Who we are
The people behind the fulcrum.
9 staff members and 11 board advisors — entrepreneurs, faculty, attorneys and executives who have spent decades helping mission driven organizations build durable social enterprises.
- Staff members
- 9
- Board advisors
- 11
- Governing boards
- 4
"Give a mission the right people and leverage."
Practitioners, not theorists — coaching nonprofits into enterprises.
Our Team
Our Staff.
The staff who design the curriculum, coach the cohorts and keep the network moving.
Search staff and board members by name, then narrow by role or committee.
Betsy Densmore
Academies Founder
Betsy Densmore has a long career of providing leadership and developing leadership in others. As Director, she has worked with over three hundred and fifty not-for-profit organizations, catalyzing tens of millions of dollars in new revenue for innovative charitable ventures. For several years, she served as an Adjunct…
Read more about Betsy
R. Christine Hershey
Founder, Cause Communications
Fundraising CommitteeR. Christine Hershey — Chris — founded Cause Communications in 1977, the country's first nonprofit strategic communications firm, at a time when cause-driven work was a rare focus for communications professionals. A widely respected strategist and activist, she earned the title "evangelist for communications" as an ear…
Read more about R.
Isabelle Bart
Managing Director
Nonprofit Coaching & Consulting CommitteeIsabelle Bart is a startup and innovation advisor, international business expert and public speaker who helps founders and innovation-driven organizations turn bold ideas into ventures that last. She is the founder of Impact Innovator, a strategic advisory and fractional-executive practice that has supported more than…
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Mike Zaldivar
Partner (Analysis & Underwriting)
Nonprofit Coaching & Consulting CommitteeMike Zaldivar leads Brightwork Capital's underwriting, financial analysis, and deal structuring. With an engineering degree, an MBA from NYU, Fortune 500 leadership experience, and over 70 successful real estate projects backed by more than $4.5 million in private capital raised, he brings a disciplined, focused approa…
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Archie L. Holton
CEO
Archie L. Holton, Program Leader, is an entrepreneur, actor and executive coach. After running a successful plumbing business for twenty years, he recently opened two restaurants. Building on his own entrepreneurial experiences, Holton is a business coach. With over twenty years of experience as a transformative educat…
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Paul Van Berkom
Director of Program Delivery
Community Development CommitteePaul Van Berkom’s career demonstrates vast experience as a community leader and business manager in several different industries. In his youth, he became an Eagle Scout. He is a principal in a multimillion-dollar farm in North Dakota with holdings of over five thousand acres. In Southern California he developed experti…
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Rob Triplett
Director of Nonprofit Affairs
Rob Triplett has a background in management, finance, and project management. From 1998–2001, he was the operations manager for the Fullerton, California location of one of the largest gym chains in the nation. From 2001–2016, he managed the finances, facilities, and event production for the Irvine, California office o…
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Charles Thi
Video Editor & Creative Storyteller
Impact Studio CommitteeCharles Thi is a video editor and creative storyteller with a career spanning media, professional development, leadership, and the arts. As Media Director for an independent arts organization, Charles worked at the intersection of creative media and a global community of independent artists. The experience placed him i…
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Michael Wedaa
Secretary
Michael Wedaa is a seasoned business consultant and incorporation specialist with over 25 years of experience in entrepreneurship. As the founder of Augmentus Business Solutions, Michael has owned, operated, and sold numerous businesses, advising thousands of small business owners on process optimization, corporate str…
Read more about Michael
Governance
Board of Directors
The governing board that sets direction, safeguards the mission and holds the organization accountable.
Betsy Densmore
Founder
Education CommitteeBetsy Densmore is the Founder and has spent her career providing leadership and developing leadership in others, working with more than three hundred and fifty not-for-profit organ…
R. Christine Hershey
Founder, Cause Communications
R. Christine Hershey — Chris — founded Cause Communications in 1977, the country's first nonprofit strategic communications firm, at a time when cause-driven work was a rare focus…
Governance
Financial Board
Executives who steward financial oversight, investment strategy and fiscal discipline.
Patrick Johnson
Executive Chairperson of the Board at Celluma by BioPhotas
Patrick Johnson is Executive Chairperson of the Board at Celluma by BioPhotas, where he has guided the growth of a global medical device company. On the Financial Board he focuses…
Veronica Melvin
President & CEO, LA Promise Fund
Veronica Melvin is President and CEO of LA Promise Fund, leading education initiatives that serve tens of thousands of students across Los Angeles. She contributes deep experience…
Governance
Academic Board
Faculty and researchers who keep the curriculum rigorous and grounded in evidence.
Khush Cooper
M.S.W. and Ph.D. in Social Work, UCLA; B.A. Psychology, Duke University
Khush Cooper holds an M.S.W. and Ph.D. in Social Work from UCLA and a B.A. in Psychology from Duke University. An implementation scientist, she helps the Academies keep curriculum…
Dylan Stafford
UCLA Anderson Assistant Dean; speaker, podcaster, teacher and author
Dylan Stafford is an Assistant Dean at UCLA Anderson and a speaker, podcaster, teacher and author. He shapes the academic rigor of the Academies programs and mentors students movin…
Peter Fiekowsky
MIT instructor, physicist and engineer, serial entrepreneur and philanthropist
Peter Fiekowsky is an MIT instructor, physicist and engineer, serial entrepreneur and philanthropist focused on climate restoration. He challenges cohorts to think at the scale of…
Andrew Atkeson
Faculty, UCLA — Stanley M. Zimmerman Professor of Economics and Finance
Andrew Atkeson is the Stanley M. Zimmerman Professor of Economics and Finance at UCLA. His research in macroeconomics and finance informs how the Academies teach revenue models, ri…
Gitanjali Koppikar
Former Landmark Forum Leader
Gitanjali Koppikar is a former Landmark Forum Leader who has worked with thousands of people on leadership, communication and personal transformation. She brings that practice to A…
Governance
Media Advisor Board
Media, broadcast and storytelling leaders who guide Impact Studio, The Park and our channels.
Christopher Cagle
Television Producer & Director
Impact Studio CommitteeChristopher Cagle is a television producer and director based in Los Angeles who describes himself as an interpreter of the visual arts. He is currently a producer at Warner Bros.…
Rene Roberts-Nijinsky
Author, Speaker & Advocate
Impact Studio CommitteeRene Roberts-Nijinsky is an author, motivational speaker and athlete from Lakewood, California who was born with cerebral palsy. Her book, My Voice is Not Disabled, and her speakin…
Board service
How board membership works
What directors do, what we ask of them and how someone joins — before you fill out the interest form.
Ready when you are
Start your board application
The interest form takes about five minutes — your background, the expertise you bring and why this mission matters to you. A resume is optional.
- 1You receive an email confirming we have your submission.
- 2The governance committee reviews submissions on a rolling basis and follows up within two weeks.
- 3If there is a fit, we invite you to an informal conversation, a program visit and a meeting with the board chair before the full board votes at its next quarterly meeting.
Not ready to join the board? Tell us in the form and we will point you to a committee or advisory council instead.
Still have a question? Email board@fulcrumimpact.org or jump to the interest form.
Before you apply
Download the board member book
The Board Governance Binder — the complete book every director receives. Welcome and mission, governance policies, recruitment and application materials, appointment documents, fiduciary duties, ethics and compliance, financial oversight, board operations, committee charters, strategic leadership, fundraising, orientation, forms and reference materials.
- Fiduciary duties and ethics
- Committee charters and operations
- Forms you will sign
Serve with us
Apply to join our Board of Directors
We are recruiting board and committee members who want to move resources closer to the communities doing the work. Governance, finance, education, health, communications and community organizing experience are all welcome — as is a willingness to learn.
- Quarterly board meetings, plus one committee you help shape.
- Two-year terms, renewable, with onboarding and mentorship.
- Prefer email? Write to board@fulcrumimpact.org.