The History of Walker & Associates Consulting
Don’t sit down and wait for opportunities to come. Get up and make them.
Madame C.J. Walker
Not many stories of multigenerational Black women family-owned businesses exist because, according to the American Express State of Women-Owned Business, although Black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs only 3% of our companies mature and survive longer than five years due to inequities faced above and beyond the universal challenges of business ownership. After being the only Black woman in many spaces of nonprofit and philanthropic leadership early in her career, our Founder took a leap emboldened by her vision of a field that better reflects the needs, ideas, and agency of those closest to oppression, disparity, and injustice. She had no idea that 30 years later her business would still be thriving and that she’d see evidence of incremental change in the field while acknowledging there’s still so much room for growth through pushing forward boldly. As we celebrate our 30th Anniversary, be inspired by our story of origin, evolution, and impact!
The Early Years: 1994 – 2008
Responding to the Call
Walker & Associates Consulting was launched in 1994 in Oakland, California, by our Founder & Strategic Advisor, Constance J. Walker. After 15 years of innovative thought leadership and cross-sector collaboration at the local, statewide, and national levels – including leading a community-based organization in Richmond, CA; working for a national intermediary, Local Initiatives Support Corporation; and directing programs and program-related investments at The James Irvine Foundation – and with support of visionary colleagues James W. Head and Alvertha Bratton Penny, the journey began with two core clients: the National Economic Development and Law Center (now known as Insight Center for Community Economic Development) and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Our early work centered on field building via Initiative Management, Convenings, and Executive Search.
- Constance launched Walker & Associates Consulting at its initial headquarters – 2201 Broadway, Suite 815, in Oakland, California
- Led Strategic Planning, Restructuring, Executive Search (including the first Vice President) and Convening Planning and Management (25th Anniversary National Conference and Banquet) for the National Economic Development & Law Center
- Led Research, Planning, and Management for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Neighborhood Improvement Initiative – a multi-year over $20 million investment in West Oakland, East Palo Alto, and the Mayfair area of San Jose – including cross-site convenings
- Served as Interim Executive Director and led Planning and Management of an Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, for Neighborhood Funders Group
- Led Planning and Management of Statewide Skill-building & Networking Retreats for Nonprofit Executive Directors and Board Chairs in Milpitas and San Diego, CA and Las Vegas, NV, on behalf of Washington Mutual Bank/JPMorgan Chase & Co Global Philanthropy
- Led Planning and Management of a Symposium in Los Angeles for the Asset Policy Initiative of California (APIC) supported by the Ford Foundation and facilitated by the Earned Assets Resource Network (EARN)
- Constance embarked upon a much-needed Sabbatical enjoying time with family, travels, and leveraging her skills to better her community in a volunteer capacity
Walker & Associates Consulting 2.0: 2010 – 2020
Reemergence & Reformation
Walker & Associates Consulting reemerged in 2010 bolstered by a refreshed leader in Constance and by the addition of Constance’s only child, Jeannine N. Walker, as Executive Vice President. After initially turning down an offer to join the team upon graduation from The Wharton School and starting her career in corporate marketing brand management, Jeannine finally wised up and joined our team with new understanding of the honor and privilege of being able to help rebuild and contribute to the growth of a family legacy. With a wealth of strategy, management, and communications skills, Jeannine helped take the firm to new heights working side-by-side with Constance for over 10 years strengthening our processes and systems; launching our first website and e-newsletter; further defining our service areas; and enhancing our capacity to serve new clients in emerging areas. Our mother-daughter duo began to shift toward a tighter focus on Strategic Planning and Executive Search designed to equip our clients with innovative approaches and highly qualified diverse leaders.
- Walker & Associates Consulting moved to office space alongside Oakland’s Lake Merritt at 1901 Harrison Street, Suite 1100
- Led collaborative Strategic Planning processes resulting in dynamic 3–5-year Strategic Plans for leading Bay Area organizations including Biotech Partners; Booker T. Washington Community Service Center; Community Housing Development Corporation; East Oakland Youth Development Center; Giants Community Fund; and West Contra Costa Youth Services Bureau
- Developed a 4-year Business Plan for the Los Angeles-based Coalition for Responsible Community Development (CRCD) Enterprises leading to a $600,000 grant from the Office of Community Services
- Researched and Developed a 3-year Business Plan for United Way of the Bay Area to launch SparkPoint Centers, a planned $37.5 million public/private investment designed to assist families in 7 Bay Area Counties to meet their basic needs, increase income, build credit, increase savings, and reduce debt
- Led Planning and Management of the Third National Meeting of Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap (CWWG) – a multi-racial/ethnic network of non-profit, philanthropic, public and private sector leaders working to transform public policies and systems to advance gender economic equity and close the gender wealth gap – in Chicago
- Supported Research, Initiative Development/Management, and Event Planning/Production for the East Bay Community Foundation-Led ASCEND: BLO, a $10 million, multi-year funder collaborative designed to bolster Black Led Organizations in 6 Bay Area Counties, including Accelerator and BLO Stabilizer cohort programs and Network Summits in Oakland, San Francisco and Sunnyvale
- Conducted National Searches and Placed Talented and Diverse Leaders in numerous foundation and nonprofit roles across levels and expertise for clients including: Akonadi Foundation; Asian Law Caucus; California Association of Micro Enterprise Opportunity (CAMEO); East Bay Community Foundation; EPACENTER; First 5 Alameda County; Grantmakers for Girls of Color; Hopelab; Humanity United; Kenneth Rainin Foundation; Libra Foundation; Pacific Coast Regional (PCR) Business Finance; San Francisco Housing Development Corporation; Schmidt Family Foundation/11th Hour Project; Stupski Foundation; The Greenlining Institute; Y & H Soda Foundation; and many more
A New Day: 2021 – Beyond
Next Generation Leadership
The partnership between Constance and Jeannine became the actualization of the intergenerational leadership transition long envisioned by Constance when on January 11, 2021, after more than 25 years at the helm, Constance announced her retirement as President and intention to remain a core member of the team as Founder & Strategic Advisor while Jeannine became President & CEO.
- Executing a Successful Planned Leadership Transition with Jeannine taking the helm and leading the business day-to-day as President & CEO and Constance shifting to a new role as Founder & Strategic Advisor
- Experiencing Significant Expansion of our Client Base including new Family Foundations, Grantmaker Associations, Affinity Groups, and Environmental/Climate Organizations
- Expanding Our Team to include a virtual Executive Assistant; additional experts and collaborating consultants; and other back-office support
- Supporting Oakland’s own Children’s Fairyland – the storybook theme park that inspired Walt Disney’s Disneyland and was named the 2024 Non-Profit of the Year by California Assemblymember Mia Bonta – in an inclusive Strategic Planning process resulting in a 4-year Strategic Path to enhance appeal and accessibility as they approach their 75th Birthday
- Conducting National Searches and Placing Talented and Diverse Leaders in numerous foundation and nonprofit roles across levels and expertise for clients including: Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP); Ballmer Group; Barr Foundation; Bay Area Discovery Museum; Black Organizing Project; Blue Sky Funders Forum; Emerald Cities Collaborative; Environmental Grantmakers Association; Heising-Simons Foundation; Hive Fund for Climate & Gender Justice; LA Metro; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; Northern California Grantmakers; Pisces Foundation and ClimateWorks Foundation; Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors; Sobrato Philanthropies; Tempest Advisors; The California Wellness Foundation; The James Irvine Foundation; Tikkun Olam Foundation, Inc.; and many more
- Celebrating our 30-Year Anniversary of innovative partnership and impact!
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