Offering expertise in the following areas, Jean de St. Aubin can combine and tailor these services according to your needs.

  • When people and ideas connect, they can foster economic and community development. Jean helps organizations think creatively about cross-sector partnerships and how to pursue them strategically and effectively for the mutual benefit of all. She guides organizations in: analyzing and amplifying cultural assets; building partnerships with community stakeholders, board members, executives, funders, and other mission-aligned partners; and creating and implementing results-oriented plans and processes that engage all stakeholders.

  • Changes in leadership can disrupt an organization—and also propel it to new achievements. Jean helps organizations skillfully manage leadership transitions, including shepherding succession planning processes, guiding board and executive searches, serving as interim executive director, and onboarding and mentoring new leaders.

  • The mission of an organization comes to life through programs that touch people’s lives. Jean works with leaders to develop creative programs and initiatives centered in inclusion, visioning, opportunity assessment, and goal setting. She guides staff in engaging program stakeholders to maximize impact and resources.

  • A bold mission without resources to actualize it remains only a dream. Jean excels at helping organizations strengthen their financial resources and strategic positioning, including through budget oversight and analysis, identifying potential expense reductions, and establishing plans to diversify and increase revenue streams for growth and sustainability.

  • The skills, successes, and synchronicity of people at all levels of the organization matter. Jean knows how to tap into what board members, staff, and volunteers care about, and how they excel. She builds teams and helps them grow cohesively, aligning individual and department goals with organizational accomplishments.

  • With awareness of cultural trends and larger economic forces, Jean guides nonprofit boards and executives in navigating both planned and unanticipated periods of organizational change and development. Her expertise includes assessing organizational capacity, developing and diversifying resources, solidifying administrative protocols, planning for sustainability, negotiating cultural contexts, and preparing for internal and external changes.

What People Are Saying

  • Michael Edwards, President & CEO, Chicago Loop Alliance

    Jean de St. Aubin did a tremendous job leading the Chicago Loop Alliance in 2021 and 2022 as our board chair. Her leadership, professional demeanor and ability to connect with all people were important to the success of our organization. As chair, she was the catalyst for many of CLA’s community and economic development initiatives throughout the pandemic. Examples of her leadership include the highly acclaimed Sundays on State and the recently completed Loop Resident Economic Impact Study.

  • Jean St. Aubin is a gifted communicator, and working with her is effortless. Warm, insightful, and whip smart, Jean skillfully led the Gene Siskel Advisory Board with aplomb for many years. She's a joy to work with and one of the kindest souls you'll ever meet! I feel blessed to know her.

    Felicia Middlebrooks, Gene Siskel Film Center Advisory Board, Veteran Journalist and Founder, Saltshaker Productions, LLC

  • Jean worked tirelessly to get me the resources I needed and demonstrated what a bureaucratic ninja does to navigate hoops and obstacles in a large hierarchical situation to nurture creativity and community. I would not be the art leader, the facilitator, and the creative person I am today if not for the example and experience I had with Jean de St. Aubin.

    Angela Allyn, Multidisciplinary Artist, Founder of the Abiogenesis Movement Ensemble and Doghaven Center for the Arts, and Community Arts Programs Coordinator, City of Evanston

  • Jean was our fearless leader for two decades and shaped the Film Center into what it is today: a world-class art house cinema that's inclusive and welcoming and strives to reflect Chicago’s diverse community. Jean is a "people person" as well as a cinephile, and we thank her for the many relationships and partnerships she established and nurtured as she worked tirelessly on our behalf.

    Lori Hile, Associate Director of Public Relations and Communications, Gene Siskel Film Center

  • During her time at the Film Center, Jean championed festivals to spotlight diverse films and directors while growing audiences and engaging community leaders, increased membership, and steered the Film Center through the COVID-19 pandemic, pivoting to streaming films and launching a virtual discussion series

    Screen Magazine, 2022