Barbara Raye
Executive Director and
Founder
Consultant, Trainer, Mediator, Researcher, Policy Analyst
Barbara has dedicated her career to improving the
effectiveness of community-based nonprofit organizations
and government agencies in their work for social justice
and the ethical use of power. She has worked to this end
also in universities and operating foundations. In all
these sectors she brings an expertise in systems and
culture change, collaboration, and program development and
evaluation.
In Nonprofit as Executive Director and Board
Member
Barbara began her career in Indiana as
co-founder and director of two shelters for battered women
and their children. She was also instrumental in the
founding of the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic
Violence. During this time Barbara served as President of
the Unitarian-Universalist Society of Columbus, Indiana,
and she served two terms on the board of directors of
Quinco, a five-county mental health organization then
managed by John Carver.
Experience in Government
In 1983 Barbara relocated
to Minnesota to serve as a Governor appointee to the
Minnesota State Humane Society. Under her leadership as
Executive Director, the number of animal welfare programs
throughout the state grew from twenty to over forty, and
she worked for legislation to promote the safety and
ethical treatment of animals. From the Society Barbara
moved to the Minnesota State Department of Corrections
where she continued her work in state government as
Director of Victim Services. During her tenure with the
DOC, Barbara led the integration of four separate victims
units into a single department as a measure to improve
effectivenes and efficiency.
At the local level Barbara expanded her track record with
government to include Ramsey County (the home of the state
capitol) where she served as the Director of Policy,
Planning, and Organization Development. In this role
Barbara led and implemented the state's first citizen-based
county-wide strategic plan which focused on cross-sector
collaboration and introduced the discipline of outcomes and
performance measures in departments throughout the county.
In this and all her other government positions, (state and
local), Barbara brought citizens and elected officials
together for joint work on policy, legislation, and
"outcomes accountability."
Work with Foundations
Barbara's record with
foundations includes her tenure as Director of the Amherst
H. Wilder Foundation's Training and Consulting Group which
worked with scores of nonprofit and public sector
organizations throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Barbara led one Wilder initiative as part of a strategic
decision to re-focus on the urban core issues and to
streamline several departments to be more effective,
efficient, and synergistic. Barbara was also an early
member of the Development Committee of the
Women's Foundation of Minnesota.
Work in the Education Sector
In the education
sector, Barbara has served at Hamline University as an
adjunct instructor in the Masters Degree Program in Public
Administration and Nonprofit Management. She has led
courses in Outcomes and Performance Measurement, Governance
and Planning for Nonprofit Organizations, and Research and
Program Evaluation for Managers. She also provides training
and consulting through the College of St. Catherine in
Leadership Development,
Mediation, and
Being an Effective Change Agent.
Private Consulting Practice
Throughout her career
Barbara has cultivated and maintained a private consulting
practice in the area of nonprofit board governance and
management. It was this practice that eventually led to the
formation of the Center.
Education and Training
Barbara has a Masters in
Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas
in St. Paul, Minnesota. She also has specialized training
in Minnesota Quality Award Criteria, the Peter F. Drucker
Foundation National Training Team Self-Assessment Tool, the
Carver Policy Governance Model for Boards of Directors and
Governing Bodies, the Myers-Briggs Qualification,
Asset-Based Community Development (McKnight/Kreitzman
Northwestern University), the National Futurists "Shared
Participation" group process leadership training,
Fellowship of Reconciliation "Children's Creative Response
to Conflict," and mediation by CDR in Boulder, Colorado.
(Links to many of these organizations are available in the
links page of our library.)
Barbara Today
Barbara's passions include
restorative justice, large group/citizen engagement
processes, and the elimination of systemic discrimination
based on race, gender, physical disability, age, class, and
affectional orientation. These passions lead to and inform
Barbara's current work as Executive Director of the Center
for Policy, Planning, and Performance. Barbara travels
frequently in North America, Africa, and Europe and makes
her home in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
