Our team
A national bench, matched to your context.
We don’t staff every engagement the same way. We assemble a team around what your organization actually needs, drawing on strategists, financial modelers, former school and system leaders, and facilitators who have sat in your chair.
Consultants in our national network
Engagements with mission-driven organizations since 2016
In new philanthropic investment supported by our plans in the past year*
Client budgets, from early-stage to national scale
* Source: NorthStar 2025–26 end-of-year client feedback survey.
Shyam Kumar
Founder & CEO
Shyam founded NorthStar in 2016 and has led it from a solo practice into a national network. He authored NorthStar’s published frameworks, including the Strategy Cascade, the Earned Revenue Toolkit, and the Strategic Levers framework. Former Executive Director of Teach For America Metro Atlanta and Head of Talent & Strategy at KIPP Metro Atlanta.
Senior consultants
Practitioners, not career consultants.
Filter by focus
Shannon Echols
Elizabeth Zimmerman
Dhivya Venkataraman
Anna Gregory
Blake Zimmerman
Tenisha Williams
Lauren Weisskirk
Shaquinah Taylor Wright
Lori Taliaferro-Riddick
Michael Stone
Zoe Rankin
Jondre Pryor
Jamie Price-Wallen
Brooke Molpus
Libby Miller
Linda Lentz
Jasmine Landry
Erin-Kate Escobar
Sue Jean Hong
Eric Munoz Hernandez
Avni Gupta-Kagan
Elana Feinberg
Daniel Cordova
Tiffany Chen Cardona
Eileen Chao
Mark Boswell
Brigette Blue
Luqman Abdurrahman
Luqman Abdurrahman
The wider network
Beyond the consultants listed here, we draw on a bench of 45+.
- Former principals and district leaders
- Financial modelers and revenue strategists
- Talent and organizational design experts
- Nonprofit executives who have run the organizations we serve
We match the team to your context and stage, so you’re working with people who have solved your problem before, not people learning it on your engagement.
Let’s work together
Let’s talk about who should be on your team.
A free 30-minute call is the fastest way to find out.