Impact
Highlights from the Field
Suru and its founder, Pauline Herrera, have served numerous nonprofit organizations in various roles, including consulting, advisory, board service, and executive leadership. Through each engagement, we have found the most meaningful measure of our work to be the impact created by the organizations we serve.
Who better to speak to their impact and the value we offer than the leaders of our client organizations and partners? Their voices highlight Suru’s collaborative approach, the depth of understanding we strive for, the emotional intelligence we flex, and the diligence required to strengthen nonprofits from within.
For a deeper look at how Suru helped transform the organizational culture of one client, explore our case study.
What Clients & Partners Say About Working with Suru’s Founder
Karen Marie Gerrity, Consultant, Center for Partnership Studies
“Pauline is a thoughtful and caring community advocate and change agent who is approachable and kind. Her knowledge and skills make her an excellent candidate to assist an organization seeking a strategic partner.”
Kanitha Snow, MFA, Former Board Chair, The Village Institute | Director, Colgate Writers Conference
“Working with Pauline has delivered great value to our entire board and nonprofit organization. She quickly got to work to understand where we were as an organization, where we wanted to be, and helped us understand what we needed to do to get there. From attending our board meetings to providing executive coaching to delivering intensive workshops to our entire board, Pauline has added value in significant ways. I am confident that our organization and our board culture will be stronger through our collaboration with Pauline.”
Nazrawit Medhanie, MA, Former Board Chair, Project Worthmore
“Pauline’s training of our board was timely, insightful and actionable! Every nonprofit should consider training with Pauline to set their organization and board up for success.”
Denise Montgomery, Former Director, Denver Office of Cultural Affairs | Founder and Principal, CultureThrive
“Pauline is a dedicated professional and a pleasure to work with. I was impressed by Pauline the first time that I met her, and I was delighted when I was able to hire her to lead Communications and Marketing at the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs. Pauline was the first person to hold this position, and she quickly became an integral part of the agency, exceeding expectations for her role. Through Pauline's hard work and finesse for internal and external relationships, DOCA's communications and marketing were a driving force in the success of a range of initiatives and in the overall success of the agency. Pauline helped to elevate the role of the office in the community and played a central role in connecting more people with art and culture in their lives. She is a positive force, a valuable asset, and a great pleasure to have as a colleague.”
Ron Izzo, AIA, Former Board Member, Denver Architecture Foundation | Principal, Handprint Architecture
“I had the privilege of working with Pauline during her tenure as Executive Director of the Denver Architecture Foundation. Pauline is an exceptional professional and her leadership was instrumental in driving the foundation’s mission forward. Pauline has a great talent for fostering collaboration and her passion and dedication are evident. She would be an invaluable asset to any organization fortunate enough to have her on their team.”
Ken Schroeppel, AICP, Former Board Member, Denver Architecture Foundation | Director, Urban Design at University of Colorado Denver
“I greatly value my past experiences working with Pauline and look forward to the next opportunity when I can see Pauline's expertise in action. As a previous board member of an organization under Pauline's executive leadership, I witnessed her ability to lead an organization in both the day-to-day operations and in long-term strategic planning and mission achievement. Pauline's strength lies in her ability to understand the big picture for an organization and help guide it along a path to success that is focused and calibrated, yet adaptable to changing conditions. I also learned everything I know about fundraising from Pauline, who deeply understands the role of fundraising and having the non-profit's board of directors "on board" to accomplish an organization's mission. Any non-profit group looking for someone to help them with long-term strategic planning or organizational coaching should strongly consider Pauline as their go-to person.”
George Sparks, President & CEO, Denver Museum of Nature & Science
“Pauline has years of experience leading a non-profit through a growth phase. She can help you acquire the leadership and management skills to do the same thing. And she is an inspiring, kind human being!”
Ellie Adelman, LCSW, Founder & Executive Director, The Village Institute
“Pauline has been instrumental in helping us 'get our house in order.' She provided incredibly useful training for our board on best practices of board governance and engagement. She also painstakingly interviewed each board member to elicit their experience, ideas, hopes, and concerns, and compiled all of that rich information into an especially valuable summary that allowed us to set our priorities for the coming year. Additionally, she has provided really responsive coaching to myself and our Board Chair to ensure we're empowered and equipped to lead the organization and the board towards a bright future. We are so grateful for her amazing support and close attention to our needs as a growing team and organization.”
Jason Otero, Senior Creative Director, Art & Anthropology
“I met Pauline in 2003 just as I was starting Art & Anthropology and she was hired as the Director of Communications for Denver's Office of Cultural Affairs (then known as the Mayor's Office of Art, Culture and Film). Specifically, we collaborated on the launch of the ‘One Book, One Denver’ literacy program. I remember being immediately impressed by her organizational skills and marketing savvy. She has the ability to simultaneously think big while also staying focused on the details of any particular project. Since ‘One Book, One Denver,’ I've had the pleasure of working with Pauline on numerous projects (many of which are some of my favorites), including the launch of her own business. I can with 110% confidence endorse Pauline and hope it leads to future collaborations.”
Justin Gitlin, Tech Director, Hovercraft & Creative Developer, Cacheflowe, LLC
“Pauline is a graceful, thoughtful, and inquisitive professional who makes big things happen in uncharted territory. She's an invaluable member of the community whose humble nature masks the scale and diversity of the work that she does for our city. With many hats on her head and a completely positive outlook, Pauline is a pleasure to work with, and simply to be around.”
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We’re ready to discuss your professional and organizational challenges and opportunities. Drop us a line and we’ll reach out to schedule a call.