Elyzabeth Joy Holford
Assistant Executive Director, Nonprofit Risk Management Center
Elyzabeth recently joined the NRMC team as Assistant Executive Director. Her career has been anchored by a deep commitment to social justice and driven by curiosity about ways to support strategy, operations, equity and collaborative growth and success. She has worked as a consultant to nonprofits, for-profits, public entities and academic institutions.
She began her career as a trial attorney focused on racial, social, and economic justice cases. She taught and obtained tenure at Virginia Tech where she later became a campus administrator. After starting and selling a new technology company, she began consulting as an itinerant international strategy and operations professional. Her work has taken her around the globe, and she has never looked back. For example, she served as founding senior executive for the Digital Living Research Commons in Denmark where she created and led a dynamic space for artists, researchers, business leaders, and policymakers to explore research and practice at the intersections of culture, technology, art, human interactions, social media, and infrastructure. She is an alum of Indiana University, the University of Dayton, and the Ohio State University.
When she’s not working, Elyzabeth loves to cook, travel, swim, play music, do tai chi, and enjoy the outdoors. Above all, her favorite pastime is playing frisbee with her dog.
Sessions
RLCP: Learn About NRMC’s In-person, Risk Leadership Intensive
Express Yourself: Mission Stewardship Through Risk Appetite
How much risk is our nonprofit actually willing to take? This is the question that nonprofit leaders and board members ask when it’s time to develop and apply risk appetite. Living by your organization’s risk appetite is a form of high-level mission stewardship, with goals including: Aligning risk-taking and risk management with the nonprofit’s mission and strategic priorities; Distributing accountability for risk-aware decision-making, while offering decision-making guidance to staff across the organization; Empowering staff to take more risk–particularly higher-risk, mission-advancing ventures–by teaching them to interpret and apply leadership’s vision for risk appetite when making day-to-day decisions. This session explores these topics and more.
Read MoreUsing Humor to Build Risk Engagement and Insight
Humor can relieve stress, brings people closer together, and even be persuasive. Explore how to use humor to reduce resistance and increase engagement in risk communication. Learn what types, tips, and examples of humor to apply in different situations to foster a positive culture in your nonprofit while addressing serious issues.
Read MoreReputation Risk
This session is designed to help you help your organization take a fresh look at the bridge that connects you to every touchpoint your nonprofit has: your reputation. A nonprofit’s reputation is simultaneously its most valuable, and most vulnerable, asset. Learn strategies to help you build a strong yet flexible understanding of how to manage […]
Read MoreRisk Communication
How risk is communicated is a foundational element in building the bridge that allows a nonprofit’s internal and external constituents to understand risk management. This session provides insights into identifying and understanding different audiences, creating platform specific messaging, and evaluating the effectiveness of your communications.
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