The Chair Project
Board Chairs carry real responsibility — often without full control.
They sit at the intersection of governance and leadership.
They are accountable for stability, direction, and stewardship.
And yet, in most organizations, there is remarkably little structured preparation or reflection built into the role.
The Chair Project exists to change that.
Why This Work Matters
The role of Board Chair is complex and frequently ambiguous.
Chairs are asked to:
All while often serving in a volunteer capacity, with limited infrastructure for support.
In conversations across sectors, one theme has been consistent:
Chairs care deeply — and often feel alone in the role.
The Chair Project is an effort to build practical, thoughtful infrastructure around Chair leadership.
What The Chair Project Does
The Chair Project explores how structured support can strengthen governance and reduce unnecessary strain on Chairs.
Current initiatives include:
ChairPair Pilot
A three-month peer experiment testing what happens when Board Chairs have even modest, structured reflection with another Chair. Participants meet monthly using shared prompts and submit brief reflections. Findings from the pilot will inform future iterations of Chair support.
Learn more about the ChairPair pilot here.
Facilitated 1:1 Chair Support
Structured support designed for Chairs seeking deeper reflection, facilitated dialogue, and role clarity. These offerings focus on navigating responsibility without overreach, strengthening Chair–ED partnership, and building steadier governance practice.
Our Approach
The Chair Project is grounded in a few core beliefs:
It is about building calm, intentional infrastructure around one of the most pivotal — and least supported — roles in nonprofit leadership.
Check Out what we learned from The First Seating of The Chair Project!
They sit at the intersection of governance and leadership.
They are accountable for stability, direction, and stewardship.
And yet, in most organizations, there is remarkably little structured preparation or reflection built into the role.
The Chair Project exists to change that.
Why This Work Matters
The role of Board Chair is complex and frequently ambiguous.
Chairs are asked to:
- Partner closely with an Executive Director or CEO
- Navigate governance and management boundaries
- Hold board culture and accountability
- Steady an organization through transition or uncertainty
- Represent the board externally
All while often serving in a volunteer capacity, with limited infrastructure for support.
In conversations across sectors, one theme has been consistent:
Chairs care deeply — and often feel alone in the role.
The Chair Project is an effort to build practical, thoughtful infrastructure around Chair leadership.
What The Chair Project Does
The Chair Project explores how structured support can strengthen governance and reduce unnecessary strain on Chairs.
Current initiatives include:
ChairPair Pilot
A three-month peer experiment testing what happens when Board Chairs have even modest, structured reflection with another Chair. Participants meet monthly using shared prompts and submit brief reflections. Findings from the pilot will inform future iterations of Chair support.
Learn more about the ChairPair pilot here.
Facilitated 1:1 Chair Support
Structured support designed for Chairs seeking deeper reflection, facilitated dialogue, and role clarity. These offerings focus on navigating responsibility without overreach, strengthening Chair–ED partnership, and building steadier governance practice.
Our Approach
The Chair Project is grounded in a few core beliefs:
- Governance is relational.
- Responsibility without reflection leads to strain.
- Clarity reduces conflict.
- Even light structure can create meaningful shift.
- Chairs deserve support equal to the weight of the role.
It is about building calm, intentional infrastructure around one of the most pivotal — and least supported — roles in nonprofit leadership.
Check Out what we learned from The First Seating of The Chair Project!
Second Seating
The Chair Project is now opening its second seating! This six-month protocol is designed around what we actually learned from Chairs in the field. This cohort will be small by design - we're capping it at six participants - and it's a paid program. (Application details and pricing are in the registration form linked below.)
What participants can expect:
A Chair Profile conversation to ground the work
A partnership alignment session with your ED
A board assessment session designed to help you co-design the full board experience
Coaching sessions focused on real-time challenges, not hypotheticals
A closing reflection to capture and share what we learn
We're accepting applications on a rolling basis until the cohort is full. If this is for you, we would love to have you join us.
The Chair Project is now opening its second seating! This six-month protocol is designed around what we actually learned from Chairs in the field. This cohort will be small by design - we're capping it at six participants - and it's a paid program. (Application details and pricing are in the registration form linked below.)
What participants can expect:
A Chair Profile conversation to ground the work
A partnership alignment session with your ED
A board assessment session designed to help you co-design the full board experience
Coaching sessions focused on real-time challenges, not hypotheticals
A closing reflection to capture and share what we learn
We're accepting applications on a rolling basis until the cohort is full. If this is for you, we would love to have you join us.