Sara Finesilver, MS

Organizational Psychologist

Contact

Sara Finesilver, MS
Organizational Psychologist
Board Effectiveness Consultant

Board First Consulting, LLC
Denver, Colorado
Mobile: 415.314.8089
sara@boardfirstconsulting.com
boardfirstconsulting.com

Purpose

I am passionate about designing behavior-based competency models for boards that are committed to representing the faces, voices, and diverse experiences of the stakeholders they serve. I believe intentional governance and leadership are vital to the collective good.

Expertise

I have worked with a wide range of corporate and non-profit clients across many different industries, and have gained considerable depth and breadth of experience in corporate and healthcare governance. My experience also spans advising boards of controlled companies and performing arts.

My specialties include designing and implementing board and organizational development programs, performance assessments at the board and senior executive level, and long-range strategic planning processes.

Experience

I have 15 years of experience consulting to boards, CEOs, and senior leadership teams on strategies to elevate performance, communication, accountability, and goal achievement.

Additionally, I have seven years of experience as a corporate litigation consultant where I conducted site visits, interviews, and focus groups with subject matter-experts, completed time-in-motion observations, and reviewed legal documentation and depositions for wage and hour corporate litigation cases.

Early in my career, to grow my leadership and facilitation skills, I provided one-on-one coaching to Hass Business School students through the Berkeley Innovative Leadership Development program; was an adjunct faculty member of the Psychology Department at San Francisco State University; and became certified as a Social Fitness Facilitator by the Heroic Imagination Project, founded by Dr. Phil Zimbardo of the Stanford Prison Study.

Boards

Boulder County AIDS Project
Board of Directors (2019 – Present)
Board Co-Chair

Lake Forest College
Alumni Board (2010 – 2018)
Membership Committee Chair

Personal

I live in Denver, Colorado, and love to hike, explore the outdoors, travel, and spend time with family including my Australian Cattle Dog. I am a Big Sister for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America, and a devoted aunt of three wonderful nephews. I played Division III varsity ice hockey in undergrad and remain an avid fan of the Colorado Avalanche.

Education

MS, Industrial/Organizational Psychology
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA

BA, Psychology
Lake Forest College
Chicago, IL

Certificate, Leadership Development
Insight Leadership Seminars