WELCOME!

Who is Jim “Bo” Bolas and what is Engaged Community Consulting? Fair enough question!

I’m not going to inundate you with a breakdown of the 30+ years my job experience, accomplishments or expertise. You can view my CV/Resume HERE.

I love to talk about growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area. I also bring a great many experiences as an Iowan, but you are here for something else.

Allow me to give you a sense of my insight and where it comes from:

Gaining Perspective

There’s a familiar and beautiful piece of music by composer Eric Satie called 3 Gymnopédies. Have a listen:

It’s been described as viewing a sculpture from three different angles. Our lives are not one dimensional. We are able to look at issues, problems, or concerns from a broader perspective. This perspective gives us the opportunity to expand our capacity for solving or addressing our challenges. This is one of the cores of my philosophy that helps me to Engage the people and communities I work with.

Building a Vision

My professional vision has grown from the thousands of people and programs I have worked with. However, often we’ve most grown from those individuals or agencies that challenged us.

Like anyone, I enjoy having the wind at my back. I also know that there’s a powerful amount to be gleaned from those events and experiences that challenge us.

I have spent 30 years working in the nonprofit community with a focus on homeless and runaway youth and young adults. Both the challenges and successes of working with these youth and the programs who tirelessly support them has given me a powerful foundation of experience.

Coming from a teaching background, in my heart I am an Educator…a Facilitator…a Trainer. This has been manifested in the programs I’ve built over the years: Rural and Urban Street Outreach, HIV Prevention, Funding Campaigns, Housing Homeless Families, Community Development, creating a statewide Training Institute, Legislative Campaigns or managing the training, membership and agency of a statewide Coalition.

Coalition-Building

Coalition-building also runs in my blood. I have professionally worked in Coalitions for over 25 years. Building coalition and collaboration runs through most aspects of Nonprofit. Everything, for example, from

• Assessing an organization’s capacity to meet the LGBTQ needs (or SOGIE: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression),
• Building Community’s Readiness for Harm Reduction implementation, or
• Teaching staff about Positive Youth Development strategies.

I deeply believe that through true collaboration and inclusion, organizations, programs and individuals can more clearly see what needs to be impacted in their world.

So, have a look around and if you would like to talk more or have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out on the Contact page! In the meantime,

Be well,

Jim “Bo” Bolas