Concepts | Strategies | Connections
Prepared to assist nonprofits through executive director transition as acting or interim ED.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Rebecca Swanson Conrad
rebeccaswansonconrad@gmail.com
To see recent clients, please click on a project area.
Governance and Board Development
Feasibility Studies and Business Plans
Cultural Plans
Special Projects: Situation assessment and creative problem solving
Rebecca Swanson Conrad formed RSC Consulting to provide concepts, strategies and connections to businesses and organizations seeking to align mission to outcomes, develop new projects or scale to new market position.
Beckie works in Maine, New England and nationally on workforce and economic development with expertise in immigration advocacy, entrepreneurial development and arts and culture as economic drivers. She has significant experience in non-profit governance and provides board development and strategic planning to both large and small organizations. A niche practice area is municipal public art ordinances. She is especially committed to young entrepreneurs and assists with business plans and market analysis for start-ups.
Previously, she served as President and CEO of the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce where she led the acquisition of the Lewiston Auburn Economic Growth Council, which added entrepreneurial development and a loan portfolio as new business drivers for Maine’s second largest city. She joined the Chamber following 12 years at Maine College of Art & Design in Portland where she served as Vice President for Institutional Advancement that encompassed 5 divisions: Development, Alumni Affairs, Marketing and Communications, Career Services and Continuing Education.
She was co-owner with her husband of downtown Auburn, Maine business Austin’s Fine Wines and Foods for 20 years and for 3 years owned and operated Rÿsen Home, Garden & Antiques, a retail gallery promoting local art and products that supported international women’s economic development. Prior to Rÿsen, Conrad’s career spanned 21 years in higher education administration at Bates College, including 1999-2003 when she served as executive director of LA Excels, the college’s non-profit community development partnership in Lewiston-Auburn focused on leadership, arts, educational aspirations and economic revitalization.
She currently serves with Oxfam’s “Sisters on the Planet,” a diverse group of American Women using their influence to fight global poverty, hunger, and injustice, with a particular focus on empowering women and girls worldwide. She chairs the University of Southern Maine’s Board of Visitors and serves on the boards of USM’s Muskie School, as vice-chair of Community Health Options, one of three Obamacare health insurance co-ops remaining in the US, and the Poland Spring Preservation Society, dedicated to preserving the unique historical architecture of the Maine State Building.
She had a gubernatorial appointment to the Maine Arts Commission for seven years, with four as vice-chair during which she served on the state’s Cultural Affairs Council and the governor’s Creative Economy Council. Other past volunteer board roles and service include chair of the Lewiston Auburn Economic Growth Council, Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice and L/A Arts; vice chair of the Maine Association of Nonprofits; and as a board member of Advocates for Children, Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce, Lewiston-Auburn Airport, the Maine Business Immigration Coalition and Central Maine Community College’s Foundation; and as an Olympia Snowe Leadership Advisor at Leavitt High School. She lives in Auburn, Maine with her husband Austin and cats, Herbie Hancock and Ella Fitzgerald.
