Photo of Ana Boa-Ventura
Ana Boa-Ventura
Work Phone: (512) 619-3612 Website: One Insight Website: Onda Flow | Digital Marketing Solutions

Biographical Info

Ana Boa-Ventura is an information designer with expertise in a variety of areas from digital marketing to data visualization. She is a consultant and a coach, having delivered workshops and lectures all over the world from Brazil to Spain and from Tanzania to Germany. She worked extensively in the field of Education, and was part of a European Commission think-tank on Digital Literacy, geared to empower disenfranchised children and parents in Europe’s evolving migration flow patterns.

An academic for many years, Ana taught at universities in Portugal, Spain and the U.S., until she realized her heart was in helping entrepreneurs and nonprofits in branding and expanding their digital presence. She is currently launching in Portugal, Onda Flow, a Digital Marketing agency.

Ana came to the U.S. with a Fulbright scholarship and decided to stay. She holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Texas at Austin and a MA in Sciences of Education / Educational Technology from the Universities of Valenciennes (France) and Mons (Belgium).

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Bruce Burtch

Biographical Info

Called the “Father of Cause Marketing,” Bruce is an internationally respected cause marketing and cross-sector partnership expert. Bruce served as Public Affairs Manager for Marriott Corporation, Public Relations Director for the United States Olympic Committee, Director of Marketing & Communications for the American Red Cross Bay Area, held a two-year special assignment to the President of Xerox Global Services, founded Burtch Barone Inc., a product design and marketing company, and was CEO of The William Bentley Agency.

The National Association of Community Leadership awarded Bruce the Distinguished Leadership Award for spearheading the Tenderloin After-School Program in San Francisco’s crime-ridden Tenderloin District. Bruce received the Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from the United States Congress, the Certificate of Recognition from the California State Legislature, and many other honors. In addition, Bruce has served on the Board of Directors or Advisory Boards of nineteen nonprofit organizations.

While an undergraduate at Ohio University, Bruce conceived the unique, degree-granting Honors Tutorial College, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022. Bruce authored, Win-Win for the Greater Good, the highly-acclaimed guidebook on developing cause marketing and cross-sector partnerships.

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Harry Chapman
Treasurer
Cell Phone: 415-971-5746 Website: Bay Area Consulting Group

Biographical Info

Harry Chapman has more than 40 years of experience across a broad set of disciplines including IT management, finance, operations and consulting. His mission is to help non-profit organizations become more effective through improved use of technology. In addition to IT assessment services, Mr. Chapman provides CIO services for several non-profit organizations including the Exploratorium, the San Francisco Ballet, the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center and Edgewood Center. In addition to starting BACN, Harry is a founder of the Bay Area Consulting Group LLC.

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Craig Harrison
Home Phone: (510) 547-0664 Website: https://www.ExpressionsOfExcellence.com

Biographical Info

Craig Harrison is professional speaker, corporate trainer, published author, management consultant and coach who founded Expressions of Excellence!™ to help professional aspire and achieve significance while maximizing their communication and leadership skills.

Craig shares Marian Wright Edelman’s belief that “service is the rent we pay for being” on this earth. Originally from Michigan, Craig grew up in the east Bay and has worked in corporate America, with non-profits, in health care, high tech and education.

Craig is the consummate servant leader: As a past president of the National Speakers Association, Northern California, and founder and former dean of their Pro-Track Speakers Academy. He’s served on the boards of a local ATD chapter, the Storytelling Association of California, and its Bay Area Storytelling Festival committee, as well as Their Angels nonprofit. He is also a senior associate with TheConsultingTeam.com where he writes, coaches and trains public and private clients.

Over 30 years, Craig, a Distinguished Toastmaster and past District Director, founded http://www.LaughLovers.com, Heart2Heart.com, and a dozen other clubs, coached hundreds of speakers and leaders, and his 90 published articles in Toastmaster magazine have garnered him a worldwide following.

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Herb Kessner
Work Phone: 415.595.5860 Website: ValueStaging Website: AuthenticChangeGroup

Biographical Info

Herb is a Senior Organizational Development and Leadership Effectiveness Consultant based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has over 25 years of professional experience in management consulting, and specializes organizational change management, culture assessment, operational effectiveness, M&A, executive advising and leadership development for a global list of clients. He served with General Electric and their Fortune 500 customers in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America, implementing M&A and Culture Effectiveness projects

Herb’s previous positions include senior consultant with the Merger & Acquisitions practice at Mercer Consulting and senior change management consultant and organizational psychologist with Drake Beam Morin (DBM). Prior to obtaining his Doctorate Herb had an extensive sales, technology and finance career including marketing representative with IBM in New York, and with Lehman Brothers in capital markets and institutional corporate bond sales on Wall Street.

Herb holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology, an MS in Industrial and Management Engineering from Columbia University, an MS in Counseling Psychology from San Francisco State University, and a PhD in Organizational Psychology from Northern California Graduate University. He is certified in Denison Culture Assessment and Effectiveness.

He has shared his experience in organizational effectiveness via numerous speaking engagements and published articles. He has served as adjunct professor at USF, Dominican University, and the Executive MBA Program at Sonoma State University.

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Don McCrea
Work Phone: +1 949-584-0917 Website: YourBusinessLegacy

Biographical Info

My passion is helping family business owners realize their dreams—for themselves, for their families, for their employees and other stakeholders, and to retire successfully and comfortably. To do this, I coach them as they prepare for and exit the businesses they’ve built over so many years. The coaching process assists them in seeing options they may not have considered, as well as provides an independent third-party assessment of what is required to successfully transition out of their business.

For over 25 years, I’ve helped individuals and their businesses achieve phenomenal, enduring success. I’ve worked with businesses of all sizes in a variety of capacities—business strategist; management, marketing and sales consultant; sales, marketing, and systems development manager; intrapreneur (in-house entrepreneur); and systems designer; custom education solutions consultant; and educator.

I hold a Ph.D. in Executive Management from the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University and an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Michigan. My AB degree in Mathematics is from Humboldt State University. I am a member of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics and the Association for Transpersonal Psychology.

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Diane Pleuss
Work Phone: 925-642-9976 Website: FranChoice

Biographical Info

Diane is a franchise business consultant. Think of her as a matchmaker or franchise “fitter.” She matches good people with good franchise businesses based on their goals, skills, interests and investment level. Her services are free, she tries to make it fun and her goal is that everyone has a first-class experience. Her process is like a Disneyland Fast Pass: efficient, easy and exciting!

Diane is also a Distinguished Toastmaster and past Distinguished District Director as well as a Foundation Director for her alma mater, UW-Stevens Point. She is an avid Packer fan and proud Wisconsin cheesehead.

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Nora Wolfson
Work Phone: 510-813-5354 Website: Nora Wolfson Consulting

Biographical Info

As principal of Nora Wolfson Consulting, Nora Wolfson acts as a thought partner and sounding board, providing guidance for partnerships, family owned businesses, and management teams who are concerned that a lack of cohesiveness and focus in their business is leading to missed opportunities. An expert on human dynamics, Nora helps leaders understand crucial concerns and motivations, building alignment within the organization to realize business goals.

Nora joined the BACN board to foster interaction and support within the BACN community. She has regularly designed and led programs to deepen connections among our members. She also leads the Creating Connections and Members’ Forum sections of our meetings.

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