Upcoming expert advice series
The next series of quarterly Zoom conversations with experienced consultants begins September 17 through December 14. These spaces are designed for Pathways for Tomorrow grantees to engage directly with experts, ask questions, and explore the complex challenges emerging in their work.
These sessions are not presentations but interactive, conversation-based meetings grounded in real-time needs and experiences. Together, we will create space to think more deeply, share perspectives, and learn alongside one another.
Topics include:
- Adaptive Change and Leadership – led by Dr. Tod Bolsinger, AE Sloan Leadership.
Register here for the September 17 conversation.
Register here for the November 11 conversation.
- Fundraising – led by Brad Layland and John Ranheim, The FOCUS Group.
Register here for the September 28 conversation.
Register here for the December 14 conversation.
- Assessment and Evaluation – led by Kay Edwards and Mary Reinders, Outsight Network.
Register here for the October 12 conversation.
Register here for the December 2 conversation.
- Strategy and Sustainability – led by Dr. David Rowe, Windermere Consulting.
Register here for the October 22 session conversation.
Register here for the December 3 conversation.
These conversations are an invitation to engage the more nuanced questions shaping your work, offering time to reflect, strategize, and gain insight from both consultants and peers.
We hope you’ll join us for these upcoming sessions and take advantage of this opportunity to connect, learn, and grow together. If you have any questions in advance of these conversations, please contact Annie Glanden at amglanden@intrust.org.
Previous sessions: Spring 2026
The following are part of the In Trust Center’s series of interactive conversations connecting Pathways grantees with experienced consultants to explore key challenges and opportunities in collaborative work. Topics included development and shared endowments, long-term strategy and sustainability, assessment and evaluation, adaptive leadership, and managing complex partnerships and collaborations.
Explore the recordings and resources below for practical guidance, consultant expertise, and insights to support your ongoing work.
Fundraising for Shared Endowments
In this conversation, Brad Layland, CEO, and John Ranheim, Chief Consulting Officer and Senior Consultant of The Focus Group, share practical guidance to help you launch your fundraising efforts with confidence and build a strong foundation for long-term sustainability. They discuss common early-stage fundraising mistakes and how to avoid them, explore strategies for building endowment and governance structures that inspire long-term confidence, and offer insights on cultivating relationships that are essential to a successful first year.
Strategy and Sustainability
In this conversation, we speak with Dr. David Rowe, President of Windermere Consulting, who shares practical guidance on building a strong strategic and relational foundation for long-term sustainability. He explores how schools can start well and position themselves for lasting impact, covering common early-stage mistakes to avoid, strategies for creating governance structures that support clarity and strategic decision-making, and ways to cultivate trust and relationships that will sustain collaboration over time.
Assessment and Evaluation
In this conversation, Kay Edwards, President, and Mary Reinders, Senior Research Partner, of Outsight Network, share guidance on designing thoughtful assessment and evaluation strategies for your projects. They discuss why evaluation is so important and explore how leaders can determine whether to bring in outside expertise or handle the work internally, offering practical insights to help grantees strengthen their project planning and impact.
Partnerships & Collaborations
In this conversation, Rick Staisloff, Senior Partner at rpk GROUP, shares practical guidance to help institutions build and sustain strong partnerships in support of collaboration-focused projects. He explores what it takes to get partnerships off to a strong start in the first year, highlights common challenges and missteps institutions encounter, and offers best practices for addressing them. Rick also provides insights on sustaining partnerships over time.
Adaptive Change and Leadership
In this conversation, Dr. Tod Bolsinger, co-owner and principal, AE Sloan Leadership, explores adaptive leadership in collaboration and how institutions can navigate the internal change needed for long-term success. He reflects on where leadership often falls short in the early stages of collaborative initiatives, shares key leadership shifts drawn from experience, and offers practical insights on building internal capacity to adapt in the first year. Tod also highlights the role of institutional culture and what leaders should pay close attention to as they guide adaptive change.
