Ed Mishrell

Ed Mishrell believes the most successful nonprofit organizations are blessed with extraordinary leadership. Ed started his career as a probation officer. He then went to graduate school to learn more about what made organizations successful. He has held many positions in the nonprofit sector, including childcare director, senior citizen center director, teen program director, youth employment director, and community center director. In 1986 he joined the national office of Boys & Girls Clubs of...See more

Ed Mishrell believes the most successful nonprofit organizations are blessed with extraordinary leadership. Ed started his career as a probation officer. He then went to graduate school to learn more about what made organizations successful. He has held many positions in the nonprofit sector, including childcare director, senior citizen center director, teen program director, youth employment director, and community center director. In 1986 he joined the national office of Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), where he led the development of numerous strategic initiatives including outcome measurement, executive leadership development, deepening impact, ensuring public trust, and creating national program initiatives supporting academic success and technology. He led the creation of the Spillett Leadership University and the Advanced Leadership Program for executive development. The impact of the Advanced Leadership Program was documented in an article published in McKinsey Quarterly entitled "Putting a Value on Training" (Cermak and McGurk, 2010). Ed served as the chief strategy officer for BGCA from 2010 to 2019. He worked closely with local club board and professional leaders and BGCA staff and national board members to lead the development and deployment of BGCA's strategic and operating plans. Ed is a talented speaker and presenter. He has led hundreds of leadership training programs and continues to serve as a faculty member for BGCA's Advanced Leadership Program. He has spoken at numerous regional and national conferences for Boys & Girls Clubs as well as other nonprofit organizations, and has even made a presentation on workforce development at the United Nations. When he retired from BGCA, Ed taught a graduate course at the Andrew Young School of Public Policy at Georgia State University. While searching for material about leadership in nonprofits for his students, Ed began interviewing successful nonprofit leaders to capture what made them successful. These interviews became the foundation for The 5 Truths for Transformational Leaders. Ed has authored numerous articles and program resources used by more than 50,000 professional staff and board members at Boys & Girls Clubs. This includes booklets and resources to guide hiring practices, ethics, financial management, ensuring accurate data, measuring outcomes, supervision, and leadership development. Ed is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Thomas G. Garth Character and Courage Award, the highest honor a BGCA leader can receive. Ed holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Alfred University, a Master of Education from Elmira College, and a Master of Social Work Administration from Temple University. See less