About

A trusted strategic partner and advisor to executives, board leaders, and fundraising teams.

Ursula Oaks, Principal

Ursula has been supporting mission-driven organizations for more than 20 years, focused on working with passionate teams and leaders to tackle big challenges, build cultures of belonging, and serve their communities.

Her diverse experience in nonprofit and social-sector leadership includes growing philanthropic support for a major Washington, DC museum and a nonprofit news organization in the Arab region; strategic communications for an international education association; and developing strategic partnerships for a humanities startup.

Ursula earned a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MA from the University of Washington. She speaks Hungarian and French. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new places with loved ones, interior design projects, and taking photographs in the DMV’s quirky suburbs.

More About Ursula

Creative vision, strategic results.

Iris Advisors helps nonprofit executives, leadership teams, fundraising professionals, and boards leverage their passion, skills, and potential to work better, build stronger, and drive organizational success.

Whether for a few weeks or six months or more, we serve as a trusted partner and advisor, sounding board, coach, project manager, or a combination of all of these —meeting organizations where they are with creative solutions and ways forward that are practical, targeted, and actionable.

What Clients are Saying

  • Ursula is an incredible resource, a strategic thinker in so many different areas: development, board governance and growth, marketing, and communications, to name a few.

    Ellen Shearer, Board Chair, James W Foley Legacy Foundation

  • I’m a big fan of Ursula and her work. She definitely has the right experience to help solve problems with fundraising and board engagement, but she also takes the time to understand her clients’ unique issues and structures, so she can provide fully informed recommendations to help move organizations forward.

    Craven Rand, Executive Director, Friends of the National Arboretum

  • I’ve learned a great deal from Ursula. She leads with a sense of humility and empathy combined with a strong commitment to results.

    Dan Cole, Senior Director, AVIXA

  • Ursula has a keen sensibility for what matters most, rising above the noise to drive conversations that advance the work. And she does this with a grace and style that make the collaboration not only successful, but something to look forward to.

    Kathryn Stephens, CEO, Interim Executive Services