Deb Taft

Deb Taft, Chief Executive Officer, leads Lindauer with over 25 years of executive and senior-level experience across the nonprofit sector, from education to healthcare/academic medicine to the youth service and voluntary sectors. Deb’s considerable expertise includes governance, strategic planning, fundraising, program and staff management, strategic marketing, analytics, and constituent engagement, as well as talent recruitment, retention, and development.

Deb was previously Senior Executive Vice President and Managing Director for Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A), headquartered in Chicago and one of the world’s leading philanthropic consultancies. She led the firm day-to-day and oversaw all domestic and global consulting practices. She was also Interim Chief Financial Officer, Practice Area Leader for Analytics, and drove consultant recruitment, training, and resource utilization efforts.

Deb also served as Chief Development Officer and Interim Chief Strategy Officer for Girl Scouts of the USA, based in New York. As one of the most senior officers in this iconic leadership organization representing girls in 112 US councils and 94 countries, she played a critical role in transforming organizational talent, culture, and social impact. She led the hiring and onboarding of a new national Executive Team and the $1 billion ToGetHerThere campaign, the largest fundraising campaign for girls in the world. She was also Executive Sponsor for the global alumnae initiative to acquire and engage 59 million former Girl Scouts. Deb’s work at Girl Scouts is representative of the lasting impact she has made on numerous leading nonprofits in the healthcare, education, youth service, and social justice arenas.

Deb held executive and senior development roles at Simmons College, Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, and Concord Academy. She was one of the founding team members of City Year, which has a total of 28 youth service teams across the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa.

Deb is a member and former Chair of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation Board and a member of the Board of Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts. She serves on the Board of The Giving Institute and the Editorial Review Board for Giving USA, is a founding member of the Allies in Action Steering Committee for Women in Philanthropy (WŌC), and was recently appointed Chair of the Industry Advisory Council and ex-officio member of the Board for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Her industry leadership is devoted to attracting and retaining top talent in the nonprofit profession, developing and training advancement professionals worldwide, and advancing the careers and leadership of professionals of diverse lived experiences. Deb holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and an MBA from Simmons University.