Dr. Jon Derek Croteau has been a leader in the nonprofit sector for nearly 25 years with expertise in strategic planning, talent management, leadership advising, board governance and engagement, equity, diversity, inclusion, workplace culture, and executive recruitment. His unique combination of experiences as a leadership advisory and executive search consultant, interim/transitional executive, author, teacher, and speaker in higher education, healthcare, academic medicine, arts, and advocacy organizations has made him a thoughtful and thought-provoking contributor to an array of institutions across the globe. Dr. Croteau is Vice President of Strategy, Innovation, and Institutional Initiatives at his undergraduate alma mater Emerson College. Prior to his current appointment he served in a transitional role as Chief of Staff & Secretary to the Board of Directors at Tony Hawk’s Foundation, The Skatepark Project, as well as, a transitional appointment as the Senior Associate Vice President for Administration & Chief of Staff at Washington State University’s Foundation where he managed Board Relations and the General Counsel, Office of the CEO, Talent Management and HR, and Executive Communications.
Professional experience
In his very early twenties, Dr. Croteau co-founded and served as Chairman of The COURAGE Foundation, a foundation he created to help eradicate suicide amongst LGBTQ youth. In that capacity, he led the board in aiding organizations such as GLSEN, The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and The Massachusetts’ Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth. In the early 2000s, Dr. Croteau’s work in organizational development and talent management at Carnegie Mellon University was ground-breaking for the industry. He was a founding co-chair of the Strategic Talent Management Conference for CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education), a co-founder of the Advancement Leadership Academy, and was on the editorial board of the International Journal for Educational Advancement. In 2007 he was appointed to Carnegie Mellon’s Diversity Advisory Council and has remained a champion of diversity, equity, inclusion, access and belonging.
Dr. Croteau has worked with institutions like American University in Beirut, Artis—Naples, Columbia University, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Lindauer, Northwestern University, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Singapore American School, Union of Concerned Scientists, and WittKieffer. He has served as adjunct professor at places like Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz College and at the University of Rochester’s Warner School. He has served on the Dean’s Advisory Council for Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. He has served as Vice Chair of Emerson College’s Executive Board of Directors, was on the Board of Ambassadors for The Home for Little Wanders, and served as a mentor for Point Foundation.
Dr. Croteau has authored many books and dozens of articles on diversity, leadership, and talent management and his work has appeared in Diverse Issues of Higher Education, The Huffington Post, Inside Higher Education, and the International Journal of Education Advancement. Dr. Croteau has studied and lived abroad twice, once in The Netherlands and once in Spain.
