Judy Whalen

Founder & CEO, Center for Strategic Change, LLC

The Center for Strategic Change is a consulting firm that helps organizations think and act in ways that enable them to be more innovative, effective and competitive. The firm helps clients achieve strategic change by specializing in strategy, marketing research and communications. Its clients include both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Clients include manufacturing companies, associations, health care providers, educational organizations, service businesses, chambers of commerce, foundations and public entities.

Relevant Experience

Judy has over 30 years of experience. Throughout her career, Judy has had the unique opportunity of working directly with CEO’s and boards of directors. Prior to starting her business in 1992, Judy served as the CEO of an association management firm in Chicago and provided leadership to state and national associations.

Her accomplishments include:

• Facilitating a succession plan for a national engineering firm
• Designing the process and facilitating the strategic thinking for five nonprofits to conduct a Collaboration Study and designing and guiding the resulting merger process so four of the five nonprofits could successfully merge
• Guiding organizations and their Board of Directors through mergers
• Conducting leadership retreats for numerous boards of directors
• Facilitating strategic thinking and planning and conducting market research for state, national and international organizations;
• Leading three organizations through reorganizations
• Increasing grant revenue 15x the original amount
• Increasing association membership 15%
• Doubling advertising revenue
• Increasing participation in the Governor’s New Product Awards Program 104% in one year;
• Developing communications programs
• Implementing a statewide government relations program
• Publishing a professional journal and numerous newsletters

Professional Background

Judy served as the Executive Director and chief lobbyist for the Wisconsin Society of Professional Engineers

She has first-hand experience as a board member serving as Treasurer of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Foundation Board of Trustees. She is a past president of the Wisconsin School Public Relations Association; past director of the Public Relations Society of America -- Madison Chapter; completed a six-year term on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Board of Visitors, an advisory board to the Chancellor; a former board member of the Council for the Advancement of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters; past vice president of the State Society Executives Council for the National Society of Professional Engineers and a former board member of the Association of Wisconsin Lobbyists. She has also been a tutor for Literacy Volunteers of America.

Education

Judy has a Bachelor of Science degree in education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. In addition, she has graduate credits in public policy and has completed the six-year Institute for Organization Management at Notre Dame, sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.