Leadership & Governance

RDO 101 for Board Members

John Metcalf, NADO Annual Training Conference 2018: Being An Effective Board Member

Designed for board members and executive directors, this presentation outlines basic elements for a fully engaged and effective board of directors. It examines ways to better involve the board throughout the strategic planning process and plan implementation, offers ideas on the type of information needed from the executive director to make sound decisions, and discusses ways that board members can share the relevance and importance of the organization to its various stakeholders and audiences.

Steve Etcher, NADO Annual Training Conference 2016: Regional Council Board of Directors Boot Camp

Designed for board members at any level of engagement, this presentation helps viewers understand their individual roles and responsibilities as board members, while also increasing their knowledge about board-executive director relationships and building their confidence to better serve their organizations. Additionally, they will learn about the typical responsibilities of a regional council board member, with a particular focus on building strong relationships internally and externally.

Monica Scamardo, PhD, NADO Annual Training Conference 2015: Strategies for Exceptional Board Governance

Today’s RDO board member typically wears many hats. In addition to serving as an elected official, running a local business, leading a nonprofit organization, overseeing an educational institution, or a combination of some of these vocations, they are also charged with making sure the RDO serving their region maintains its commitment to the community while also assuring its overall financial health and longevity. This presentation addresses critical components of board governance.

Robert A. Floyd, NADO Annual Training Conference 2007: Effective Board Leadership

Learn about statewide approaches to program delivery and peer accountability, developing a strategic vision, and approaches for getting board members engaged in planning and sharing COG successes and mission/vision.

Executive Director Training

Steve Etcher, EDA Denver 2019: New Director Workshop

Economic Development Districts (EDDs) around the region—and nation—continue to experience turnover at the executive director level. Whether they are hired from within the EDD, made the move from another EDD, or come to the job lacking EDD experience, there is no real training program that can prepare new executive directors for the job. As existing staff take on the responsibilities of executive director, or as new staff bring their expertise and ideas to the organization, there is much to be learned…from organizational culture to managing diverse employees to handling unexpected challenges and much more. This presentation covers a wide range of topics: the dynamics of managing staff, especially if they were formerly your peers; overcoming the previous director’s legacy, good or bad; cleaning up messy situations; preparing for the unknown; developing your own leadership style; working with your board; developing and implementing an organizational strategic action plan; and financial management.

2018 Professional Development Webinar Series, Monica : Board Engagement for RDO Executive Directors

Designed for RDO executive directors, this webinar outlines tips and ideas on what they can do to help their board members fully understand the RDO’s programs and services, funding sources, and impact upon and relevance to communities across the region.  It also shares how to establish a clear definition of board members’ roles as the organization’s leadership.  This webinar is applicable for executive directors that are working with both new and long-term board members.

Jim Reed, CTCOG, NADO Annual Training Conference 2017: Engaging Employees in Times of Transition

Changes in an organization, such as changing staffing levels, new management, different priorities, or cutting programs or taking on new ones, can disrupt organizational culture and cause staff to feel disengaged. Learn to help employees navigate these shifts and be fully engaged in their new reality.

Monica Scamardo, PhD, NADO Annual Training Conference 2016: Strategies for Exceptional Board Governance

Today’s RDO board member typically wears many hats. In addition to serving as an elected official, running a local business, leading a nonprofit organization, overseeing an educational institution, or a combination of some of these vocations, they are also charged with making sure the RDO serving their region maintains its commitment to the community while also assuring its overall financial health and longevity. This presentation dives into the critical components of board governance.

Steve Etcher, NADO Annual Training Conference 2016: New Director Training

Whether you have been on the job for 3 days or 3 years, you probably feel as if you have a long way to go in terms of feeling comfortable as an RDO executive director. This presentation was developed by a former RDO executive director who went through many of the same situations you are facing today. The presentation is aimed at helping you develop skills needed to navigate through tough situations, better communicate with your many audiences (staff, board, funders, stakeholders), overcome the angst of transitioning from peer to boss, engage your staff, maintain current programs while bringing on new ones, hone in on your “inner leader” skills and talents, and much more.

Steve Etcher, NADO Annual Training Conference 2016: Positioning Your Organization for the Future

This presentation is designed to help RDO executive directors, those new to the position as well as those who’ve been at the helm for a while, learn how to seek active participation from the private sector; identify and recruit “good” board members; secure new pots of funding; recruit and train talent; deal with problem staff; motivate staff to be a team; propose, and get, a member dues increase; and other valuable management concerns.

NADO Annual Training Conference 2009: Executive Director Peer Learning Lab

This presentation targets all executive directors, no matter how long they have been on the job. Topics will cover organizational founding principles and purpose, regional councils’ role in era of new regionalism, significant issues facing regional councils, key leadership skills and managing an effective policy board.

RDO Relevance

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2023 Impact Awards

The primary applicant must be a NADO member. Project partners, both NADO and non-members, can be recognized under "Project Partners" below.

Primary Project Contact:
This person will be the designated point of contact for all future awards-related correspondence and will receive the printed award certificates and other hardcopy materials should the project win an award.

Organization Address

Project Location (if different from Organization Address)

Executive Director

Additional Organizational Information
Please upload your organization's logo which will be included on the winning project award certificate.

Project Information
This title will be printed on the award certificate for winning projects and in all 2022 NADO Impact Award materials and cannot be changed.

Project Summary & Questions
Please craft clear, thoughtful, and engaging responses to the following questions. Use the following sections to tell us how your project has made an impact, such as its use of creative funding mechanisms, efforts to create efficiencies or reduce costs, unique partnership models, and emphasis on building resilience and/or enhancing your region's quality of life.

For award-winning projects, the information provided below may be used verbatim to inform project descriptions that will be published in the 2023 NADO Impact Awards materials and included on the NADO website.

Please submit at least one photo showing your project in action. Please keep file size to a minimum (<2Mb) and use JPEG format. If uploading multiple files, ZIP files prior to submitting. If you have trouble uploading images they can be directly emailed to Brett Schwartz at [email protected] Include the project title they correspond to in the subject line of your email.

Note: Submitted photos may be used in NADO Impact Awards materials and in other NADO published materials with credit to your organization. Please also consider submitting photos for NADO's 2023 Photo Contest, which will be held this summer.


CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SUBMIT THE APPLICATION - PLEASE BE PATIENT! IF YOU DO NOT SEE A CONFIRMATION, YOUR APPLICATION WAS NOT RECEIVED.
Your application is not submitted until you are directed to a confirmation page. If you have any questions or are unsure if your application has been submitted, please contact Brett Schwartz at [email protected]

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Joe McKinney serves as Executive Director of the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO). Headquartered in Washington DC, NADO provides advocacy, education, research, and training for the nation’s 500+ regional planning and development organizations.

Joe has thirty-one years of experience having served in city, county, regional, national association, and government management since 1991. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy Analysis from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a candidate for a master’s degree in Public Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill.

McKinney has provided congressional testimony on numerous occasions regarding the importance of regional development organizations in helping shape the nation’s economic growth. He is nationally recognized for promoting innovative solutions in areas such as planning and economic development, workforce development, transportation and transit, and aging services.

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