About
It’s experience from the perspective of non-profit leadership and philanthropy. From non-profit CEO to board member, from professional grantmaker to donor.
Experience
It’s that first push, the one that will help you go beyond stasis and indecision. And it’s the sustaining energy that follows, allowing you to keep breaking through barriers to growth, so you can embrace your vision and move forward.
Momentum
It’s the change you’ve been reaching for, that comes right out of your mission. Change that makes sense, and change that inspires.
Change
Megan Watkins
Founder and Principal Consultant
Megan launched Elephant Crossing to help donors and nonprofit leaders build sustainable relationships, initiatives, and organizations. Her practice serves the full spectrum of giving, working with philanthropists, foundations, and nonprofit Board and staff teams. Megan’s ability to facilitate productive conversations is at the core of her work and success. She focuses on creating environments and cultures that emphasize open communication and trusting relationships in order to generate meaningful impact.
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Megan’s advice and expertise is born from firsthand experience. She began her career in the nonprofit sector, after which she assumed progressive leadership roles within two leading financial institutions. Here, she guided individuals, families, foundations, and corporations with more than $1 billion in charitable assets through the creation of strategic giving initiatives. Often the intermediary between donors, Boards, and nonprofit leaders, she experienced how trust and communication were key to achieving success, and how a lack of these critical elements could lead to confusion, distraction, or severed relationships.
When the opportunity arose to align her philanthropic expertise more closely with her personal values, Megan transitioned to a CEO role for a national nonprofit. By uniting her team around shared mission priorities and elevating the importance of organizational culture, collaboration, and operational excellence, Megan and her team were instrumental in producing many positive returns.
Megan graduated from Barnard College and holds a Master’s degree from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. She completed additional coursework in organizational change and executive leadership transition at Harvard Business School and the Support Center for Nonprofit Management. Megan has dedicated more than a decade to nonprofit Boards, serving in roles including Member, Secretary, and Chair.