350 Chicago
I serve as Board Treasurer of 350 Chicago.
That role keeps me close to the real work of nonprofit governance. Budgets, reporting, commitments, cash flow, board decisions, staff capacity and strategic priorities all meet in the same place. They do not wait politely for perfect systems.
Treasurer Work
The treasurer role is not just reviewing numbers after the fact. It means helping the board understand what the organization can commit to, what the timing of money actually allows, where reporting obligations sit, and how financial decisions affect real capacity.
That matters in any nonprofit, but it matters even more when an organization works with limited staff, changing funding timing, volunteer energy and urgent mission pressure.
Capacity and Governance
One of the hardest nonprofit problems is that people often see the need before the structure can support the work.
The board may want growth. Staff may already be carrying too much. Funding may arrive on one timeline while expenses show up on another. Reporting may satisfy one requirement while creating extra work somewhere else.
Good governance means seeing those pressures clearly enough to make decisions before the organization quietly burns through the people doing the work.
Why This Role Matters
350 Chicago gives me a live setting where governance is not theoretical.
Every financial conversation has operational consequences. Every capacity decision affects people. Every commitment creates work somewhere. Every delayed decision has a cost, even if it does not show up immediately in the budget.
That is the same pattern I care about in my research and IVA work. Finance matters, but finance cannot be the only way an organization sees itself.
Related Work
My board service connects to my broader work on organizational value, internal governance, public administration and capacity.