Executive Leader in Non-profit Organizations
“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. It’s an obligation we bear as human beings, but it’s also the source of our greatest potential. Owning up to that obligation not only make us more human, it also connects us to the bottomless reserves of passion, vision, conviction, and commitment that I believe are present in abundance in every human heart, and that are the fuel for genuine and deeply fulfilling success”. Sheri Boelter
Senior Executive
Transformational nonprofit executive with 30+ years of experience leading behavioral health, substance use treatment, youth services, veteran services, transitional living, and community-based programs across Montana, Wyoming, Washington, and New Mexico. Recognized for visionary leadership, program innovation, trauma-informed practice, staff development, and building resilient, high-performing teams. Proven track record in securing multi-million-dollar funding, expanding services, stabilizing organizations through crisis, and elevating community impact. Award-winning advocate with a deep and abiding commitment to empowering vulnerable populations and strengthening systems of care.
Core Competencies
- Nonprofit Executive Leadership & Board Governance
- Behavioral Health & Clinical Program Administration
- Trauma-Informed Organizational Practice
- Strategic Planning & Long-Range Organizational Development
- Multi-Million Dollar Budget Oversight & Financial Stabilization
- Grant Acquisition, Writing & Federal Funding Management
- Staff Coaching, Culture Building & Leadership Development
- Crisis Stabilization & Organizational Turnaround
- Regulatory Compliance: OPI, Medicaid, Joint Commission, COA, CARF, COGNIA
- Community Partnerships, Public Relations & Donor Engagement
- Program Expansion, Launch & Sustainable Scaling
- Youth Services, Housing Instability & Vulnerable Population Advocacy
Leadership Experience
Professional Experience
Founder & Principal Consultant – Sheri Boelter Consulting
Billings, MT |
- Provides leadership coaching, nonprofit organizational consulting, and training and professional development to social service agencies, behavioral health organizations, and mission-driven leaders
- Delivers keynote addresses and professional development presentations on trauma-informed leadership, burnout and vicarious trauma, and organizational resilience
- Offers strategic planning, board training, and grant writing consultation to nonprofit organizations across the region
- Draws on 30+ years of executive leadership and clinical practice to support organizations navigating growth, transition, and crisis
Author – Not What They Said I Was – A Memoir
Manuscript Complete | Actively Seeking Publisher
- 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
- Manuscript complete; actively seeking literary representation and publication
Professional Experience
Therapist – Billings Clinic
Billings, MT |
- Led individual, family, and group therapy using trauma-informed, evidence-based approaches
- Completed crisis intervention, suicide risk assessments, safety planning, and care coordination
- Collaborated across multidisciplinary teams to ensure clinical alignment and continuity of care
Chief Executive Officer – New Day, Inc.
Billings, MT |
- Provided strategic and operational leadership for a multi-site behavioral health and adult & youth services agency
- Diversified revenue streams through expanded grants, increased donor engagement, and new fee-for-service models
- Launched and expanded Adult Outpatient Services, Sober Living, and Day Treatment programs
- Built and mentored a high-performing leadership team; restructured departments for efficiency and sustainable growth
- Oversaw budget planning, financial stabilization, and compliance with state, federal, and accreditation standards (OPI, Medicaid, COA, COGNIA)
Director of Veteran Services – Volunteers of America
Montana & Wyoming |
- Led statewide veteran housing, support, and case management programs
- Coordinated with VA, HUD, and federal agencies to expand access to services for rural veterans
Executive Director – Young Families Early Head Start
Billings, MT |
- Directed all programs serving young parents and children; oversaw budgets, grants, and regulatory compliance
- Led strategic planning, donor relations, and community partnerships
Executive Director – Tumbleweed Program
Billings, MT |
- Oversaw runaway and homeless youth programs, crisis services, shelter operations, and community outreach
- Secured grants, built donor networks, and represented the agency with ACF and state coalitions
- Presented on youth homelessness at the Forty to None Summit (True Colors Fund), a national conference dedicated to ending LGBTQ+ youth homelessness
Chief of Development & Planning – HRDC District 7
Billings, MT |
- Led community planning, grant development, and strategic initiatives across a multi-program community action agency
- Expanded programs through multi-source funding and long-range strategic design
Earlier Roles:
- Administrator – Great Beginnings Montessori School, Bozeman, MT
- Interim Executive Director – Community Mediation Center, Bozeman, MT
- Director of Transitional Living Programs – Friends of Youth, Seattle, WA
- Director of Social Services – Piñon Hills Hospital, Santa Fe, NM
Education
New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, New Mexico Master of Social Work
University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming Bachelor of Social Work
Recognition & Awards
- Top 10 Inspiring Leaders – Industry Era for Women Leaders (2024)
- Employer of Choice – Job Service Montana (2023)
- Inspiring Woman of the Year – Glamour Magazine Hometown Heroes (2014)
- Supervisor of the Year – Chamber of Commerce (2013)
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Speaker Profile>
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.
Sheri is currently completing her memoir, Not What They Said I Was, a candid account of leadership, betrayal, public reputational harm, and the reclamation of professional and personal identity. The manuscript is complete and actively seeking a publisher.
Signature Presentations
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, this presentation examines 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. Participants leave with practical self-assessment tools, clinical language for use with colleagues and supervisees, and a renewed understanding of self-care as professional obligation.
Trauma-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.
Not What They Said I Was: Reputational Harm and the Road Back to Self
A keynote or professional development session 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 and reclaimed identity.
Ending 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.
Areas of Speaking Expertise
- Vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, burnout, and moral injury in social work and behavioral health
- Trauma-informed leadership and organizational culture
- Nonprofit executive leadership, board governance, and organizational crisis
- Youth homelessness, housing instability, and LGBTQ+ youth services
- Reputational harm and professional identity recovery
- Self-care as ethical practice – NASW Code of Ethics and practitioner well-being
- Survivor-informed practice and lived experience in professional development
- Women in leadership: resilience, betrayal, and the cost of integrity
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