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Rena Henderson Mason

Bold Agenda

 

Member profile details

First Name
Rena
Last Name
Henderson Mason
Company
Bold Agenda
Title
Founder and Chief Engagement Officer
Phone
312-961-6060
Address Line 1
516 E. 32nd Street Unit A
City
Chicago
State/Province
IL
Zip Code
60616
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Company Profile

Company Overview
Is your board fully engaged? Does your board agree on your strategic priorities? Is your next board chair ready to lead? Is your CEO prepared to grow the organization and manage a board? Are your board meetings productive? Has your board adopted and practiced an equity, diversity and inclusion framework in their governance? Do they understand what it takes to be anti-racist in their practices? Is your board prepared to hire and support a new CEO? Does your board have the capacity to raise funds and open doors? If your answer was no to any of these questions, we can help you strengthen, engage, educate and elevate your board.

We help identify the best way to energize your board and senior staff. We help boards and leaders manage change at any stage of development and in any sector. We help organizations transform their board culture with a bold agenda and strong leadership. Our clients value our collaborative approach to strategic planning, governance, coaching, succession planning, fundraising and equity, diversity and inclusion solutions. We focus on empowering boards, their leaders and taking an innovative approach to the work of the board as a high performance team with an agile, inclusive lens.
Company Logo
Services
Powering Leaders

Bold Agenda offers leadership development programs targeted to specific areas of board leadership:

Prospective board members – Next Level Engine
Executive Directors/CEOs - Start Strong and Thrive
Board Chairs – Kickstart the Board
The Board Chair and CEO relationship – Board Champions

Energizing Boards

We help boards become energized and more engaged through the following services:

Fundraising Training
Strategic Planning
Facilitation of workshop or retreat
Executive Coaching
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Board Recruitment and Retention
Succession Planning
Storytelling Workshop
Board Assessment
Board Evaluation
Board Alignment
Board Roles and Responsibilities
Practice Areas (select top 3)
  • Board Support (Development, Governance, Retreats, Training)
  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Training
  • Executive Coaching
  • Leadership and Professional Development
  • Organizational Development
  • Social Enterprise
  • Strategic planning
Client List
National Alliance to End Homelessness
Community Catalyst
2020 Farmers Cooperative
Illinois Action for Children
Marklund
University of Illinois - College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
University of Illinois - College of Architecture, Design and the Arts
Northeastern Illinois University
The Management Center
Academy of Urban School Leadership
National Equity Fund
Techbridge Girls
Community Desk
Illinois Environment Council
Stryv365
EPACENTER
Chicago Arts Partnership in Education
Tree House Humane Society
University of Chicago Charter School
After School Matters
Helping Hand Center
LEARN Charter School Network
Greater Chatham Initiative
Grant Park Music Festival
A Better Chicago
Cabrini Green Legal Aid
National Safety Council
CPS Office of Civic Engagement
Jane Goodall Institute
Accion Chicago
Chicago Teachers Pension Fund Board
Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Robert Crown Center for Health Education
The Peoples Music School
NeighborWorks America
Gardeneers
Chicago Commons
YWCA
BoardSource
Forefront
Fifth Third Bank
Loyola University
eta Creative Arts Foundation
Arts & Business Council of Chicago
SHRM Foundation
UNICEF - Midwest Region
Giordano Dance Chicago
Victory Gardens Theater
Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center
Testimonial 1
"The most valuable part of our board development project was the listening - Rena spent time talking to each board member, really listening and understanding where each was coming from. She had no personal agenda, except to meet each member where they were at. Rena is the BOARD Whisperer!" - Jennifer Kim Matsuzawa, President, The Peoples Music School
Testimonial 2
“Bold Agenda knows how to structure group conversations and maintain the focus as the strategic plan develops with the teams.” Bill Dwyer, CEO, Helping Hand Center
Testimonial 3
“I would encourage groups that want to have an authentic experience solving problems and seeking long term solutions to consider Bold Agenda. The facilitation was well designed and encouraged participants to engage at multiple levels in a results-oriented environment.” Todd Barnett, Director of Partnerships, Family and Community Engagement, University of Chicago Charter School
 

Speaker's Bureau Information

Topic 1
Activating the Board In A Crisis
Topic 1 Description
In any crisis, there is a flurry of activity at the board level, but not all of it is helpful in addressing what an organization may face as the crises develops and evolves. Board members must understand and lean into their roles in a crisis so that their efforts align with the organization’s mission, values and priorities. In this workshop, we will provide participants a framework and tools to help the board assess the situation, ask the right questions, and think about how best to engage to support the staff in the near and long term.
Topic 2
Optimizing the Board Chair/CEO Relationship
Topic 2 Description
The Board Chair/CEO relationship is among the most critical for achieving success in a nonprofit and fulfilling its mission. Many Board Chair and CEO relationships are good, but leaders know they could be so much better. To make this relationship great, you need to know where to start, what discussions are the most important and how to allocate time to build the Board Chair/CEO relationship. In this workshop, we provide a framework for thinking about the behaviors, activities and work patterns between the Board Chair and CEO that generate the highest level of trust, communication and impact for an organization. We will explore how the critical Board Chair/CEO relationship can be optimized over time and deliver the greatest impact.
Topic 3
Breaking Down Barriers: Achieving Real Board Diversity and Inclusion
Topic 3 Description
What’s holding your board back from achieving real diversity and inclusion?
You may be challenged with making the business case for diversity and helping your board understands its value. Your board may continue to struggle to achieve meaningful and lasting diversity and inclusion. Whether you face challenges with recruiting the right talent, heightening their engagement, and/or retaining and preparing diverse candidates for leadership roles, you know that you need to do something different to reach your diversity goals.
In this workshop, we will discuss some of the structural, cultural and emotional barriers that exist on non-profit boards when it comes to building greater diversity among members. We will walk through the steps to breakthrough these barriers along three dimensions for sustainable board diversity and inclusion. Through the highlighted frameworks and tools, we will explore how to apply barrier breaking techniques to your board.
• Understand the barriers to greater diversity and inclusion that may exist on your board
• Identify how to breakthrough these barriers and who should lead the process
• Why the discussion of equity is elusive and/or difficult

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