TESTIMONIALS

"Lisa Parker’s deep experience within a family foundation spanning over three decades has provided her with a deep understanding and compassionate heart of what it takes to create a thoughtful and impactful giving program for families and individuals.  The Hilton Foundation held a retreat for our younger family members a few years ago.  Lisa’s input and support in creating a “lived experience” was the highlight of the entire 2-day retreat.  I highly recommend Lisa Parker as a go-to person in helping navigate the philanthropic world."

~ Steven M. Hilton, Chair, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

"Our family foundation hired Lisa to help us with transitional issues that arose following the death of our founder. Lisa, expertly and sensitively, personally interviewed each trustee prior to conducting a board retreat designed to help us reframe our mission, management structure and grant procedures. Lisa was able to miraculously sift through highly disparate interests of our family trustees and the intention of our founder and help us to develop a grantmaking matrix that was well suited to our particular family.

Lisa’s extensive experience as a foundation trustee and as a leader in the area of family philanthropy brought our family a sense of focus while maintaining the imperative of family unity and care for one another through our work supporting society. Lisa’s careful analysis of the different concerns raised by individual board members allowed us to reach consensus because each trustee felt as though their voices had been heard and included in the decisions we reached.

Lisa’s consultation was a great gift to our foundation, but also to our family. I have no doubt that our founder would approve of the philanthropic direction that we have now incorporated into our work. Lisa was able to help us maintain that tricky balance of incorporating the interests of our current trustees while remaining dedicated to the ancestor who made our philanthropic generosity possible. As anyone who has been through a similar generational family foundation transition knows, this development of a new direction takes patience and both psychological and professional finesse. Lisa possesses this unique set of skills, and combined with her graceful intelligence, assures her clients that they are in capable hands indeed."

~ (Privacy Respected)

 

“When history reflects on  the leaders who created the greatest impact for the family foundation movement, Lisa Parker and the Welk Family will be on the exemplary practice list. Lisa's leadership is a remarkable combination of grace, magnificent listening, support, and attention to the details that matter. She is an action heroine. Run do not walk to hire this person for your family foundation engagements, your intergenerational dialogues and for inspiring the next generation of givers.“ 

~ Tracy Gary, author, Inspired Philanthropy

 

"I was handed the reigns of our small family foundation after my mother suddenly passed away. I knew nothing of how to run a foundation. I searched for any resources to answer simple questions, with no luck. I figured our foundation was so small that we weren't actually represented "out there". Thankfully I came across the Family Circle Advisors website which has changed so much for me! Lisa has thoughtfully held my hand, guiding me through once murky waters. She has been patient with the questions that I was too embarrassed to ask our financial advisors and accountants. I appreciate knowing that Lisa is in my corner." 

~ Kristen Anderson, Anderson Foundation Fund

 

"Lisa Parker has the rare talents of actively listening to and nurturing each family member as they struggle to understand how to give effectively.  She had the psychological awareness and the broad imagination needed to motivate and inspire each member of our family – child and adult alike. Of all the professionals with whom we have worked over many decades she is the one that every member of our Foundation finds outstanding."

~ Current Client (privacy respected)

 

"Lisa Parker is simply masterful at all of the intricate and unique aspects of family philanthropy, having lived it through her own remarkable family. In terms of bringing on the next generation, she draws from decades of pioneering strategies that her family introduced to foundations across the nation and she continues to find new and inventive ways to engage tomorrow’s philanthropists.  She is a superb writer and a gifted speaker, widely sought out for her exceptional perspective and insights.  Lisa Parker is readily acknowledged as a brilliant national expert who has made and will continue to make important contributions to the field of family philanthropy."

~ Jan McElwee, Principal, The McElwee Group