Senior Strategist

How Kennari values guide my work: I value helping to move clients down the pathway from brainstorming on a whiteboard to achieving measurable impact results over time. Strategic plans are useful when they spur authentic movement towards mission goals. I enjoy helping our clients move up the nonprofit value chain from an activities and outputs stage to a level achieving measurable mission advancement and long-term social impact.

Jesse joined Kennari in 2023. As a Senior Strategist, his focus areas include capital campaigns, annual giving,
new program launches, and coaching. Jesse’s areas of expertise include organizational leadership, fundraising, impact investing, finance, advising business startups, affordable housing, land conservation, human services, and community health. 

Jesse earned a BA in International Business from Eckerd College and an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global
Management at Arizona State University. He is also a Livingston Fellow with Bonfils-Stanton Foundation in Denver.
Jesse has diverse nonprofit sector experience from CEO roles to launching new programs and community initiatives.
He has served as a director on numerous community boards and advisory committees, including Governor and Mayoral appointments. An invited speaker for impact investing and nonprofit sector events, Jesse also taught a Social Entrepreneurship class for the University of Colorado’s MBA program.  Jesse and his wife Molly have two sons and recently reached empty nester status. He spends much of the summer on a mountain bike saddle and building sculptures from Petoskey stones found on the shores of Lake Michigan.