Natalie Barndt
About
I have been an auditor, financial analyst, deal maker, director of a nonprofit in East Africa, FUSE Fellow, chief of staff and strategic consultant. All of my work has focused on building and developing relationships, organizations, people and strategic projects.I spent the first 17 years of my career in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions always with an eye to eventually contributing my experience and skills to organizations with missions more aligned with my values. Since then I have worked in the nonprofit, government and social enterprise sectors focusing on economic and social equity and leadership development.Currently, I provide strategic consulting services to nonprofits, government and social enterprises. My approach is to fully understand the challenges facing my clients through intense listening to define the problems and then working with my clients to develop solutions. I am also very clear on the problems I can and cannot help organizations solve.
My Work
Problem: A large, multifaceted nonprofit’s outdated strategic planning process lacked energy, inclusiveness, and clear direction, limiting its ability to align leadership and drive growth.
Approach: Developed process and teams of board, staff and external stakeholders and facilitated strategic planning process.
Result: A realistic, board-approved roadmap that strengthened governance and positioned the organization for growth.Problem: C40 Cities , global network of mayors of the world’s leading cities confronting the climate crisis needed to analyze and demonstrate the impact of international pilot projects.
Approach: Conducted interviews, research and synthesized information into a concise summary for publication.
Result: Co-authored report “Global Green New Deal, Outcomes Report.”Problem: Scaling of microfinance stunted due to limitations of microfinance leaders in East Africa
Approach: Designed and implemented 18-month, $1.5 million leadership development program for leaders of microfinance institutions, including competency assessments, leadership development seminars, peer learning cohorts, formal mentoring, coaching, technical assistance and strategic plan facilitation.
Result: Stronger executive capacity, clear strategies, deeper peer networks, and sustainable leadership pipelines.Problem: Nonprofit organization at a pivotal stage of growth, with increased scale and visibility outpacing its existing structure, systems, and decision-making processes.
Approach: Extensive stakeholder interviews, executive coaching, organizational diagnosis, development of new organizational structure and recruitment of new senior executive. Also revitalized and led several stalled strategic initiatives driving them to completion.
Result: Organizational clarity around goals and structure, enabling sustained growth and operate with greater cohesion and accountability.Problem: Board of a large and diverse nonprofit’s structure and engagement practices hadn’t evolved with the organization’s growth, leading to unclear roles, uneven participation, and limited strategic focus.
Approach: Reviewed bylaws and committee charters, clarified board and staff roles, facilitated governance training, and developed a recruitment and engagement strategy.
Result: A high-functioning board that governs strategically, partners effectively with staff leadership, and drives mission-aligned decision-making.Problem: Philadelphia faced one of the highest poverty rates among major U.S. cities, with fragmented social services and limited coordination across agencies.
Approach: Conducted data analysis and policy research, convened cross-sector stakeholders from government, nonprofit, and community organizations, and facilitated strategy sessions to identify actionable, systems-level solutions.
Result: Developed evidence-based policy recommendations and implementation strategies adopted by city leaders to improve service coordination and advance poverty reduction efforts. thought partnership, critical review.
