients achieve more together than could ever be imagined alone.
Jenifer serves executive and board leaders across a broad range of nonprofit types, including fiscally-sponsored entities. Jenifer has worked with hundreds of nonprofit charities, coalitions, and networked organizations. Selected past clients include: Borealis Philanthropy, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative, the Meyer Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and YMCA of the USA.
Jenifer’s work is grounded in personal experience, having been a nonprofit founder and executive director herself for the Alliance for Community Enhancement (ACE), a place-based collaborative and mentorship organization in New York City. Jenifer’s consulting work began in the area of workforce development with Public/Private Ventures and she also provided business and sustainability planning for children, youth and family programs nationwide while at The Finance Project. A seasoned program designer, Jenifer has developed peer cohort groups focused on governance, race equity, and social entrepreneurship. In addition to providing consulting and facilitation, Jenifer takes great joy in partnering with executives and senior staff to access a broader range of courage, clarity, and inner resources through her coaching practice.
People who have worked closely with Jenifer characterize her as a listener, bridge-builder, and as a go-getter that brings playfulness and creativity to her engagements. She has guest lectured at Georgetown University on nonprofit governance and is a contributing author to the BoardSource publication Putting Purpose First: Nonprofit Board Leadership Today. Jenifer serves on the Governance and Nominating Committee for Mental Health America and as Vice Chair of the board The Restoration Center, Inc. – a Prince George’s County, Maryland-based nonprofit that provides services to promote the mental, physical, and spiritual well-being of individuals, couples and families.
Jenifer specializes in:
- Retreat and meeting facilitation
- Executive & board coaching
- Board culture & dynamics
- Strategic board cultivation & recruitment
- Governance assessments and reviews