Nonprofit News

Sandy Skolnik, Maryland Nonprofits' First Board Chair Dies on November 21, 2007

By Nancy Hall

As long as I continue to teach, I will be passing on lessons learned from Sandy Skolnik to the next generation of nonprofit leaders. If I were limited to one image to illustrate strategic thinking, I would use Sandy’s picture. Sandy was a visionary who could imagine a future in which all of Maryland’s children entered school ready and able to learn. Not only could Sandy envision the future, she made it happen. One of the characteristics of a strategic thinker is to have a “systems perspective”. Sandy not only knew how her own organization, the Maryland Committee for Children, operated, she understood how other nonprofits operated, how the Maryland General Assembly functioned, and how things happened at the federal level. Being able to “think in time” is another strategic thinking characteristic that is often defined as being able to “skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it is.” Sandy was a brilliant “thinker in time.” Like a chess grand master, she was planning her moves far in advance. The result was that her organization was always well-positioned to improve the lives of Maryland’s children. Sandy often urged people to “catch up” as she was plotting out what should happen in the general assembly session not this year but three year’s hence.

Beginning in 1990, Sandy became involved in the planning committee that started the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations. She was on the search committee that hired Peter Berns, Maryland Nonprofits first and only Executive Director. Sandy became the first board chair of Maryland Nonprofits. The same strategic thinking that made Maryland Committee for Children a national leader was put to use in creating the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations. Sandy took great pride in the work of Maryland Nonprofits and continued to be a trusted advisor especially in public policy matters.

I first met Sandy in 1986. At that time, she hired me as a financial consultant because Maryland Committee for Children had just had a growth spurt and was operating at a budget of $500,000 (the organization now has $10 million in annual revenues.) When Peter Berns hired me to work at Maryland Nonprofits, it was with the understanding that I could continue to consult for Sandy at the Maryland Committee for Children. I am sure that Peter thought it would be for another six months or so. The consulting continued for twenty years. I have spent an afternoon or two each week with Sandy for the past two decades consulting on financial matters and discussing the state of the world in general.

Brilliant is a word often used to describe Sandy and I concur mightily. She could also be cantankerous, impatient, and downright difficult. But she was a generous spirit and a wonderful, caring friend. I will miss her.

Sandy Skolnik was the executive director of the Maryland Committee for Children for over 30 years. She was the first Board Chair of the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organization beginning in 1992. She died on November 21, 2007 following a six month illness.

Offered with great respect, Nancy Hall

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