A unique sector-level, bird’s eye perspective, and a speaker with a point of view
Speaking Services
Tosca’s experience spans think tanks, nonprofits, NGOs, philanthropy, the World Bank, United Nations and academia
More than 30 years experience in the nonprofit, NGO and philanthropy sectors
Tosca has worked on civil society issues and social development since 1988. Prior to being the Principal Consultant, Coach and Team Coach at Five Oaks Consulting, Tosca worked in a European think tank focused on governance in Sub-Sahara Africa and the Caribbean; as a development practitioner with various UN agencies and an American NGO in Cambodia; as Social Development Specialist in the World Bank; and as ‘pracademic’ at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Management at Syracuse University, USA, where she directed the Transnational NGO (TNGO) Initiative. The TNGO Initiative focused on the governance, leadership and effectiveness of transnationally operating NGOs.
She has produced many research outputs as well as practitioner-focused analytical reports, evaluations, essays and other ‘thought leadership’ outputs. She is a co-author of the book ‘Between Power and Irrelevance: the Future of Transnational NGOs’, published by Oxford University Press (July 2020). The book won widespread acclaim. A second edition is forthcoming (expected 2026).
Tosca is used to interacting with senior executive leaders as well as those in governance roles in the nonprofit, NGO and philanthropy sectors.
See Tosca speaking
Speaking Topics
Tosca can speak on:
- leadership development,
- team performance and cohesion,
- change management,
- organizational culture,
- governance,
- organizational effectiveness and virtual team leadership in the nonprofit,
- NGO and philanthropic sectors.
Tosca works on governance issues from a place of experience, having volunteered on several boards Tosca has also interviewed hundreds of senior and executive NGO leaders over the past 25+ years, so she understands their context, the constraints they are facing, their values, their world views as well as mental models prevalent in the sector. She regularly coaches individual leaders as well as leadership teams.
Tosca is a member of Innovation Women, a service that helps connect event managers to amazing speakers and experts who just happen to be women.
Examples of organizations who have engaged Tosca for speaking :
“I just thought your presentation was super, really coherent, practical but also deep and accessible”
– by Christine Allen,
Director, CAFOD (Catholic international development agency)