Who is Russ? Why Does He Care About My Board?

Who is Russ?
For over three decades, Russ West has worked at the intersection of leadership education, organizational development, and nonprofit impact. His experience spans the classroom and the boardroom—teaching in business schools, facilitating capacity-building efforts across hundreds of nonprofits, and guiding executive teams toward deeper alignment and effectiveness. In 2015, Russ stepped away from his role as a professor to bring the transformational sciences of leadership, strategy, and systems thinking directly into the field, where real change happens in real time.

Why does he care about my board?
Russ believes that boards are among the most underdeveloped—and most consequential—leadership spaces in any organization. Board goverance is one of the least understood, but most impact volunteer core imaginable. he is convinced, your mission deserves a board equal to its demands.

Through Table Talk for Boards and other Professional Renewal Circles, he creates accessible, high-impact learning environments that strengthen governance and culture without jargon or judgment. His ultimate concern is that organizations make and keep their promises—especially to those with the least power and voice. He cares about your board because he cares about what your organization exists to do—and who it exists to serve.