non-profit management consulting
Our work
Established in 2017, PetersonMangum helps organizations increase their effectiveness and navigate critical junctures through strategic consulting and leadership support. Our practice seeks to identify and cultivate internal and external relationships so that organizations can leverage the power of deep collaboration. PetersonMangum draws upon a combined 21 years of experience to unlock increased impact through strategic planning, organizational capacity building, stakeholder cultivation, board development, and fundraising.
Our services
board development & governance
Strong boards are built through clear roles, shared expectations, thoughtful leadership, and a commitment to continuous learning. We partner with boards and executive leaders to strengthen governance, clarify responsibilities, and build the knowledge and practices needed for effective oversight and strategic leadership. Through engaging workshops, facilitated discussions, board assessments, and governance planning, we help boards improve decision-making, strengthen board-executive relationships, and lead with greater confidence, accountability, and purpose.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & GROUP FACILITATIOn
Meaningful engagement begins with creating spaces where people feel heard, respected, and empowered to contribute. We design and facilitate inclusive engagement processes that bring together diverse voices to explore issues, strengthen relationships, and inform decision-making. Drawing on decades of experience across philanthropy, nonprofit organizations, and communities, we help groups navigate complex conversations, consider multiple perspectives, and build the shared understanding needed to move forward with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
strategic planning & organizational development
A strategic plan should do more than articulate a vision – it should help an organization make better decisions, align people around shared priorities, and guide action. We partner with organizations to develop strategies that provide clarity, strengthen accountability, and create a practical path forward. Through thoughtful facilitation, meaningful engagement, and data-informed analysis, we help clients navigate change, build alignment, and develop practical plans with clear priorities, shared ownership, and a framework for implementation.
Clients
CICELY PETERSON-MANGUM, ESQ., MANAGING PARTNER &
PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT
Cicely Peterson-Mangum is a trusted advisor, passionate connector, insightful strategist, and empathetic facilitator with over two decades of experience in nonprofit management, law, government relations, and education. Since 2017, she has engaged organizations, teams, and individuals to guide strategic planning, strengthen governance, engage communities, and lead change.
Cicely draws on the power of deep collaboration in all of her work, inspiring clients to boost their performance and increase their impact through self-assessment and reflection, deep dialogue, and vision-driven thinking. With an approach rooted in equity and inclusion, she brings diverse stakeholders together to address difficult issues, build consensus, and make thoughtful decisions. Her work is grounded in the belief that the strongest solutions emerge when those closest to the issues have a meaningful voice in shaping them.
In her experience in executive leadership roles at mission-driven organizations, Cicely combined her core values of empathy and personal connection with analysis, strategic thinking, and practical problem-solving developed in her early career as an attorney. Cicely has served on several nonprofit and philanthropic boards including the executive committee of the board of trustees of the Seybert Foundation, the University of Virginia's IDEA Fund (inclusion, diversity, equity, and access), and the board of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations.
Cicely holds a JD from Western New England University School of Law, a BA from the University of Virginia, and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from La Salle University. She is a graduate of the Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute at Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research and a member of the inaugural class of the Philadelphia African-American Leadership Development Forum.
Derren A. Mangum, Partner & Consultant
Derren brings together decades of professional writing with over thirteen years of non-profit fundraising experience to assist organizations with the synthesis of compelling communication across many aspects of their operations. He specializes in a thoughtful process of investigation and iteration to help craft persuasive written and spoken materials through robust, concise content, including crisis management strategies and leadership messaging.
Derren is currently Director of Institutional Giving for Opera Philadelphia, where he provides leadership for the organization's foundation, corporate, and government campaigns, which account for approximately $2-4 million annually. Prior to his work at Opera Philadelphia, Derren worked in online and corporate communications, real estate settlement, and web design, always maintaining a core focus on written communications both professionally and personally.
Derren holds a B.A. in Rhetoric and Communications Studies from the University of Virginia and earned a Certificate in Editing from Temple University Center City. He is a member of the Education Nominating Panel, which is tasked to provide candidates to the mayor for Philadelphia's Board of Education. Derren completed over five years of board service for the C.W. Henry School PTA, most recently as president.
Testimonials
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“WE WERE SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE CICELY AND RHONDA [ANDERSON OF ANDERSON LAW GROUP] FACILITATE OUR BOARD RETREAT AND STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION! AFTER WORKING WITH THEM, WE HAD A THOUGHTFUL AND THOROUGH STRATEGIC PLAN TO GUIDE OUR WORK FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS. AND OUR BOARD WAS MORE CONNECTED, MORE CONSCIOUS OF OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS TRUSTEES, AND MORE ENERGIZED TO DO THE WORK WE COMMITTED TO IN OUR PLAN. WE WERE SO PLEASED WITH CICELY AND RHONDA THAT WE QUICKLY HIRED THEM AGAIN TO DO A BOARD ORIENTATION AT THE START OF THE NEXT YEAR AND WERE EQUALLY SATISFIED WITH BOTH THE IN-SESSION LEARNING AND TANGIBLE SKILLS AND TOOLS THEY PROVIDED DURING AND AFTER THE SESSION.”
— Reynelle Staley, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Clementine Montessori School
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“I’M GRATEFUL TO CICELY FOR HER CONSULTING WORK WITH MY ORGANIZATION, AND I REALLY LEARNED A LOT FROM OUR COACHING RELATIONSHIP. HER PATIENT AND POSITIVE APPROACH TO COMMUNICATION ESTABLISHED GREAT TRUST AND COMFORT, AND I FELT SHE WAS A PARTNER INVESTED IN MY SUCCESS, OFFERING LOGICAL SUGGESTIONS AT THE RIGHT TIME. OUR WORK INSPIRED ME TO STEP OUT OF MY INTROVERTED SHELL AND FEEL CONFIDENT ABOUT THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF LIL FILMMAKERS.”
— Janine Spruill, Executive Director, Lil Filmmakers
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“THE MCA LEADERSHIP RETREAT WAS ENGAGING, INSIGHTFUL AND RENEWING. WE LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT OURSELVES WHILE FOCUSING ON THE ISSUES THAT ARE A PRIORITY FOR OUR ORGANIZATION. MOREOVER, WE GREATLY APPRECIATE THE ‘BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER’ SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE. IT MEANT A LOT.”
— Gwendolyn Morris, Secretary of the Board of Directors, Mantua Civic Association