Overview

Claas Ehlers is an experienced nonprofit professional who has served as CEO of a national federated nonprofit, an interim executive, and a consultant for strategic planning and transition management. He has overseen the creation of more than a hundred local 50lc3s, served on boards for national organizations, and advised the Housing and Urban Development Department and the US Interagency Council for Homelessness. He has worked with a wide range of organizations but has extensive experience with social service agencies, housing and homelessness, federated and highly matrixed models, community organizing, advocacy, philanthropy, and organizations serving marginalized populations.

Prior Experience

Claas Ehlers has more than two decades of experience in nonprofit leadership. Prior to working in the nonprofit sector, he held director roles in the corporate sector and taught as an adjunct professor at colleges in New York and New Jersey. In 2002, Claas joined Family Promise, a national federated nonprofit serving children and families at risk of homelessness. He served in various roles, including Director of Affiliate Services supporting the organization’s 200 independent 501c3 affiliates, before becoming the organization’s second CEO, succeeding the founder.

As CEO, Claas guided the organization through rapid and expansive growth, and during his tenure Family Promise tripled the number of people served, its budget, and the number of staff. He guided the network through a collective transition from site-based shelter to homelessness diversion and prevention during the pandemic. He currently works as an interim executive and consultant. As an interim executive, he has helped guided nonprofits through crisis, addressing areas including finance, program, mission, culture, and boards. In addition to consulting for Schultz and Williams, Ehlers has done strategic planning for more than fifty organizations, most recently Alex English’s Let’s Share Foundation.

Claas currently serves as a board member for Elevate to Even+, a nonprofit that provides youth from disenfranchised communities with paid internships at nonprofits, and the Summit Anti-Racism Council. He has served on advisory boards for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Sesame Street in Communities, and Charity Navigator, among others.