MARIN LEADERS INSTITUTE

"Leaders grow; they are not made." -Peter Drucker

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Faculty

The Marin Leaders Institute faculty is comprised of experienced nonprofit leaders, consultants, and trainers with varied expertise in leadership, management, and self-care.  Bios for the core faculty can be found below, and additional guest faculty will be added throughout the year as they are confirmed. 

Core Faculty Members:

Leyna Bernstein
Leyna Bernstein is an independent consultant who works with nonprofits in the areas of assessment, planning, strategy, and search. Before starting her consulting practice, Leyna was the Director of Programs at The CBO Center, the nonprofit support center for the East Bay and Directed programs for the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin—where she conceived and launched the inaugural cohort of the Marin Leaders Institute.  Prior to her working in Marin, Leyna was Director of Consulting Services at The Management Center, a nonprofit resource center serving all of Northern California. Ms. Bernstein has over a decade of experience consulting with nonprofit organizations in Northern California, and has taught and lectured on nonprofit management and board issues throughout the Bay Area and beyond. Ms. Bernstein is the author of “Creating Your Employee Handbook: A Do-It-Yourself Kit for Nonprofits”, published by Jossey Bass. She received her BA with Honors at the University of California, Berkeley.

Melissa M. Breach
Melissa Breach is the Director of Programs at the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin—overseeing the Center’s capacity building, technical assistance and leadership development efforts.  Before joining the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin, Melissa was Executive Director of Resourceful Women, a national organization dedicated to developing and delivering financial and philanthropic education within a context of social change.  Following her tenure at RW, she worked as a nonprofit consultant, supporting agencies across the country in the areas of stakeholder development, change facilitation, and systemic problem solving.  Prior to her work at Resourceful Women, Melissa directed the Allies for Education volunteer initiative—creating over 130 private sector partnerships with Public School systems.  Melissa has 15 years of experience working with local and national nonprofits; and is an experienced facilitator and trainer—certified though the National Association of Partners in Education. 

Marci B. Rinkoff, CPCC
Marci Rinkoff, is the founder of MBR Coaching and co-Creator of Coaching Circles for women in life or career transition. She is a coach, facilitator & trainer with over 15 years of experience working with government, corporate & nonprofit organizations such as the American Productivity & Quality Center, Ernst & Young, University of California, and Xerox.  Marci is an instructor at San Jose State University & one of the head coaches for the American Express Open program. Prior to launching MBR Coaching, she was the national coach & trainer for Knight Ridder Corporation.  Marci is certified as a professional co-active coach with the International Coach Federation & the Coaches Training Institute. In addition to coaching skills, she is proficient and experienced in various assessment tools from the Birkman, DiSC, the Enneagram and NLP – Neuro Linguistic Programming. She has a B.A. in Sociology & advanced studies in organizational psychology. Marci currently volunteers as a member of the Civic Engagement Leadership Team at the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin and is President of North Bay Coaches, a chapter of the International Coach Federation.

Funded with a grant from the Marin Community Foundation.