Doing Well by Doing Good: Building Your Consultancy Through Pro Bono Service (May 14, 2026)

Thu, 14 May 2026 12:30:00 GMT

Your next great client relationship might not start with a pitch — it might start with a pro bono project. This moderated conversation offers practical strategies for aligning the volunteer consultant's interests with businesses, boards and staff so that the consultant's unpaid services are sustainable, and useful for the recipient.

The conversation brings together seasoned ACE consultants and nonprofit leaders to explore both sides of unpaid consulting services. Speakers will share how ACE members have used donated services in the private, public and non-profit sectors to grow their consultancies and build lasting client relationships. The nonprofit participants will provide a candid perspective on what charitable organizations actually need from consultants and where well-meaning help misses the mark.

Moderator and ACE Board Member Terry Johnson will guide the discussion toward practical strategies for aligning volunteers, businesses, boards, and staff so that pro bono work is genuinely helpful and sustainable. Joining him are speakers Geoff Lamdin, Anne Ball, and Rich Mardoian.

You'll walk away with:

How a well-chosen pro bono project can open doors and lead to paid work
Why asking what a nonprofit needs — before offering solutions — is the best place to start
How to document the support you expect from the sponsoring organization
A framework for scoping engagements with clear limitations, expectations, and desired outcomes before the work begins

Presenters:

Geoff Lamdin — An entrepreneur focused on business strategy, Geoff brings more than 20 years of consulting, mentoring, and coaching experience in Maine and beyond. His background in sustainability, environmental stewardship, and renewable energy has shaped his approach to growth-oriented strategy. He served 5 years as ACE President and continues to serve as a mentor with the Cleantech Open.

Anne Ball — Anne is the Sr. Program Director, Maine Downtown Center, Maine Development Foundation. The Maine Downtown Center is a statewide resource for downtown revitalization and serves as the State Coordinator for the National Main Street Program. She originally joined MDF in 2012 as a consultant to coordinate Healthy Maine Streets, a three-year CDC Community Transformation Grant that made the case for the connection between health and wellness and economic development. She also led Grants to Green Maine, a partnership with Maine Community Foundation and Efficiency Maine. She was a consultant for many organizations including: Maine Preservation, Maine Humanities Council, Maine Office of Tourism, Maine State Museum, and private architecture firms and communities.

R. A. (Rich) Mardoian — With more than 34 years of experience in business process and information technology, Rich has held directorship roles at Oracle, Crisis24, JDA Software Group, and Plan4Demand, and has consulted across supply chain, forecasting, and global account management for Fortune 100 companies. He currently owns Momentum Mental Health dba Ellie Mental Health in Greater Portland. Rich also brings a deep commitment to community service — he has served on the Board of Directors for CHiP (Community Housing Improvement Project) in Lincoln County since 2020 and has been a Certified Stephen Minister since 2015.

Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE) upcoming events

Doing Well by Doing Good: Building Your Consultancy Through Pro Bono Service (May 14, 2026)