Cam Cruickshank

Cam Cruickshank, Ph.D., is a nonprofit and higher education executive, board member, governance practitioner, and organizational strategist with more than thirty years of leadership experience and two decades of direct experience working with and serving on boards.

Throughout his career, Cam has helped organizations navigate growth, change, financial pressure, leadership transitions, strategic planning, and governance challenges. His experience includes serving as a college president, senior executive, community foundation leader, consultant, and board member across nonprofit, higher education, health care, and corporate settings.

His doctoral research examined person-environment fit, giving him a long-standing interest in how the relationship between people, organizations, and their environments influences effectiveness.

Cam developed the Compass Governance Framework to help nonprofit boards understand why capable leaders and committed boards can still struggle, and to provide a practical way to examine the organization as a whole. His book, On Course: The Compass Governance Framework for Nonprofit Boards, helps boards understand changing conditions, ask better questions, and steward their organizations with greater clarity.

He is the founder of Waypoint Governance, which develops practical ideas, tools, and learning experiences for nonprofit boards and leaders.