Nonprofit Executive · Author · Speaker
Sheri Boelter
I have the unshakable belief that each of us has not only the potential to live a rewarding and purposeful life, but also the responsibility to do so. Owning up to that obligation not only makes us more human — it connects us to the bottomless reserves of passion, vision, and commitment present in every human heart.
Sheri Boelter is a nonprofit executive leader and author with more than three decades of experience at the intersection of behavioral health, substance use treatment, youth services, trauma-informed care, and organizational leadership.
She has led organizations, built programs, and advocated for vulnerable populations at the local, state, and national level — including presenting on youth homelessness at the Forty to None Summit, a national conference of the True Colors Fund, with subsequent engagement alongside national policy leaders.
Her presentations draw on both clinical expertise and lived experience — including her own journey through occupational trauma, institutional betrayal, burnout, and professional recovery. She brings to every platform what few speakers can offer: the credibility of a practitioner who has not only studied the hardest moments in the helping professions, but lived them, survived them, and emerged with clarity, purpose, and something worth saying.
Core Competencies
Thirty years of hard-won expertise.
Career Highlights
Leadership across three decades.
Provides leadership coaching, nonprofit organizational consulting, and professional development to social service agencies and mission-driven leaders. Delivers keynote addresses on trauma-informed leadership, burnout, vicarious trauma, and organizational resilience. Offers strategic planning, board training, and grant writing consultation across the region.
Led strategic and operational leadership for a multi-site behavioral health and adult & youth services agency. Diversified revenue, launched and expanded Adult Outpatient Services, Sober Living, and Day Treatment programs. Oversaw budget planning, financial stabilization, and compliance with state, federal, and accreditation standards.
Led statewide veteran housing, support, and case management programs. Coordinated with VA, HUD, and federal agencies to expand access to services for rural veterans.
Oversaw runaway and homeless youth programs, crisis services, shelter operations, and community outreach. Presented on youth homelessness at the Forty to None Summit (True Colors Fund) — a national conference dedicated to ending LGBTQ+ youth homelessness.
Executive Director, Young Families Early Head Start · Chief of Development & Planning, HRDC District 7 · Therapist, Billings Clinic · Director of Transitional Living Programs, Friends of Youth (Seattle) · Director of Social Services, Piñon Hills Hospital (Santa Fe).
Forthcoming Book
Actively seeking literary representation and publication.
Get in touchNot What They Said I Was
A Memoir
A memoir chronicling three decades of social work leadership, nonprofit executive practice, and the personal and professional aftermath of institutional betrayal and public reputational harm.
Explores themes of trauma, resilience, identity, women in leadership, and the reclamation of self after catastrophic loss. Honest, unflinching, and ultimately a story of survival — and the clarity that can only come from having lived through the thing you thought would end you.
Speaker Profile
Signature Presentations
CEU-eligible sessions, keynotes, and professional development for social work and behavioral health organizations.
When the Helper Needs Help
Vicarious Trauma, Burnout, and Moral Injury in Social Work Leadership
A 60–90 minute CEU-eligible session for licensed social workers and behavioral health professionals. Evidence-informed and experience-anchored — examining what it actually looks and feels like when a social work leader reaches their limit, and what survival and recovery look like on the other side.
CEU EligibleTrauma-Informed Leadership
How Unhealed Wounds Shape the Way We Lead and Serve
An exploration of how early survival adaptations follow leaders into organizational life — shaping hiring decisions, boundary challenges, over-giving, and vulnerability to exploitation. Designed for social work supervisors, nonprofit executives, and clinical leaders.
Keynote · WorkshopNot What They Said I Was
Reputational Harm and the Road Back to Self
A keynote drawn from Sheri's memoir-in-progress. Examines the psychological, professional, and ethical dimensions of reputational harm in the helping professions — and the largely unspoken experience of practitioners who have been publicly misrepresented. Honest, unflinching, and ultimately a story of survival.
KeynoteEnding Youth Homelessness
What It Takes, What It Costs, and Why It Matters
Drawing on Sheri's national platform work on LGBTQ+ and general youth homelessness, including her presentation at the Forty to None Summit. A practice-focused session on systemic gaps, trauma-informed outreach, and what communities can do to protect their most vulnerable young people.
Keynote · WorkshopAvailable for conferences, professional development days, and organizational training.
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Recognition & Awards
Ready to work together?
Whether you need a grant narrative, a keynote, or someone to finally write the story you've been carrying — reach out.