My life’s work
I am a fifth generation Andrus family member who has been actively engaged in my family’s philanthropy for the last two decades. I currently serve on the board of the Surdna Foundation, a family led social justice foundation started by my great, great grandfather, John Emory Andrus over 100 years ago. I have had the great privilege of chairing the Andrus Family Philanthropy Program and the AFP Committee which is responsible for outreach and engagement of nearly 500 Andrus family members. I was proud to help guide the Centennial anniversary of Surdna, shining a light on our partners and advancing initiatives to continue our pursuit of social justice.
Prior to my years at Surdna, I was a founding board member of the Andrus Family Fund (AFF), a program launched by Surdna in 2000 as a grantmaking fund for fifth generation family members. Alongside 7 cousins, we developed program areas, governance policies, bylaws, mission, strategic vision, and committees of the board of this $4MM fund. I served as Vice Chair, then Co-Chair for four of my seven-year term.
As a philanthropic advisor, I develop strategies for family foundations and nonprofits, and speak regularly around the country on topics in philanthropy including next generation engagement, social justice, racial equity, power and privilege, impact and evaluation, foundation culture and strategic communications. I am honored to also serve on the boards of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) and the National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP) and was recently named to the 2020 and 2021 Class of Fellows for NCFP.
My career started over 30 years ago as a media and communications professional, with expertise in social media and brand development. This led me to a “start up” phase in my life whereby I successfully launched two technology startup ventures including an iPhone app that helps people remember others names.
I am married to a rock ‘n’ roll Boston DJ and we are blessed with two adult children, an awesome dog and a large cat with an attitude. Home for me is Hopkinton, Massachusetts, where I’ve lived for the last 20+ years.
Visit my story on LinkedIn.
Consulting Partners
Kelly D. Nowlin
Principal, KDN Philanthropy Consulting
Contact me:
T: 508.733.0618
Email: kelly@kdnphilanthropy.com
Steve Greeley is president of Shared Cause. In addition to managing the firm, he serves as lead consultant on projects involving strategic planning, building partnerships, mobilizing resources, and helping clients ultimately achieve transformational social change. He was instrumental in formulating the Cause Development® methodology.
His recent focus involves building new statewide systems of support for families and young children in Nevada and Mississippi. Steve served as a community consultant for the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, a national effort of more than 300 cities and towns working to insure children’s reading proficiency by Grade 3. He also participated in a multi-year project to design and coordinate technical assistance for a Lumina Foundation 75-city initiative to improve post-secondary attainment.
Closer to our Boston home base, Steve directed the planning for Thrive In 5, a comprehensive public and private initiative aimed at making all Boston children ready to succeed in kindergarten. He later became the lead consultant for the Boston Opportunity Agenda, a long-term cradle-to-career public and private collaborative.
In the health field, Steve’s projects have included the design of and funding for the National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids and the design of strategies for the Global Fund for Children’s Vaccines, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, and initiatives of Harvard Medical School and its hospital affiliates.
He has been a featured speaker for the National League of Cities, Kellogg Foundation national programs, National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and numerous other social change entities. Prior to joining the firm in 1995, Steve had extensive experience in fundraising, serving as director of development programs and public affairs at the Massachusetts General Hospital, director of development at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and director of corporate and foundation relations at Bentley University.
He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s degree at the Boston University School of Public Communication.
Lisa Parker brings 30 years of experience in philanthropy and nonprofit management to her work with philanthropic families. Since 1997 Lisa has been President and Executive Director of the Lawrence Welk Family Foundation, leading the Foundation’s poverty initiatives, seeding the youth giving movement and creating youth philanthropy programs for the family’s 4th generation.
In 2009 Lisa founded Family Circle Advisors where she and her team help families increase the impact of their giving and navigate the complex family relationships critical to the success of a family foundation or enterprise. Family Circle Advisors also facilitates family retreats and is a leader in providing experiential team building events for family foundations and family businesses.
Lisa is certified by 21/64 (a division of The Andrea & Charles Bronfman Philanthropies) as a multi - generational advisor to families and was trained by the National Center for Family Philanthropy as a facilitator. Lisa serves as an advisor and board member to numerous organizations working to build and expand the philanthropic sector, including the USC Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy and the National Center for Family Philanthropy. Lisa speaks nationally on family dynamics and governance, youth philanthropy, new models of giving and the evolution of family philanthropy “From Lawrence Welk to Lady Gaga.” Lisa graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA with a degree in social psychology.