FACILITATOR PROFILE
Facilitator ID: OWH-F1015
North Cady
Help nonprofit teams turn insight into action.
Independent Facilitator · Nonprofit Consultant · Grant Strategy Specialist
Grant Writing
Nonprofit Planning
Community Needs Assessment
Participatory Facilitation
Puyallup, Washington · Pacific Time · In-person, online and hybrid
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15 years
Professional experience
4
Primary services
9 years
Workshop facilitation
Nonprofit planning · Grant strategy · Community partnerships · Follow-up consulting
Professional Overview
North Cady brings 15 years of professional experience to nonprofit facilitation and consulting, including nine years leading workshops and participatory sessions and three years consulting with nonprofit organizations. Based in Puyallup, Washington, North works with organizations that want clearer programs, stronger grant practices, and meaningful community partnerships.
North’s work spans the grant lifecycle, nonprofit program planning, community and international development, and cross-cultural group facilitation. North has facilitated participatory discussions with rural indigenous Melanesian communities in Papua New Guinea in Tok Pisin, convened regional professional gatherings across Melanesia, Southeast Asia, and Africa, and supported nonprofit and coaching audiences with organic social media strategy.
Graduate education
MA in Global Leadership from Fuller Seminary, with an emphasis on nonprofit leadership, adult education, and community development. North is currently pursuing an MA in Counseling Psychology toward LMHC licensure; this profile offers organizational facilitation and consulting, not clinical counseling.
Additional preparation
Additional training and credentials reported by North include an IAPCAM Certified Expert Coach designation, a Scholistico Certified Art Therapy Practitioner credential, intercultural communications study with JAARS, participatory methods training with SIL International, AI implementation and grant writing certifications, and Salesforce nonprofit CRM training.
Core expertise
Grant research and proposal development; nonprofit organization and program planning; community needs assessment; participatory, intercultural facilitation; and practical follow-through.
Workshops & Consulting Focus
North begins with a needs assessment, then selects methods that serve the organization’s actual decision or problem. Sessions can combine collaborative discussion, visual frameworks, working templates, and post-workshop follow-up.
Grant Writing Workshop
For executive directors, development directors, and new grant writers. The workshop covers the grants landscape, proposal and reporting processes, and responsible use of AI-assisted grant writing tools.
Takeaways: templates for grant tracking, strategy, budgeting, and AI policy.
Get Organized Workshop
A customized working session for leaders of early-stage nonprofits to clarify programs, inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and key performance indicators in light of their mission and values.
Takeaways: actionable program planning templates and worksheets tailored to the organization.
Community Needs House Summit
The Participatory Community Needs Assessment Workshop uses North’s Community Needs House diagram and a Social Determinants of Health lens to identify service gaps, bottlenecks, and possible cross-sector partnerships. North previously delivered this approach annually for four years as the East Pierce Partnership Summit, which drew 40–80 nonprofit leaders.
Takeaways: follow-up meetings and a post-summit report to carry partnership decisions forward.
1:1 Nonprofit Consulting
Flexible support for grant strategy, program planning, organizational restructuring, needs assessment follow-up, or Salesforce implementation. Scope and deliverables are shaped with the client.
Takeaways: tailored recommendations, tools, and next steps for the organization.
North’s toolkit includes SWOT and AIC analysis, Appreciative Inquiry, Force Field Analysis, mind maps, cause and effect trees, systems thinking, logic models, pre- and post-workshop surveys, learning-needs assessments, and parking lot or capture-board techniques. North uses these tools to make complex decisions manageable and sustain momentum after the session.
Facilitation Philosophy
Center the group. Listen closely. Carry the work forward.
“The foundation of effective facilitation is mindset — a genuine commitment to centering the group’s goals, values, and expertise above the facilitator’s own expectations or interests. Active listening is the single most important skill. An apparent distraction may reveal what matters most to the group, while a parking lot or capture board can honor ideas without losing the thread. Online, I pay attention to the ways people participate through chat, microphone, video, and screen sharing so quieter voices have room to contribute.”
“Subject expertise can sharpen the questions I ask, but I must keep my opinions from narrowing the group’s options. A good workshop hub builds deep relationships with clients and facilitators, offers a diverse roster, and helps clients understand the value of facilitation skill and mindset as well as subject expertise. Constructive feedback can help facilitators build credibility and improve their practice.”
“A strong organizational client brings a real problem or decision, clear goals, and a willingness to engage honestly. A needs assessment clarifies fit and design. The facilitator is a temporary guide: the client’s own expertise and action create the result. Afterward, feedback should ask whether goals were met, decisions were made, or practices actually changed.”
Center the group
Put the organization’s goals, values, and lived expertise ahead of the facilitator’s agenda.
Listen for what matters
Invite quieter voices and notice when a new issue deserves attention.
Measure outcomes
Assess the decisions and changes that follow the workshop, then support next steps.
Engagement Details
North is especially suited to nonprofits developing sustainable grant programs, organizing emerging operations, assessing community needs, or convening cross-sector partnerships. Work may include single workshops, a consulting series, or ongoing organizational support.
North facilitates professionally in English and has basic conversational Tok Pisin. Cross-cultural sessions with interpreters are possible. Delivery can be in person, online, or hybrid; the Community Needs House Summit is primarily in person. North uses Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Miro, Mural, and collaborative documents.
Based in Pacific Time, North is available primarily in the evenings for approximately 4–8 sessions per month, subject to availability. Thirty days of notice is preferred, with a minimum of two weeks for standard planning. Short-notice emergency requests may be considered.
Plan a Workshop Around Your Mission
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