Executive Director

Bonsai Leadership Group is pleased to partner with Flow Water Advocates in its search for an Executive Director.  

ABOUT FLOW WATER ADVOCATES 
Flow Water Advocates (Flow) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to protecting the Great Lakes and safeguarding the public’s right to clean, accessible water. Flow’s work is grounded in the principle that water is a commons, held in public trust for the benefit of all. 

Through legal and policy expertise, public education, community engagement, strategic communications, and coalition-building, Flow helps communities, policymakers, agencies, advocates, and partners protect freshwater resources across the Great Lakes Basin. 

Flow’s work includes defending the Great Lakes and other surface waters from specific threats; protecting groundwater from contamination and advancing its recognition as a public trust resource; addressing factory farm pollution through stronger regulation and enforcement; advocating for safe, affordable drinking water and strong infrastructure; and advancing the Public Trust Doctrine as a legal and policy framework for freshwater protection. Learn more at flowwateradvocates.org. 

THE OPPORTUNITY 
Flow is entering a planned leadership transition and is ready for its next Executive Director (ED) to build on a strong foundation, strengthen internal alignment, and expand the organization’s influence and impact. The next ED will lead a respected organization with a powerful mission, committed staff, strong donor and partner relationships, and a meaningful role in Great Lakes water protection. They will need to honor Flow’s history while helping the organization clarify priorities, strengthen systems, and deepen its policy, legal, and public impact across the region. 

The ideal candidate is a strategic nonprofit or advocacy leader with policy fluency, fundraising confidence, and a deep commitment to freshwater protection. They do not need to be a practicing attorney, but they must bring the judgment, credibility, and curiosity needed to engage with public trust principles, Great Lakes water policy, and the strategic use of legal tools.  

Flow’s next chapter calls for a steady, collaborative leader who can listen deeply, communicate clearly, make decisions, delegate effectively, and build shared ownership around goals. 
 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

Strategic Leadership and Organizational Focus 

• Lead Flow’s mission, vision, strategy, and organizational priorities in partnership with the Board and staff.
• Translate strategic goals into clear workplans, staffing priorities, timelines, and measures of success.
• Provide disciplined decisions about where Flow can have the greatest impact and what to intentionally set aside.
• Identify emerging threats, opportunities, and policy leverage points affecting the Great Lakes Basin and freshwater governance.

People Leadership, Culture, and Internal Alignment 

• Lead, support, and develop a talented team with clarity, care, accountability, and respect.
• Build a healthy internal culture grounded in transparency, trust, collaboration, shared responsibility, and strong performance.
• Communicate clearly, consistently, and transparently with staff, fostering shared understanding of priorities, decisions, and organizational direction; address difficult conversations with directness and care.
• Clarify roles, decision-making authority, communication practices, and expectations across the organization.
• Strengthen the systems, structures, and management practices needed to support excellent work and long-term staff retention.

Legal, Policy, and Advocacy Leadership 

• Provide strategic leadership for Flow’s public trust, legal, policy, regulatory, and advocacy work.
• Ensure that legal and policy priorities are connected to mission, strategy, capacity, and public impact.
• Collaborate with staff, legal counsel, consultants, Board members, and partners to determine when litigation, legal research, policy advocacy, coalition work, public education, or regulatory engagement are the right tools for advancing Flow’s goals.
• Translate complex legal, scientific, and policy issues into clear priorities, compelling messages, and actionable strategies.

Fundraising and External Relationships 

• Serve as a lead fundraiser, spokesperson, and ambassador for Flow’s mission.
• Partner with the Development Director, Strategic Partnerships Officer, Board, and staff to cultivate, solicit, and steward major donors, foundations, and philanthropic partners.
• Strengthen relationships with policymakers, agencies, nonprofit partners, environmental organizations, legal and policy experts, Tribal Nations and Indigenous leaders, grassroots advocates, and community stakeholders.

Operations, Finance, and Organizational Infrastructure 

• Oversee Flow’s financial health, budgeting, operations, compliance, and administrative systems, ensuring internal infrastructure supports effective program delivery, fundraising, communications, and staff management.
• Serve as a trusted partner to the Board, providing clear, timely, and transparent updates on strategy, finances, programs, staffing, risks, and opportunities, and working with Board leadership and committees on fundraising, governance, and organizational health.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE  
The ideal candidate will bring many of the following qualifications, experiences, and leadership attributes, but need not possess them all for consideration: 

• Demonstrated senior leadership experience in a nonprofit, advocacy, policy, or mission-driven setting, with a track record of navigating organizational change and building trust across internal and external stakeholders.
• Established credibility in Great Lakes water protection, freshwater policy, environmental advocacy, conservation, climate, public interest law, environmental justice, Indigenous water stewardship, or a closely related field.
• Solid understanding of public trust principles, environmental law, water policy, regulatory advocacy, legal strategy, or policy change, with the ability to quickly build credibility with legal, policy, scientific, advocacy, donor, and community stakeholders.
• Exceptional ability to lead, manage, develop, and retain strong teams by building trust, strengthening morale, supporting professional growth, and creating a culture of accountability, collaboration, and respect.
• Strong record of translating strategy into focused priorities, workplans, budgets, accountability systems, and measurable progress, including the discipline to clarify what the organization will do, what it will not do, and how success will be evaluated.
• Successful fundraising, donor relations, external relations, or partnership development experience, with the confidence to build relationships, communicate a compelling vision, and grow the financial and relational resources needed to advance Flow’s mission.
• Familiarity working with a Board of Directors or comparable governing body and the ability to support strong governance, communicate clearly, build trust, and partner with Board leaders through organizational transition and strategic decision-making.
• Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to translate complex legal, scientific, policy, and environmental issues into clear, compelling messages for staff, Board members, donors, policymakers, partners, media, and the broader public.
• Proven experience leading through transition, culture-building, growth, succession, or organizational change, with the maturity to honor institutional history while establishing role clarity and forward momentum.
• Grounded in a people-centered, emotionally intelligent leadership style, marked by sound judgment, humility, transparency, collaboration, resilience, accountability, and the ability to inspire confidence across staff, Board members, donors, partners, and external stakeholders.

LOCATION AND WORK ENVIRONMENT 

This is a U.S.-based role in the Great Lakes region, with a strong preference that the ED be based in Traverse City, Michigan. 

The ED must be able to build strong relationships with a Traverse City-based team and be meaningfully present with staff, Board members, donors, partners, and community stakeholders.  

Candidates based elsewhere in the Great Lakes must be able to establish a regular presence in Traverse City and demonstrate a credible plan to remain closely connected to the organization’s work, people, and regional relationships. Relocation support may be available.