Ted Lord has been integral to the growth of The Giving Practice since its founding. His multi-year work with Cascadia Foodshed Financing Project, national child welfare CEOs, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Building Community Philanthropy, the Road Map funders group and Philanthropist Forum centers around supporting collaboratives, especially in their adventures to discover how to contribute all their capitals (influence, expertise, and relationships in addition to pooled and aligned funding). He believes learning together and humor are essential in sustaining voluntary associations beyond their early blue-sky enthusiasm.
Ted’s work with new and established groups to discern and articulate learnings, and then design engagement strategies that unleash their passions has led to a series of recent posts on balancing conversation and meetings. His staff and board coaching is based in his CEO stewardship of two public foundations (Pride Foundation 1992—2000; Humanities Washington 2006—2008) and is supplemented by change management skills developed as interim CEO of nonprofits (Camp Fire, Hedgebrook, and DAWN) and the Masters in Nonprofit Leadership at Seattle University.
His belief in the leverage provided by engaging community upfront is informed by board service with United Way of King County, Philanthropy Northwest, 501 Commons and the Alliance for Nonprofits. Ted holds a B.A. from Trinity College and an M.A. from the University of Washington. Ted is also a practicing poet whose work appears in more than forty literary magazines. Co-parenting teenagers provides him an ongoing practicum in punting when faced with unintended consequences and a reminder to value mistakes as part of true life-long learning.