Sil Ganzó
DEL SUR Strategies
TRUSTED EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP FOR NONPROFITS NAVIGATING GROWTH TRANSITION OR UNCERTAINTY
Through Interim Executive Leadership, Organizational Health Sustainability Engagements, and Ed-to ED advisory, I help nonprofit boards and leaders stabilize operations, strengthen organizations, and move forward with confidence.Is your organization experiencing...
✔ A crisis needing an objective perspective and feasible solutions?
✔ Operational challenges affecting staff and programs?
✔ Board uncertainty about the next steps?Or are you the Executive Director — new or experienced — navigating it alone?That's where I come in.
| INTERIM EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP | OPERATIONS & CAPACITY building | Organizational Health Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Experienced executive leadership during period of transition | Hands-on expertise building systems with organizations and leaders outgrowing their capacity | Clarity on your organization's strengths, risks, and readiness for growth |
EXPERIENCE AND REPUTATION THAT BRINGS CONFIDENCEWhen the stakes are high, experience matters:11+ Years
Leading and scaling a nonprofit from a grassroots initiative into a nationally recognized organization.~$3 Million
Built and managed a sustainable organization from $0 to a multi-million-dollar annual budget.50 Team Members
Recruited, led, and developed a high-performing leaders representing diverse backgrounds and perspectives.22 Countries | 19 Languages
Created one of North Carolina's most diverse workplaces, rooted in collaboration, trust, and belonging."Your reputation precedes you"
Built and led one of North Carolina's boldest, most trusted, and transparent organizations.I am investing what I learned to not just help organizations navigate today's challenges—I want them to emerge stronger, with the leadership, systems, and the confidence needed for whatever comes next.SCHEDULE A CONVERSATION OR SEND ME A NOTE TO GET STARTED
ABOUT
I am the founder and former Executive Director of a Charlotte-based nonprofit that grew from a grassroots effort into a nationally recognized model.That experience—leading through growth, uncertainty, and complex organizational change—has earned me the trust of boards, government officials, academic institutions, and community leaders.As a Latina immigrant who built my career and life in the U.S., I bring a genuinely bilingual and global perspective to my work. Over more than a decade of leadership, I developed a deep cross-cultural fluency through working alongside people from diverse backgrounds and communities around the world.Today, I work with leaders to strengthen organizational systems, build sustainable infrastructure, and ensure that the people at the center of the mission remain at the center of the work.
Why Del Sur?
Del Sur translates to “from the south" and it honors the knowledge, grit, and collective strength of the Global South, people and places too often framed only as recipients of help rather than as sources of insight, strategy, and innovation.
Why Dandelions?
Dandelions are amazing. Even in the harshest conditions, they remind us that survival can lead to growth, and that our impact can extend far beyond ourselves and where we are rooted.
TURNING CRISES INTO OPPORTUNITIES
Every nonprofit faces moments that test its leadership — rapid growth, a sudden executive transition, funding uncertainty, internal challenges, or difficult decisions. These moments can feel overwhelming, but they also reveal what an organization truly needs to move forward.I know organizational challenges because I've learned to cherish them: A pandemic that could have ended us instead forced us to become more responsive and efficient. Funding landscapes that shifted overnight pushed us to restructure our entire approach to securing it. Political environments openly hostile to our mission were met with the courage to build a reputation and integrity that earned national recognition. And the complex, often unpopular decisions required to build an organization designed to outlast all of it — these happen often, and there isn't always a way to avoid them. You just need to be prepared to see the other side.Today I bring that experience to nonprofit boards, executive teams, and EDs themselves — seeing the future a little more clearer, stepping into uncertainty, assessing what's really happening, and navigating high-stakes decisions with confidence. My role isn't to promise easy answers. It's to help you understand reality, strengthen what's working, and determine the best path forward — whether that means transformation, restructuring, or simply having someone who's been there to think it through with.
Interim Executive Leadership
Steady leadership when your organization needs it the most
Whether an Executive Director has left unexpectedly, retired, or the board wants time to conduct a thoughtful search, as an Interim Executive I step in and create the conditions for lasting stability.As an Armstrong McGuire Certified Interim Executive, I join the team with humility and fresh, objective eyes, with deep respect for the people already doing the work. My first priority is listening: meeting with staff, board members, and key stakeholders to identify operational risks, cultural dynamics, and systemic challenges that may be limiting the organization's effectiveness.An interim leader should not simply "keep the lights on." My goal is to leave the organization stronger than I found it.During an engagement, I will:✓ Stabilize day-to-day operations
✓ Strengthen financial and internal controls
✓ Improve governance and compliance
✓ Clarify roles, responsibilities, and organizational structure
✓ Build or update policies, procedures, and documentation
✓ Address operational inefficiencies and unnecessary risks
✓ Support staff through change with transparency
✓ Prepare the organization for a successful permanent hireWhen the next leader arrives, they should inherit an organization with solid systems, clear expectations, healthy operations, and the ability to focus on vision and growth, not untangling the challenges of the past.Schedule a call or send me a message to get started.
Organizational HEALTH engagement
& Systems Implementation
Understanding what is happening beneath the surface
and building the systems for the organization to thrive.
Often leaders or boards know something isn't working, but struggle to identify exactly why. My 3-Phase Organizational Health Engagement is designed to provide an honest, comprehensive evaluation of operational health, a practical roadmap for improvement, and the time needed until implementation is completed.Most engagements are completed within 3 to 6 months, leaving organizations with stronger systems, greater transparency and accountability, and a solid operational foundation for future growth.
Phase 1: AssessmentI spend time intentionally learning how your organization actually functions, starting with meeting 1-1 with everyone on the team. This is the most critical step and, in addition to a comprehensive documentation and information review, allows us to fully understand:➠ Staff and leadership relationships
➠ Organizational culture and communication
➠ Programs and alignment to mission
➠ Financial management and reporting
➠ Internal controls
➠ Compliance and regulatory requirements
➠ Equitable HR practices
➠ Organizational structure and reporting protocols
➠ Operational workflows and efficiency
➠ Risk management and liabilities
➠ Equity, transparency, and accountability practices
➠ Policies, procedures, and documentation
Phase 2: RecommendationsYou'll receive a detailed assessment outlining:✓ Areas of strength
✓ Immediate risks
✓ Operational gaps
✓ Priority and near-term recommendations
✓ A practical implementation roadmap with realistic timelines
Phase 3: ImplementationRecommendations only create value when they are put into practice. Unlike traditional consulting, I stay alongside your team through implementation—helping design, build, and refine the new systems, policies, and processes.My approach is focused on making change sustainable. I remain engaged until staff are trained, confident, and fully onboard with the approved systems, ensuring that improvements are not just documented, but integrated into the organization's daily operations.Let's talk!
Interim COO Support & Capacity Building
A confidential thought partner for Executive Directors—from someone who has sat in the seat.
Interim COO & Organizational Capacity Building
For nonprofits scaling fast, navigating a leadership transition, or realizing their systems haven't kept pace with their growth.
I step in as a senior operational partner to your Executive Director and leadership team — not as a fixer who takes over, but as the person who helps you build what you need to run without me. That means assessing where the real bottlenecks are, building the systems, SOPs, and staff structures to fix them, and coaching your team to own it before I leave.
What this typically includes:
Organizational assessment — staff interviews, risk review, HR and compliance audit
Financial and board governance clarity — understanding your numbers, your grant obligations, and where board authority ends and staff authority begins
Systems and SOPs — documented, written processes so no single person holds the institutional knowledge
Fundraising and donor infrastructure — development planning, donor engagement, forecasting
Staff coaching — supervision structures, feedback systems, performance processes
A clear handoff — by the end, your team runs it, not me
Engagement length: Typically 90 days to 9 months, structured in phases and priced as a flat project fee rather than by the hour, so you know your cost upfront and I'm accountable to outcomes, not hours logged.
Scope: This is capacity building, not supervision. I advise your Executive Director directly, and nothing gets implemented without her sign-off. My job is to leave you stronger, not dependent.I am here for you! Let's talk.
CONTACT
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awards & media coverage
In 2025, I was named Charlotte's Woman of the Year — the first Latina to receive the honor in more than 70 years. It's the most recent of many recognitions over 15+ years of executive and community leadership, each reflecting a reputation built on ethical leadership, transparency, and measurable results in complex, high-stakes environments.Click on the photos to learn more!
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II can bring what I have learned to your organization. Learn more about my focus here:
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SIl's Bio
Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sil moved to Charlotte in 2003 and experienced herself what life is like for a young adult alone in a new country. She began her community work in 2010 as an Administrative Assistant for a for-profit afterschool program, where she witnessed the unfair treatment of newly arrived children and the gaps in equitable access and services for their families, this is why, four years later, she founded ourBRIDGE for KIDS, a Charlotte-based organization supporting immigrant and refugee children and families. She led as Executive Director for 11 years, launching initiatives that supported thousands of families while fostering education, acculturation, and cultural pride. She pioneered nonprofit leadership practices that centered dignity, ethical storytelling, and equity, transforming how communities are recognized and valued for who they are, not just what they contribute. Her leadership also emphasized community-centered fundraising and developing diverse, high-performing teams of 50 staff from 22 countries.Sil also envisioned and led the creation of the Charlotte Is Home Center, North and South Carolina’s first one-stop hub for newcomers. The Center integrates legal, health, and social services under one roof to provide coordinated, wraparound support in families' first language.Through Del Sur Strategies, Sil now applies her expertise to help organizations strengthen infrastructure during growth, guide executive leadership through change, and embed equity and sustainable impact across programs.Sil is widely recognized as an advocate and thought leader in diversity, justice, and immigrant rights. She was Congresswoman Alma Adams’ guest to President Trump's first State of the Union Address in 2017, in representation of the immigrant community in North Carolina, one of the biggest honors of her life. She was named Charlottean of the Year in 2018, received the Global Leader Award from the City of Charlotte, and in 2020 became the first Latina -and only the second woman ever- to receive the prestigious Dr. Nish Jamgotch Jr. Humanitarian Award, and the first Latina in 76 years to receive the Charlotte Woman of the Year Award, among many other distinctions.
SERVICES:
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