Valerie F. Leonard is the founder of Nonprofit Utopia, LLC, where she leads the Nonprofit Utopia Impact Circle and provides coaching and consulting to nonprofit founders and executive directors. She created the Nonprofit Founders’ Academy, guiding leaders to launch, manage, and grow sustainable organizations using her proprietary ASCEND™ and LEGACY™ frameworks. She is a certified member of the John Maxwell Leadership Team and host of the Nonprofit Utopia Podcast and Livestream.
With more than 30 years of experience, Valerie assisted New York City’s Director of Public Finance in developing marketing strategies for over $6 billion in general obligation bonds and notes and helped the CFO of Mount Sinai Health System arrange nearly $120 million in bond financings. She has supported nearly 1,000 nonprofit leaders in raising over $100 million while strengthening governance and fundraising systems. She holds a BA in Economics from Spelman College and an MM in Finance and Marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.