Founders

Heather Durenberger

Most people don't discover board governance until well into their careers. Heather Durenberger joined her first nonprofit board at 16 and has been exploring what makes organizations thrive ever since. Today she helps nonprofit boards and executive leaders uncover the hidden dynamics that shape leadership, governance, and decision-making. She works at the intersection of governance, leadership, and organizational behavior, helping boards and executive leaders make better decisions during periods of growth, conflict, and change.

Heather holds master's degrees in Business Administration and Biopsychology, with graduate research in neuroscience. She combines strategy, governance, and behavioral science to help leaders understand how people think, relate, and make decisions under pressure, creating insight that leads to stronger organizations.

She has taught leadership and organizational development, guest lectured on nonprofit governance, facilitated executive and board retreats, and advised organizations across education, healthcare, social services, legal advocacy, civil rights, environmental, civic, and arts organizations. She is also a TEDx speaker and author exploring leadership, governance, resilience, and the human side of transitions.

Jenny Eldredge

Jenny brings nonprofit executive leadership, board governance, and community-based service experience to this work. As the former Executive Director of Bellis, she led a mission transformation that established the nation's first formal support services focused on the grief of mothers who experienced court-ordered termination of parental rights. Under her leadership, this program provided new support to individuals navigating adoption, foster care, and child welfare. It now serves people across 49 states and three countries, with an earned-income training component.

Her expertise is grounded in the operational reality of leading trauma-responsive spaces. She focuses on supporting staff, building board partnerships, cultivating funder relationships, and ensuring program stewardship.

An active community leader, Jenny serves on the board of CAER Food Shelf in Elk River, balancing hands-on service with long-term organizational governance to address food insecurity. Her track record also includes leading capital campaigns and community events. 

Earlier in her career, Jenny led the launch of Give Kids a Smile in Minnesota, which has provided over $30.5 million in free dental care to more than 92,000 children since 2003.