Professional Background

Becky Schueller has three decades of experience working with national, urban, and rural nonprofits, tribal organizations, local and state government, community groups, schools, and small businesses. In addition to 30+ years of professional management and leadership experience with nonprofits, Becky has also served multiple community agencies in Chicago and the Greater Bemidji area in Board, committee, and consultant and training roles. She served as the primary staff member and resource development lead at three organizations for more than 25 years.

Becky opened Rebecca Schueller Training & Consulting in 2017.  She has trained 700+ executive directors, board members, supervisors and program managers, grant writers, and other direct service employees from nonprofits, tribes, cities, counties, schools, colleges/universities and businesses.

Prior to starting her business, Becky’s most recent role was serving as Executive Director for Evergreen Youth & Family Services in Bemidji for 16 years (2001-2017). Evergreen’s $1 million budget doubled during Becky’s tenure, and the staff grew from 20+ to 40+ members. Under her leadership, the agency built a continuum of new programs and services, and Evergreen developed a new agency site with youth supportive housing units. Becky developed and coordinated 13 Evergreen Annual Conferences, which drew 400+ participants and netted $50,000 in revenue annually.  In 2018-19, Becky was the Northwest Minnesota Continuum of Care (CoC) Coordinator for HUD funding, working with housing and homeless assistance providers, HUD, local/state/federal government and nonprofit, tribal, and faith-based organizations in this rural, 12-county region.

Becky began her management and leadership work at the Cambodian Association of Illinois in Chicago’s diverse Uptown Neighborhood, where she worked with an all-Cambodian Board and a majority-Cambodian staff for four years. She also served for five years at the YMCA of the USA as the primary staff person for a national campaign which raised funds for international development projects at YMCAs around the world. After relocating to Minnesota in 1998, Becky developed the first Catalog of Philanthropy for the Northwest Minnesota Foundation, coordinated training for the Northwest Minnesota DAC Cooperative, served as a Business Development Specialist for the Native American Business Development Center, and worked for the Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes in Cass Lake. In summer 2018, Becky worked for Leech Lake Tribal Development training new grant writers.

StrengthFinder Profile:

Achiever | Learner | Connectedness | Arranger | Input

Becky’s most meaningful professional experiences are her conversations with and connections to consulting clients and training participants.  She welcomes your inquiries and questions.  Becky is generous with her follow-up time and is always willing to make other resource referrals.  She is an avid learner with a lifelong love of reading.  She self-describes as an “idea junkie” and is always looking to develop new material, tools, and training concepts to support the work of her clients and workshop participants.  She regularly scans websites, newspapers, and other publications, including:  The Nonprofit Quarterly, Indian Country Today, National Council of Nonprofits, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, Propel Nonprofits, Nonprofits AF, The Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, Forbes, Linked In, and the Society for Human Resource Management, among others.

Leadership, Cultural, & Nonprofit Management Education

Becky is a graduate of the Institute for Executive Director Leadership, a Certificate Program offered by the University of St. Thomas Opus School of Business in Minneapolis. She completed a Community Service Management Certification Program at the Roosevelt University School of Public Administration in Chicago.  While at Evergreen, Becky arranged and participated in a 3-day Native American Cultural Competency Training for 25 staff members with a Minn. DHS-endorsed team of regional consultants.  Becky also completed multiple trainings through the Northwest Minnesota Foundation, including:

  • StrengthFinder for Teams 
  • Cultural Diversity 
  • Workshops on Human Resource Management, Board Development, Resource Development, Appreciative Inquiry, Organizational Excellence, and Meeting Management/ Facilitation 
  • Intensive Leadership Development Training 

Becky has a bachelor’s degree in Middle East and Asian History and Women’s Studies from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

Personal Life Values and Commitments

Becky self-describes as a progressive and feminist, and she believes strongly that Black Lives Matter.  Becky respects the faith commitments of the YMCA retired fraternal secretaries she worked with in Chicago and the faith-based communities she’s connected with in Minnesota, including Rabata, Inc., a progressive Muslim women’s organization that supports spiritual growth, development, and scholarship.  A former literacy tutor, Becky believes in collaboration, community development, and the availability of universal early childhood education.  In 1998, she left Chicago and moved to Northern Minnesota, relocating to a small family farm that is now home to sheep, llamas, chickens, dogs, and cats, as well as her husband and two young adult sons.  If Becky doesn’t pick up the phone when you call, she’s probably outside doing animal care, hanging laundry, or taking a walk.  She is an organic gardener and makes herbal salves, oils, and teas.  Becky is a whole grain baker and laments that a good sourdough bread continues to challenge her.  She is a composter and recycler and is happy to connect with people and organizations committed to environmental and climate change work.