Melanie Lockwood Herman
Executive Director, Nonprofit Risk Management Center
Melanie Lockwood Herman, Esq. has served as Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center since 1996 and has held senior management positions in the nonprofit sector since 1987. Melanie is the principal author of more than 20 books on various risk management topics; Melanie’s most recent book is World-Class Risk Management for Nonprofits. Her forthcoming book, Possibilities: A Risk Management Guide for Nonprofits Changing the World, will be published in Fall 2025. She is a fifteen-time member of The NonProfit Times “Power and Influence Top 50.” In one NPT announcement Melanie was described as “One of the most prolific writers and lecturers on the topic of nonprofit risk,” and “the architect of the risk plans of some of the nation’s largest’ nonprofits.” Melanie earned a BA in Urban Affairs from American University (Washington, DC), and a JD from George Mason University School of Law (Arlington, VA). She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association and currently serves on two national nonprofit boards (American Foundation for the Blind, and the National Human Services Assembly).
Sessions
Risk Maturity: Beyond the Tyranny of Run-On Risk Registers and Hopeless Heat Maps
Many nonprofit teams continue to use increasingly complex spreadsheets to track top risks and produce heat maps for risk reporting. The problem with that approach? As spreadsheets grow from four to fourteen and forty columns, the information they contain becomes more cryptic. Worse, risk leaders spend too much time chasing colleagues to fill every box and too little time on productive risk conversations. Learn how to hop off the hamster wheel and create a practical, goal-focused approach to risk program maturity that will inspire confidence and action.
Read MoreERM Master Class: Help Your Risk Management Program Take Wing
Author Michael Power says a great enterprise risk management program should take a bird’s-eye view of the organization, addressing risk holistically. But how do you get team members and departments working together to do that, while understanding and delivering on their own risk management responsibilities? Hear from experienced risk champions insights and takeaways from their journeys as nonprofit ERM architects and champions.
Read MoreRisk Help Live: Stump our ED with Your Formidable Risk Dilemmas
Join NRMC’s ED Melanie Herman for an unscripted, fast-paced session featuring your questions and her off the cuff suggested strategies. Bring your thorniest risk challenge—or curiosity about what others are facing—and get insights from a risk leader with more than three decades of experience in nonprofit risk management.
Read MoreUnleashing the Power of a Risk-Savvy Culture
Although culture is vital to effective risk management in a nonprofit, it remains hard to define and equally challenging to measure. This workshop explores the critical role of risk culture in supporting risk management aspirations, activities, and impact. Learn how colleagues from nonprofits with mature risk programs have found ways to bolster and grow risk […]
Read MoreThe Long Span Approach: ERM Master Class
When you need to cross a wide river or valley, you need a long-span bridge. Enterprise risk management is the risk version of a long span. ERM involves—to some degree—everyone in your organization in building a risk management program that can go the distance. Learn how to bring a diverse group of players together to […]
Read MoreRisk Help Live: Shore Up Your Risk Management Supports
One of NRMC’s most popular member benefits is “Risk Help,” where members can call or email NRMC for advice on a pressing risk issue. This year, only at Risk Summit, Risk Help is open to all! Explain your thorniest risk issue to a member of our team in three minutes. We’ll take the next three […]
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