Nancy Fournier Ph.D., Relationship Strategist for Women Nonprofit EDs

My Approach

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Relish Your Role is a five-month coaching system for women who lead nonprofits. Nancy Fournier, Ph.D., built it to help you gain the skills and confidence to lead your organization for maximum impact.

The approach comes from Nancy’s clinical training, executive experience, and years of nonprofit consulting. She has run a small business and led teams in government and nonprofit settings, so she knows the pressures women leaders carry.

Learn more about nancy's background

Relish Your Role's Signature System

Every engagement is built around your goals, strengths, challenges, personality, and leadership context.

You and Nancy build a goal dashboard together. It defines clear outcomes and milestones, tracks your progress, and keeps you both accountable. Growth stays intentional, practical, and measurable.

The work centers on leading with strength and empathy while facing high expectations, limited resources, and constant demands on your time.

Targeted assessments show where your challenges sit, both in the organization and in your own development. That gives you a framework for solutions. Nancy also shares her nonprofit management expertise directly, so you build lasting capacity.

As an invested observer, accountability partner, and honest outside voice, Nancy helps you spot the patterns, habits, and assumptions holding you back from your own leadership style.

How sessions work: You meet for an hour every two weeks. After each session you get summary notes with the key insights. Most sessions end with homework: reading that deepens a topic, or an action that tests a new skill at work.

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Outcomes achieved

You’ll learn to:

  • Prioritize. Decide what actually matters this quarter and let the rest wait.
  • Delegate with confidence. Hand off real work without hovering or taking it back.
  • Communicate directly. Say the hard thing clearly and early, instead of softening it into confusion.
  • Set healthy boundaries. Protect your time and energy so the job stops taking over the rest of your life.
  • Lead in line with your values. Make decisions you can stand behind, including the unpopular ones.

The result is more confidence, stronger professional presence, less isolation, and deeper leadership impact.

Intentional focus on non-profits

Nonprofit leadership asks you to be available at all hours, emotionally steady, financially creative, and strategically clear, often when resources are thin. Women in these roles also face gender stereotypes that run deep. You deserve a coach who knows the sector and understands those obstacles.

When clients seek my coaching services

Most clients come to Nancy feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, misunderstood, and unappreciated. They want tools and insight to fall back in love with their job.

Common issues:

  • Rocky board relationships. Unclear roles, a chair who oversteps, or a board that goes quiet when you need its support.
  • Leadership teams falling short. Direct reports who miss the mark, and no good way to name the problem or fix it.
  • Staff conflict. Tension that spreads, wears people down, and lands back on your desk.
  • Sudden growth or cuts in services. A new grant or a lost one, and a team that has to change fast either way.
  • Isolation. No one at your level to think out loud with, inside the organization or outside it.
  • The sense that the job has won. You are running on empty and you cannot hold this pace much longer.

Read what recent clients say about the system and see if their words sound like your situation. If you have questions, get in touch or schedule a free discovery call.

See what clients have to say:

Nancy helped me better understand my own skills, interests and strengths as they related the inventory of duties needed in the Executive Director role and she helped me plan how to better delegate more among my staff while proactively supporting their professional development. Working with Nancy was the support I needed to gain clarity and confidence in my ability to be a more effective leader for the organization.
Erica Staley, Executive DirectorManufactoring Renaissance
Nancy challenged me to grow and change in ways I was not sure was possible. She taught me to view leadership in a new light, one where I could be my authentic self while pushing for professional growth not only for myself but the agency as a whole. Her brilliance, creativity and commitment has continued to support my decision-making and leadership today.
Dichelle Williams, Executive DirectorJuvenile Justice Intervention Center
Nancy's coaching has been a critical part of my journey in becoming a transformational leader. Her guidance and insights have helped me navigate complex challenges with renewed clarity and confidence and develop a deeper understanding or my own strengths and areas for improvement. Her approach consistently centers the needs of the community we serve, ensuring the ripple effects of her coaching is always mission-aligned.
Lauren Johnson, Executive DirectorSt. Charles CARE Center
I have worked with Nancy at multiple times in my career and her support has provided much needed clarity as I have weighed decisions as a leader. Her unique perspective, experiences and creativity has made out sessions productive, engaging and insightful. I always leave out time together feeling more confident and resolved in my next steps.
Jen Roberts, Chief Executive Officer Agenda For Children
As a founder, President and CEO of a relatively new nonprofit organization, Nancy helped me navigate the layers of complexities in managing relationships with both internal and external partners. Through direct and constructive feedback Nancy helped reduce my insecurities and build greater confidence.
Ze Min Xiao, President & CEOCenter for Economic Opportunity and Belonging
As a nonprofit executive director, I found myself in the midst of challenges I could not have anticipated was on the brink of burnout. Working with Nancy saved my sanity. I feel more able to continue to act on my values without sacrificing my own well-being. I highly recommend Nancy to any woman nonprofit leader looking for a coach who combines wisdom, expertise and incisive assessment with deep empathy.
Jessica Karjala, Executive Director Footloose Montana
Nancy exemplifies that perfect balance of empathy and accountability. During our work together, I received actionable feedback that supports my ability to collaborate with colleagues, helps me step out of my comfort zone, and pushes me to take a more holistic, inclusive approach to work. It's rare to have tough conversations, while totally maintaining respect for the other person - with Nancy, this is a part of who she is. And I'm coming out on the other side being made a better leader because of it.
Jené Liggins Director of Talent and People DevelopmentParaha Institute
Nancy Fournier is an exceptional CEO evaluator who has transformed how our board sets goals and measures success. Her ability to articulate clear, actionable objectives empowers both the board and me to focus on what truly drives impact. Nancy's feedback is thorough and candid, yet always delivered with clarity and respect, making it easy to understand where I stand and how to grow. She’s an invaluable partner in aligning leadership performance with organizational vision.
Sabrina Pence, Chief Executive OfficerFirstLine Schools
With the guidance of Nancy Fournier, I found that I could love my work and myself again. Nancy leadership coaching has assisted me in evaluating my challenges, developing solutions, and actively practicing the skills to become a better leader. I now love being an executive director again.
Erica Fearn, Executive DirectorAuer Farms