Description

We are excited to announce our newest program, the Nonprofit Leadership Circle. The topics for this series are based on feedback from nonprofit members of the Chamber and are strategic, focused on leadership challenges, and designed to foster deep, peer-to-peer discussions. This bi-monthly, lunchtime series will take place at Innovate Newport. The following 6 topics will be covered in the 2025 Series.

Special thanks to our series sponsor, Partridge, Snow & Hahn.

August speaker: Thomas Brendler, Bernuth & Williamson

Thomas Brendler is a Principal at Bernuth & Williamson, a Washington-DC based firm that helps NGOs, foundations and academic institutions around the world navigate growth and transition. Thomas’ work in philanthropy includes a term as President of the Grantmakers Council of Rhode Island, and staff and advisory roles with the Ford Foundation, Sapelo Foundation, van Beuren Charitable Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  Before joining B&W in 2008, Thomas held leadership positions in several nonprofit organizations, with a particular interest in sustainable development and social justice, and has been a guest lecturer at Brown University and Bryant University. He is the author of two books and has written for Providence Business News, McSweeney’s, Open Letters Monthly, and Grist. He holds a B.A. from Tufts University and a Master’s in Forestry from Yale University, where he served as lead singer in the garage-rock band Charismatic Megafauna. He and his family live in Providence, Rhode Island.