"Our consultant, Marilyn Machlowitz, was outstanding. I could not imagine anybody easier to work with and so focused on our search. She was never more than an email away and gave me and the Search Committee continual support, advice, knowledge and guidance. Perhaps the greatest thing we did as a Committee was to hire Marilyn."
Tania McCleery, Presidential Search Chair, Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
"Machlowitz Consultants, Inc. has worked on several projects for us. Marilyn's ability to understand our unique needs, coupled with her uncanny knack for finding a wide range of appropriate candidates make her our "go to" person for searches."
Karen Berman, Past Board President, Congregation Rodeph Sholom
"Marilyn Machlowitz is the best nonprofit headhunter I know. After all, she connected me to Trickle Up! (If that's not sufficiently impressive, she has done searches for Rockefeller Foundation, Rockefeller Bros Fund, Rodeph Sholom (she just did their new ED), Channel 13, Atlantic Philanthropies, Studio Museum and many more.) She is very creative in her thinking and tireless in her matchmaking; most of all, I think she is very perceptive in understanding her clients' needs, both explicit and subtle."
Bill Abrams, President, Trickle Up
"She was one of three firms formally interviewed by the Search Committee. The others were well-regarded national organizations, much larger than Machlowitz Consultants Inc. She became the unanimous choice of the Search Committee."
Thomas W. Langfitt, M.D., Late President, The College of Physicians of Philadelphia
"Marilyn introduced me to talent that now graces my advisory boards. Some of her additions have already led to major advances in our work."
Marisa Weiss, M.D., Founder, Breastcancer.org
"Marilyn acted as a true business partner and assisted us in arriving at the right answer for the Church Pension Fund. She found the needle in the haystack for us."
Maria Curatolo, SVP, Church Pension Fund
"I have called on Marilyn Machlowitz over the span of 14 years to help recruit top talent in the areas of training and development, human resources leadership, finance, communications and program leadership. Marilyn brings to her search work tremendous enthusiasm, commitment and a network rare to find in the search arena. Marilyn takes the time to learn about the role and culture of the organization and then moves quickly to put into place top quality candidates. Marilyn is second to none in her assessment skills, speed and engagement. A successful placement does not end at the signing of an employment contract. Marilyn offers her time and attention after an appointment has been made, aiding the on-boarding process through follow up with hiring managers and the newly appointed employee. Marilyn is always top of my list of people to call when I am looking for hard to find talent."
Samantha Gilbert, Vice President, Talent and Human Resources, The Ford Foundation
"Marilyn personally guided us through a tightly-timed search for an Executive Director. She listened and was always available to members of the search committee. She adhered to a structured and organized process. Her follow through was great. Marilyn brought us a wide range of talented candidates and led us to the selection of an Executive Director, who hit the ground running and has tackled challenging issues head on in these difficult economic times. Marilyn came highly recommended by the chairman of the board of another not for profit on whose board I served. Our experience was equally as rewarding as his."
Michel Orban, Board Member, Coro
"El Museo del Barrio is thrilled to have worked with Machlowitz Consultants in a national search to fill the key position of Director of Finance and Administration. The personal attention devoted to all the aspects of the search, from interviewing key staff and board members to better define the position, to maintaining very good communications along each step of the process resulted in a great pool of candidates and a superlative hire. But most important, after the hire, Marilyn is still present, maintains contact making sure that both the candidate and the organization are adapting to each other to mutual satisfaction. The very caring nature of Marilyn makes the experience professional with the higher standards that one would expect from an external search firm but with the added value of someone that gets to understand the organization and its needs deeply so that it almost feels as from within."
Julian Zugazagoitia, Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell Director, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
"I am a board member of Urban Pathways, Inc. Urban Pathways works with homeless adults, many of whom are mentally ill, in New York City. I was the head of the search committee that last month hired a new executive director for our agency. We chose Marilyn Machlowitz from among four search firms that we interviewed to assist in our effort. Her background and interpersonal skills, as well as the recommendations that we received from her prior clients, made her the unanimous choice for my committee of seven board members.
We charged Marilyn with the task of finding highly qualified candidates with appropriate connections to the homeless field. We told Marilyn that one objective was to increase the diversity among our senior staff. Although Marilyn had not worked with a homeless organization before, she quickly found her way to all of the right people in our “industry”. She has an uncanny ability to draw out information from some of the most prominent people in our field, learning from them who might be an eligible candidate and why. She presented a slate of eight highly qualified candidates for interviews. They included two who were, at our request, “outside the box” (i.e., not working in the homeless field). The pool of candidates reflected the diversity we requested. We eventually hired one of these candidates, and we are very pleased with our final choice. Marilyn was a wonderful resource throughout this process. She quickly mastered the dynamics of our organization, and reflected this understanding in the advice she gave us. She helped us evaluate each of the candidates and was particularly responsive to the reactions of the committee members. Marilyn expertly balanced the competing goals of guiding us and adapting to our sometimes changing goals, a balance that is essential to providing recruitment services."
Gerald W. Blume, Board Member, Urban Pathways
"I worked with Marilyn to recruit a new development director for my organization, which focuses on education and advocacy. Mission accomplished! She met with and listened closely to board members, senior managers and me as we worked to define both the position and, especially, the kind of leader we wanted to bring on board. Communication between us was clear, constant and candid as we worked together to identify candidates and then move ahead to making an offer to our lead candidate. I would recommend Marilyn to other nonprofits and would, without question, engage her firm again."
James H. Wendorf, Former Executive Director, National Center for Learning Disabilities
