Arts and Culture, Community and Economic Development, Education, Environment, Human Rights, Human Services, Philanthropy
Legal Structure of Organization:
B Corporation
Year Practice Founded:
2002
Number of Individuals in Firm:
5
Names and Titles of Individuals in Firm:
Way-Ting Chen
Sr. Partner and Co-Founder
Jennifer Shen
Sr. Partner and Co-Founder
Shannon Johnson
Partner
Sarah Eguchi Low,
Sr. Associate
Yee-Sum Mak
Associate
Names and Titles of Individuals in Firm:
Way-Ting Chen
Sr. Partner and Co-Founder
Jennifer Shen
Sr. Partner and Co-Founder
Shannon Johnson
Partner
Sarah Eguchi Low,
Sr. Associate
Yee-Sum Mak
Associate
Firm or Consultant Address:
8405 Pershing Drive, Ste. 205
RFQ Contact Name:
Shannon Johnson
RFQ Contact Phone:
(310) 439-1930 x 104
Geographic area currently served by firm (select all that apply):
Los Angeles, California
How would you describe the range of diversity reflected in your firm’s consultants and leadership (or self, if sole practitioner)?
Our firm is a woman- and BIPOC-founded and led organization where 80% of staff are BIPOC women
Please describe your mission, values, and approach:
Mission: To work with organizations to create lasting change by harnessing the combined power of business acumen and social impact Values: Learning for impact, unwavering commitment, integrity, collaboration, and meaningful balance Approach: For 20 years, Blue Garnet has partnered with brave leaders tackling social challenges. We are valued as a thought partner who starts with the end in mind, puts structure around ambiguity, and brings analytical rigor to inform strategic decision-making
What expertise or perspective do you bring to organizations looking to ground their collaboration practices in values of diversity, equity, and inclusion?
Blue Garnet was founded on the explicit desire to tackle complex social justice issues from a long-term systems view, and the belief that to do so requires a strengths-based, inclusive approach to problem-solving. We value justice, diversity, equity and inclusion not only in the work we do for social sector clients but also internally, with our culture and team. We work intentionally to foster inclusivity, challenge assumptions, and ensure relevant and diverse perspectives are part of the decision-making process.
Please describe your ideal engagement. Feel free to include issue area and scope of project:
Strategic facilitation and coaching support (Board and Executive Director)
How many executive-transition related projects have you or your firm been involved with?
4
Please describe your fee structure:
We develop customized budgets tailored to the support required. We have used fixed fee, retainer, deliverable-based and hourly fee structures, depending on client needs.
What percentage of your clients are within the nonprofit sector?
97%
Are you open to remote engagements?
Yes
Briefly name and describe 1-3 examples of executive transitions with which you have been involved as a consultant (please prioritize NSI-funded and/or LA-based organizations).
There is no better way to build organizational and leadership capacity (before, during and after transitions) than through engaging richly on strategy and vision for impact. We have coached CEOs and board members who are considering how to transition well or even on-boarding to a new role.
Add any other information you feel would aid in understanding the value you or your consulting firm can bring to an organization preparing for or implementing an executive transition:
We bring a capacity building and change management lens to all of our work. We walk alongside leaders and their teams to build strong, high performing organizations. Executive transitions are a natural part of organizational growth and life cycles. We see organizations as systems and building strong, sustainable systems is a vital part of achieving lasting social change over time. Often times, leadership change leads to strategy change as well – we help our clients explore this as well as part of the executive transition.
Please list up to 5 Consultants from your firm
Way-Ting Chen Way-Ting Chen is co-founder of Blue Garnet, a social impact consulting firm, as well as a founding partner and recent co-chair of the board for Social Venture Partners Los Angeles. She is driven by a head for problem solving and a heart for ending poverty and inequity. Way-Ting has over 20 years of strategy and management consulting with philanthropies, nonprofits and corporations, to tackle issues related to outcomes, impact and performance. She sits on the advisory boards of organizations for which she has a deep passion. As adjunct faculty, she co-taught “Impact Thinking, Measurement and Evaluation” at Pepperdine University’s Masters program in Social Entrepreneurship and Change. She holds an International MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA with honors in economics and political science from Swarthmore College. When not out making the world a better place, she delights in spending time with her family and feeding her curiosity, often at the same time.
way-ting@bluegarnet.net https://www.linkedin.com/in/way-ting-chen-81523a/ Jennifer Shen Jennifer holds an undying belief in our democracy, and cares most about making strategy real in the pursuit of lasting social change. Jennifer is adept at maximizing the potential of those around her while pushing for innovation and asking tough questions. With over 20 years of management consulting experience, she brings a unique combination of expertise in business strategy and organizational change with experience across sectors. As Co-Founder and Senior Partner of Blue Garnet, Jennifer focuses on building partnerships with clients as a trusted advisor and has recently worked with leading nonprofit and philanthropy clients in arts, education, and health and human services. Jennifer serves as a board member of ExED and is a Founding Partner and former Board Director of SVP Los Angeles. She has served on the Social Impact Exchange Contributions Review Team and the Terry McAdams Book Award Committee. She co-taught “Impact Thinking, Measurement and Evaluation” at Pepperdine University’s Masters program in Social Entrepreneurship and Change. Jennifer holds an MBA from Yale University and a BA in Political Science with concentration in Public Policy from Swarthmore College.
jennifer@bluegarnet.net https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-li-shen-823449/ Shannnon Johnson Shannon Johnson is a Partner for Blue Garnet, a social impact consulting firm. She is a practical, but optimistic thinker with a drive to cut through complexity to get to the heart of the matter. Shannon has strong consulting chops, with over 18 years strategy and management consulting experience for philanthropies, nonprofits and corporations. She has coached clients on a range of issues, including articulating and measuring impact, implementing plans, aligning business models and managing change. She strives to teach her clients “how to fish” while helping to solve their complex social problems and is inspired by unleashing the great potential she sees in people and organizations. Her energy, spirit and “woo” make her a great teacher.
shannon@bluegarnet.net https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonhuff/
Do you always conduct an organizational assessment as a part of your scope of work?
n/a
How (or do) you involve senior staff and other stakeholders in the process
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Prior to narrowing the pool of candidates for a client, do you make it a practice to share the full list of applicants with the client?
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Do you identify/place interim executives?
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Do you have a minimum fee?
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What percentage of your searches are for LA-based organizations?
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What is your track record of placing BIPOC candidates?
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Do you have a guarantee policy or an “off-limits” policy?
