Marie Stravlo

Marie Stravlo

With over 15 years of experience in non-profit governance and operations, Marie Stravlo specializes in helping organizations build strong, effective boards that drive mission-focused success. She is passionate about creating governance structures that empower volunteer leaders to set strategic priorities and clear policies—allowing staff and volunteers to execute the organization’s goals effectively. Her commitment to non-profit excellence is demonstrated by her credentials, including the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation and her role as both a graduate and faculty member of the US Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organizational Management (IOM). These achievements reflect her dedication to best practices, ethics, and sustainable leadership in the sector. Through Governance Gal®, Marie provides expert consulting on governance best practices. She has helped numerous non-profits strengthen their bylaws, policies, and procedures, improve board orientations, restructure for efficiency, revitalize volunteer engagement, and develop strategic plans that drive long-term success. As the CEO of Avlo Solutions, an association management company, Marie and her team support non-profits with daily operations such as bookkeeping, member services, board and volunteer engagement, elections, event planning, and more. She also serves as the Executive Director for two association clients (one national and one state chapter), a role she has held for the past nine years. Marie’s ability to connect with volunteers in a meaningful way is rooted in her own experience serving as a volunteer. Having held leadership roles as president, vice president, treasurer, trustee, and director for various local and national non-profits, she understands the challenges and perspectives of both staff and volunteers. This unique insight allows her to facilitate solutions that benefit all stakeholders.

How Many Times can you Wish Your Leadership “Happy New Year!” in a Year?

person pouring champagne on champagne flutes

"Happy new year!" I love saying this. The new year brings the opportunity for growth, renewal, and in some cases a reset. As we just turned the calendar to a new year, I got to thinking about the significance of this and the opportunities that we have to wish our staff and volunteer leaders a happy new year. 

Got a Minute?

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A basic guide for writing regular and executive session minutes

Expensive vs Valuable

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Anyone who knows me knows I love a trip to the nail salon. I not only like the finished look, but I enjoy the experience. When I get my nails done (fingers and toes!), I want a spa experience. As…

Use of Position Titles in Minutes

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How many of y’all are using first and last name only in your meeting minutes? Or gasp! First name only? Stop it! I know, I know, you have a fun group and making this too formal might stifle things. But…

Better Use of Board and Committee Time

brown wooden framed hour glass

How do Boards let their committees know about actions that came out of a Board meeting? Well, some Boards have committee chairs who sit on the Board. For example, the Director of Membership is likely a Board member and the…

Motion Making Basics

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Ack! You’ve got your first meeting coming up and you haven’t the slightest clue about making a motion! Not to worry. While advance motion making can be complex, most people and meetings don’t operate at that level. So, let’s go…

Hierarchy of Documents

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Documents, documents and more documents! There are so many important documents that guide a non-profit, but what if there’s conflict between them? Well, firstly, there shouldn’t be, but if there is, then default to the hierarchy! You may find the…

Managing the Big Ideas

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As the Executive Director, President, or lead volunteer, you are regularly approached by people with “good ideas” that the association should take on. Managing these requests are essential to avoid mission creep but to also avoid squashing enthusiasm. The idea…