Clear direction.
Practical support.
Susan Benefield Rice works with nonprofit boards, executive leaders, and arts organizations to strengthen governance, set priorities, and connect ambitious goals with sound financial and operational planning.
Her consulting draws on experience as a nonprofit executive, Head of School, board member, educator, and working artist. She understands both the decisions made around a board table and the day-to-day work required to put them into practice.
Discuss your organization’s needsWays to work together
Strategic planning & facilitated retreats
Support for organizations defining their next chapter: stakeholder input, mission and priority setting, board and leadership retreats, and strategic plans with clear responsibilities and measures of progress. Sessions can help a board or leadership team establish shared direction and turn discussion into an actionable plan.
Board governance & executive partnership
Board orientation and onboarding, handbooks and policy development, committee structure, role clarity, executive evaluation, and leadership transitions. Susan helps boards and executives build productive working relationships and distinguish governance responsibilities from operational leadership.
Finance & nonprofit operations
Organizational budgeting, financial reporting, revenue planning, operating procedures, and the alignment of staffing and resources with mission. Her experience also informs work on endowment and investment policies, funding compliance, and the practical systems that support accountability and continuity.
Arts organizations & program development
Planning and operational support for festivals, performing arts organizations, and educational programs, including program evaluation, production planning, artist and volunteer coordination, partnerships, and fundraising strategy. Susan brings a practitioner’s understanding of the relationship between artistic quality, access, capacity, and financial sustainability.
Experience behind the work
Susan’s advisory experience includes co-authoring a board handbook and onboarding framework for Silverwood School, contributing to strategic planning and endowment and investment policy work through her board service with Symphony Tacoma, and presenting on executive compensation and evaluation for The Gowan Group. She has also served as an accreditation peer reviewer and advised fellow school leaders on operational and policy challenges.
As Head of School at Palm Valley School and Charles Wright Academy, she worked with trustees and senior leadership teams on strategy, finance, advancement, human resources, facilities, and operations. Her responsibilities included operating budgets ranging from $7 million to $22 million and supporting the management of investments and endowments of up to $40 million.
At Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, where she serves as Executive Director, Susan leads organizational strategy, finance, fundraising, partnerships, and operations. Her work has included facilitating strategic planning, diversifying revenue, strengthening program and expense management, and supporting board-led governance improvements. This experience grounds her consulting in the realities of leading a community arts nonprofit with limited staff and broad responsibilities.
Her qualifications combine formal study with executive and artistic practice: a Bachelor of Music in Music Education, a Master of Music in Conducting, eCornell certificates in Executive Women in Leadership and Finance for Nonprofit Organizations, and two years of doctoral coursework in Organizational Change and Leadership at the University of Southern California.
Executive leadership & recent resultsStart a conversation
Whether your organization is preparing for a retreat, revisiting its strategic direction, strengthening board practices, or working through an operational challenge, Susan welcomes inquiries about consultation and facilitation.
Email hello@susanbenefieldrice.com with a brief description of your organization, the support you are seeking, and your anticipated timeline. Together, you can discuss an approach and scope suited to your needs.
Inquire about consulting