Erica Olmstead
As the founder of Compass North Consulting, I help nonprofits, coalitions, and networks navigate complex challenges through strategic collaboration.
With expertise spanning facilitation, strategic planning, community engagement, evaluation, and partnership design, I specialize in bridging grassroots insights and organizational leadership. What sets my work apart is relationship-centered design—whether developing strategic plans that incorporate community voice, designing evaluations that capture diverse perspectives, or building partnerships that maximize collective resources, I help organizations create authentic connections that advance their mission.
I'm someone who builds deep, authentic relationships and genuinely invests in helping others grow and succeed. I see patterns and connections that others might miss, and I approach my work with both analytical precision and intuitive insight. What matters most to me is creating meaningful, lasting impact—not just completing tasks, but transforming how people and organizations work together.
Background: 15+ years supporting collaborative work across all 50 states. I've partnered on countless coalitions, community initiatives, cohorts and campaigns from the municipal to federal level.
Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Relator, Significance, Developer, Connectedness
Enneagram: The Helper (Type 2)
Meyers-Briggs: The Advocate (INFJ)
Big 3: Virgo 🌞, Virgo 🌚 , Pisces ⬆️
My Approach
I believe effective consulting requires both technical expertise and human connection. My work is guided by principles that prioritize relationships while delivering practical results that organizations can actually implement:
Relationship-Centered
I prioritize building authentic connections—with clients, within organizations, and among stakeholders—because that's where real change happens.
Practical & Actionable
My recommendations are grounded in organizational realities and provide clear pathways for implementation that build on existing strengths and resources.
Resource-Conscious
I develop strategies that respect and maximize the time, funding, and capacity of social impact organizations, helping you leverage what you have to create more.
Equity-Focused
I actively address power dynamics in all aspects of my work, centering voices that bring essential perspectives to create more inclusive and effective strategies.
Bridge-Building
I help connect different perspectives and strengths, from community members to organizational leadership to external partners, in ways that create mutual benefit.
Collaborative by Design
Everything I do is designed to strengthen your capacity for ongoing collaboration and shared leadership, building sustainable systems for collective impact.
What Energizes My Work
I'm most inspired by work that creates systems-level impact through collaboration. I'm most energized by work that creates lasting change through collaboration. Here's where I focus:
Systems-Level Impact
Projects that harness community wisdom and create lasting change by building on existing strengths. I'm most energized by work that creates systemic transformation and builds collective power for sustainable impact.
Authentic Community Partnership
As someone whose life was transformed by youth leadership programming, initiatives that authentically center community voices—especially young people—represent some of the most powerful collaborative work I've seen.
Rural Innovation
I know firsthand the incredible creativity and resilience of rural communities. I'm passionate about finding and lifting up innovative collaborative solutions that build on rural strengths and assets.
Let's Work Together
Whether you're forming a new partnership, strengthening an existing coalition, or exploring how collaboration could help you tackle complex challenges, I'd love to hear about the change you're working toward.