Areas of Expertise
- Roles & Responsibilities
- Structure & Culture
- Board-Staff Relations
- Strategic Thinking & Planning
- Fundraising
- Governance Design & Support
Susan Decker is an independent consultant based in Indiana and has served as a Senior Governance Consultant for BoardSource since 2005. Over the last decade, she has directed and served as faculty for the Master of Leadership Development at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana. This graduate program works with business, nonprofit, and public sector professionals in their educational journey of developing and expanding their leadership skills.
She has over 25 years of nonprofit management and leadership experience, currently working with nonprofit organizations on exceptional governance practices, fundraising, board development to increase engagement, and strategic planning. She has worked with client organizations across the globe with a diversity of mission, size, and geographic scope. Susan works collaboratively with the board and staff to facilitate growth opportunities for the organization. Her clients include The Smithsonian, Special Olympics International, Ronald McDonald House Global Charities, ESPN, Adobe, Medtronic, Duke University, Vanderbilt University, and Annenberg Foundation.
As a trainer of consultants, Susan has served as the lead for the BoardSource Certified Governance Training program and the Certificate of Nonprofit Board Consulting. In this role, she has worked with over 200 nonprofit consultants, guiding them on best practices in building engaging and focused board training based upon sound governance practices.
Previously, Susan worked with two national public charities: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. At St. Jude, she had responsibility for special event fundraising of $150M annually and a staff of nearly 200. At Komen, she had governance oversight for over 100 local boards. She also served as the National Director of the Race for the Cure® series, the world’s largest run/walk series.
Susan has served on a number of nonprofit boards of directors, serving in leadership positions such as Chair of the Governance Committee and Chair of the Board. She currently serves on a local nonprofit board.
Her work has been recognized with the ATHENA Leadership Award for contributions to her community and the Sister Mary Joseph Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Service at Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods College.
Susan specializes in:
- Governance review & support
- Strengthening the executive/board partnership
- Building a culture of inquiry
- Strategic planning
- Assessment & executive coaching
- Building a culture of philanthropy