O’Rork Consulting
Solutions for higher mission impact.
Nonprofit Leadership
Work with an award-winning museum executive and transformational leader.
Sunnee D. O’Rork is a bold, creative thinker able to lead paradigm shifts while respecting history of organizations.
With 42 years’ experience leading arts and education nonprofits, she knows what it takes to create agile, sustainable organizations that thrive now and in the future.
MY OBJECTIVE
“to support nonprofits who desire to achieve sustainability through strategic planning by assessing their status and building upon their strengths.”
Let’s get to work!
Sunnee
What we love to do!
Strategic Planning
Too busy to create a 100-page document that sits on a shelf? No need to do so. Work with Sunnee to create a living document which provides a map forward and allows for flexibility.
Change Management
Embracing and accepting change, while challenging, is vital for an organization to remain relevant and effective. Sunnee listens to understand what are the changes that are needed currently. What is the timeline? What are the resources needed? What is the communication plan for all stakeholders?
CEO Mentoring
It is true ‘it’s lonely at the top’ and CEOs need a safe space to have confidential conversations to discuss strategy and approaches to resolve the inevitable issues that arise from managing a nonprofit. Mentoring for Senior Staff is also available through the Senior Staff Roundtable facilitated by Sunnee which is part of Nonprofit Wizards.
Board Governance & Retreats
Are your board meetings relegated to just hearing reports? Do you have challenges with differing goals? When is the last time you have a meaningful retreat with your board that focused on your strategic goals? Sunnee works with the organization’s team to create meaningful and fun retreats that get results.
Organization Re-structuring
Have you had a major shift in your organization? Or do you need one? Beginning with an overall assessment, Sunnee will work with the leadership team to discover the best path forward for success and a communication plan.
Succession Planning
Are you an executive director that’s considering retiring in a few years but don’t have a successor in mind? Not sure where to start? Sunnee will confidentially support your journey by creating an effective plan with a timeline.
Public-Private Partnerships
Multiple stakeholder organizations can be challenging, yet they are becoming more and more common in today’s difficult world of limited resources. Sunnee’s experience with city owned organizations supported by a 501(c)3 Foundation honed her expertise in creating the best outcomes for all stakeholders.
"The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking."
~ Albert Einstein
What they’re saying...
Working with Ms. Sunnee O'Rork has been a dream come true. She is very pleasant, has a wealth of knowledge and a great positive attitude. I know her to be an excellent professional with a vast amount of expertise, skills and deep commitment to improve the field of non profits. She is just as comfortable working with our board and staff through strategic planning as well as bookkeeping and human relations. She makes all the hard work seem easy. We have worked together for the past decade when I served on the i.d.e.a. Museum Board while she was their Executive Director. For the past two years she has been the Board Consultant for our arts non profit and she has guided our development into growing in a sustainable way. I highly recommend her with no reservations.
~ Carmen Guerrero, Executive Director, Cultural Coalition, Inc.
“The i.d.e.a. Museum has surpassed the national and international recognition for which Arizona Museum for Youth had been known. Attendance is up more than 40,000 visitors a year to 105,000. And ... this year the museum turned a profit, the first time in many years.
I have seen her mentor and encourage her staff to take bold steps, work harder, expand themselves and push the boundaries. Consequently, the staff turnover is very low and the reputation of the museum has soared.”
~ John O Whiteman (D), CEO, Empire Southwest, Founder of the i.d.e.a Museum
“She has proven herself to be a highly professional and knowledgeable leader in her field, able to provide the vision, inspiration, and guidance that led the institution forward and expanded the staff, budget, programs, and the Museum’s advisory board.
Shortly after her start date, the City of Mesa faced a severe budget shortfall, common to all government agencies during the Great Recession. Sunnee’s baptism of fire included the forced shrinkage of her Museum staff and annual budget by 50%, but she didn’t hesitate to make the best possible moves under intense pressure and in later years worked hard to claw back those precious resources through innovative partnerships with her board, and an expanded commitment to raising contributed revenue through new grants, local businesses, and foundation support....
I strongly support Sunnee as a museum professional and have learned a great deal from working with her. I am fully confident that any other institution or organization would benefit greatly from her advice, consultation, or direct participation.”
~ Robert Schultz, Assistant Department Director (Retired), Mesa Arts & Culture
“Sunnee is such a pleasure to work with. Her passion for art and children come through in all she does. She welcomes new opportunities while consistently maintaining the core mission of her work. She is a great mentor and leader to all those she works with and leads.”
~ Jennifer Bonnett, MPA, CLCC (she/her), President & CEO at Nonprofit Lifecycles Institute
“I have had the pleasure of working with Sunnee O'Rork over the years when I was in the Museum field and working with New England Museum Association. The expertise she brings to the Museum industry is outstanding. She has demonstrated a strong education and leadership persona and exceeds all goals and standards set before her.”
~ Dr. Denise A. Braley, Professor, Hospitality, Tourism and Business (retired)
Meet Sunnee
LEADERSHIP
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP ROLES
- Board Treasurer, 4th Trimester, AZ (2021-present)
- Peer Reviewer, Museum Assessment Program, American Alliance of Museums, Washington, D.C. (2002-present)
- Committee: Host, Program, Events, Elevate, Engage & Educate, AAM National Conference, Phoenix, AZ (2018)
- Presenter: Building Blocks of Leadership, Supervisor’s Academy, City of Mesa, AZ
- Co-Host: Are We There Yet?, ACM Interactivity National Conference, Phoenix/Mesa, AZ (2014)
- Invited Participant: Reimagining the Children’s Museum Summit, ACM, Boston, MA (2013)
- Legislative Liaison: Arts Congress, Arizona Commission on the Arts, AZ (2010- 2021)
- Judge: FIRST Robotics, AZ Regional and World Championships, USA (2012-2018)
- Board of Directors, American Association of Museum Volunteers, D.C. (1999-2002)
- Featured, Three Leaders: Finding Hope in Challenging Times Piper Bulletin, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, January Enews, (2010) Phoenix, AZ
- Project Director, Ubuntu: Ability Experts, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust and National Council on Aging, AZ
- Board of Directors, New England Museum Association, Arlington, MA
- President, Cape and Islands Historical Association, Cape Cod, MA
- Thesis Director, Harvard University Extension School, Cambridge, MA
EDUCATION
M. Ed., Lesley University Graduate School, Cambridge, MA
Institute for Arts and Human Development, Thesis: GEMS: Gallery Educational Methods: Multifaceted Approaches to Integrating the Arts in Museum Education.
B.F.A., Art Education, University of Massachusetts, North Dartmouth, MA
College of Visual and Performing Arts; Graduated with Honors and MA Art Teacher certification: K-12
Certificates
- Seminar for Historical Administration, Williamsburg, VA
- Leadership Training/Development, Mesa, AZ
- Fellowship, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, Phoenix, AZ - Sabbatical awarded.
PERSONAL LIFE
Sunnee hails from Cape Cod, MA and moved to AZ in 2005. She lives in East Mesa with her husband, Ed, and Brittany spaniel, Keke. As a lifelong spiritual seeker, she embraces many pathways including the Bahá'í Faith principles, Unitarian Universalist, Indigenous beliefs and is a member of the Buddhist Sangha of Unity of Mesa. Sunnee enjoys traveling, especially to her ancestral home of Ireland, exploring Arizona on a snazzy red motorcycle or visiting museums throughout the US with Ed. She also serves as board treasurer for 4th Trimester Arizona.
Let’s Connect!
Get in touch.
sorork@cox.net
774-840-0622
Mesa, AZ