Joel Getzendanner is one of the world's leading authorities in the emerging field of the design of "network" or "distributed” organizations, especially those with a strong social mission. He offers strategy consulting and executive coaching support to select clients.

Joel was a founding Board Member of the Chaordic Alliance (now Chaordic Commons), the nonprofit initiated by Visa founder Dee Hock, with whom Joel has worked closely over the last decade. Joel brings to his work a unique blend of experience in for-profit, nonprofit, and governmental sectors.

Currently, Joel is consulting with La Leche League International, an international nonprofit that organizes mothers to help other mothers to breastfeed their babies, to redesign its organizational structure in a way that mirrors the mother/mother and mother/baby relationship. He is also a board member of the Identity Commons, a for-profit initiative to offer secure Internet identity and put the control of that information into the hands of the individual. Joel is Director of Philanthropic Services for the Helixx Group, based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

As Vice President for Programs at the Joyce Foundation in Chicago ($600M assets, $25M grants) from 1987-94, Joel oversaw the repositioning of its six major program areas and designed and managed a unique cross-program staff structure. In the late 1990’s as Associate Director for Investments at the F.B. Heron Foundation in New York ($250M assets, $12M grants), Joel’s task was to answer the Board’s question, “How can we invest all of the foundation’s assets in a way that advances our charitable purpose?” He conceived and implemented an overarching financial strategy, trained the staff and board in investing options and practices, administered the development of a philanthropic investment portfolio, and oversaw the management of the foundation’s corpus.

Prior to entering the foundation world, Joel worked with Catholic Charities on the west side of Chicago in the early 1980's, spent several years in manufacturing with Borg-Warner and Booz-Allen & Hamilton, and a year with a political action committee and Presidential exploratory committee.

Joel earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. from Dartmouth College. He has coached springboard diving at the high school and college levels. Joel lives in Olympia, Washington.