Our Team

 
 

Leading & Developing Essential Processes & Practices

Michael Anderson Consulting is a strategy and planning practice working to build stronger communities through bolder nonprofits.

We build custom teams for the unique context of each consulting engagement, bringing together sets of experiences and perspectives optimally matched with client needs. While some of our frequent collaborators are included below, we are adept at accessing our broad network to build custom teams for your needs.

 

Core Staff Team

Michael Anderson

Partnering with Nonprofits for Social Change

For Michael, leading and developing essential processes and practices for success is essential to his work, and essential for delivering nonprofit success and social impact. Michael enjoys a mix of consulting engagements in his home community of the Twin Cities and working with nonprofits across the country.

Michael Anderson has more than 12 years of experience supporting nonprofits and foundations in strategy development, business planning, and merger negotiations. His career has included time as a Senior Manager with a national consultancy, leading a statewide financial management capacity-building program for nonprofit leaders, and developing grantee due diligence processes for a leading private foundation.

In the community, Michael serves as the Board Treasurer at Family Tree Clinic, on the finance committee of Open Arms of Minnesota, and as a running team captain for Mile in My Shoes. If you’re in Minneapolis, you’ve likely seen him at the farmers market on a Saturday morning or chasing his two kids around one of South Minneapolis’ amazing parks. His favorite escape is the North Shore of Lake Superior – specifically, the trails at Tettegouche State Park.

Meg Reid

Associate Consultant and Operations Manager

Meg is passionate about building effective, equitable, and sustainable nonprofits. Her work centers deep listening and expansive solution-building.

Meg Reid is a process-oriented operations professional with experience across nonprofit and small business environments. Her consulting work has spanned strategic planning, partnership exploration, customer and business development, and operational systems implementation with nonprofits and social impact startups. Meg serves on the board of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of the Twin Cities and recently graduated with her Masters in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. She loves cooking (and eating) and is currently crocheting her way through a huge stash of yarn.

As Associate Consultant and Operations Manager, Meg manages internal and project operational systems, contributes to client projects, and coordinates project teams, relationship management, and communications for the practice.

Garnetta Lowman

Associate Consultant

Garnetta's portfolio includes an array of project deliverables with outstanding process on outcomes ranging from marketing and branding initiatives to executive leadership equity and inclusion work plans.

Garnetta Lowman has extensive experience in project management and building strong sustainable relationships through direct client contact. Garnetta has managed a plethora of teams towards common goals both internally and externally. Notably, Garnetta has achieved certifications from the University of Minnesota in Project Management as well as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion certification. She has a Nonprofit Organizational Leadership mini-MBA and holds a B.A. in Business Management and Spanish from the University of St. Thomas.

As an Associate Consultant, Garnetta will engage her skillset to work closely with the MAC team on strengthening nonprofits in strategy and execution while supporting internal projects geared towards overall business development and brand.

Garnetta is an active member of the Facilitating Racial Equity Collaborative (FREC) Core Leadership Team, serves as Vice Chair on the Charities Review Council Board of Directors, and is a board member at Partnerships for Permanence. Each summer Garnetta enjoys mentoring aspiring young and diverse marketing professionals at The Brandlab’s summer internship program.

In her free time, Garnetta enjoys spending time with her friends and two children practicing laughter in everything they do.

Charles Blakeslee

Senior Finance Associate

Thorough, analytical, and practical problem-solving enables Charles to tackle ambiguous financial issues.

Charles Blakeslee has decades of experience as a Certified Public Accountant serving both for-profit and not-for-profit clients. His career includes time as a CFO and Executive Vice President, where he guided a start-up through to acquisition. In the community, Charles has served as Board Treasurer for nonprofits including Save LA River Open Space, preserving the last significant San Fernando Valley river-fronting open space as a recreational space for the public.

Charles has a BS in Business Administration from USC and a Master of Science in Taxation from California State University, Northridge. As an Intuit Tax Expert, he enjoys providing nationwide assistance to taxpayers at all income levels. Since relocating to Ann Arbor last year, he and his wife Carol are enjoying the change of seasons and all things nice that Michigan offers.

Charles contributes to MAC clients’ success through financial analysis and modeling. He supports clients in integrating critical financial aspects into strategy development, business planning, and partnership or merger explorations.

Project Partners

Steph Jacobs

Strategy Associate

Steph designs and facilitates highly engaging strategy sessions. She thoughtfully shapes strategic planning to work within unique organizational contexts.

Steph Jacobs is the founder of Trailblazer Leadership, a professional coaching and consulting firm that works with people and organizations who are interested in a different way of being. She is a graduate of St. Olaf College and has a master’s degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Throughout her career, Steph has created and facilitated programs on equity and inclusion, systems change, and leadership development for people working in state and local government and in nonprofit organizations.

Steph brings her knowledge and expertise in organizational development, emotional intelligence, change management, governance, and living systems to support the leaders she works with. She is a certified professional coach through iPEC and an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation, and she also serves on the board of directors for the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota and Metro Blooms.

Judy Pineda Neufeld

Strategy Associate

Judy structures strategy sessions to encourage a bounty of ideas. Her facilitation style invites everyone to participate openly and freely, bringing the best thinking out in a group setting. Her experience includes supporting and shaping team dynamics and helping people advance along their racial equity journeys.

Judy Pineda Neufeld is an expert organizational and leadership development consultant, facilitator, and trainer and passionate about building high-performing teams, inspiring future leaders, and facilitating honest conversations necessary to take action towards making the world a better place. Judy is sought-after for leading trainings and retreats, and known for her authentic, engaging style that energizes and encourages outside-the-box thinking.

Judy has strengthened teams and maximized impact at premier national and local organizations, like Emerge America and Big Sister Association of Greater Boston. Judy works with people privately, leads workshops inside organizations, and consults with leadership teams across the country.

Judy holds degrees from top universities – her MBA from Crummer School of Business at Rollins College, and her BA from Tufts University. She is a newly elected City Councilor in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Kendra Toth

Strategy Associate

As a systems thinker, Kendra bridges gaps between leadership, principles, and operations, ensuring a holistic approach to growth and change.

Kendra Toth is a highly collaborative facilitator, consultant, and thought partner with an unwavering commitment to fostering equity to drive change. With an extensive 20-year background in teaching, facilitating, and consulting, she brings endless curiosity to her work of aligning programming and operations to amplify an organization’s mission impact. Kendra specializes in co-creating durable spaces that can hold the intensity of transformative work and is particularly adept at facilitating difficult conversations, especially those rooted in different lived experiences.

She spends her free time in nature with her two big dogs, reading books of all kinds, and learning about energy healing.

Isadora Collins

Project Manager

Isadora brings a thoughtful approach to process design with sharp focus on inclusive engagement. She organizes workflow with attention to important details within a broad view of needs that are unique to each project.

Isadora Collins is an experienced project manager, innovation process designer and facilitator of systems redesign that centers the experience of Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities. Her management practice utilizes qualitative research and developmental evaluation in the design and execution of projects to build intentional, responsive and equitable community-centered solutions within community-centered organizations.

Isadora has spent the last 10 years of her career serving nonprofits, state and local governments, leaders, changemakers and higher education institutions throughout Minnesota. She holds a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and a Certificate in Project Management from the College of Continuing & Professional Studies at the University of Minnesota.

Lara Dreier

Project Manager

Lara partners closely with clients to drive processes toward shared goals and milestones. She is highly organized with a nuanced understanding of what is needed to keep projects flowing on a timeline.

Lara Dreier has over 15 years of experience in the non-profit sector. She honed her project management skills as a Chief of Staff and while overseeing Shared Services and Operations, and has extensive experience directing programs and organizing public interest campaigns. Her work has focused on a range of issues, including educational equity, environmental justice, and issues impacting individuals experiencing homelessness. She holds a Bachelors Degree from the University of Minnesota, and a Masters in Business Administration from Augsburg University.

Marcela Sánchez

Project Manager

Marcela specializes in using the Technology of Participation (ToP) and other facilitation and group problem-solving methods to lead strategic planning, action planning, community engagement, and continuous improvement processes. Her work emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the public and not-for-profit sectors in both English, Spanish, and bilingual settings.

Marcela Sánchez (she/her/ella) is an experienced bilingual and bicultural independent consultant. She is based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and has over 20 years of experience in program and partnership development, project management, team supervision, direct service, outreach to the Latine community, and strategic planning facilitation. Marcela is deeply committed to strengthening her communities and is passionate about providing accurate translation services from English to Spanish.

Marcela immigrated to Minneapolis, MN from Guadalajara, Mexico, and earned her Bachelor's Degree in K-12 Spanish Education from Hamline University. She lives in South Minneapolis with her husband Lewis, their dog Carmela, and their cat Minnie. Marcela enjoys listening to audiobooks and creating art, particularly making functional pottery at a local ceramics studio.

Trish Fisher

Research and Project Associate

Trish produces highly beneficial information through practical secondary research. Her comprehensive knowledge of various policy fields and sharp writing skills help drive results-oriented research for complex projects.

Trish Fisher is currently a graduate student at the University of Michigan studying public policy and public health. She has nearly ten years of experience in the nonprofit sector and specializes in qualitative research, project management, and writing and editing. Previously, Trish worked at La Piana Consulting and Swords to Plowshares, a homeless services organization in San Francisco. Trish had led engagements with the Elementary Reading Collaborative and James B. McClatchy Foundation and her work has supported projects with hundreds of organizations including Meals on Wheels San Francisco, Sobrato Family Foundation, and the California Department of Public Health. Trish has a BA in History and Middle Eastern & North African Studies from UCLA and studied abroad in Egypt and Lebanon. In her free time, Trish enjoys vegan cooking and exploring Michigan.

Melissa Mendes Campos

Research Associate

Melissa's practice focuses on capturing, synthesizing, and presenting qualitative data to support decision making in the work to make social change.

Melissa Mendes Campos is a writer and researcher with more than 25 years of nonprofit, community foundation, and consulting experience. Melissa is passionate about partnering with people, organizations, and communities of purpose advancing truth, love, and justice. She holds a Bachelors Degree from the University of California Santa Cruz.

Sam Theno

Research Associate

Sam presents fresh perspectives and approaches to clients’ research questions. He assists our team with secondary research in support of field and landscape scans.

Sam Theno is a recent graduate with a primary interest in arts-based community engagement. Sam has conducted research and participated in communications work with various nonprofits and community based organizations, some of those being The Minnesota State Arts Board, Community Action Partnership of Ramsey County, and Squaretree. His underlying goal is to promote equitable engagement and develop new creative ways to positively impact our communities. Sam holds a BS in Urban Studies from The University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. In his free time, Sam also plays guitar in a Milwaukee based band called Honey Creek.