Molly Brennan

Molly Brennan is Global Managing Partner, Nonprofit and Social Impact Practice, at Diversified Search Group, (DSG) a portfolio of wholly owned boutique search firms serving specialized sectors. Brennan is now the leader of the firm’s Nonprofit and Social Impact Practice and served as the Founding Partner and Executive Vice President at Koya Partners, which was acquired by DSG in 2019.

As Practice Leader, Brennan works to marshal DSG’s deep experience in the nonprofit sector to deliver exceptional results for clients.

Brennan joined Koya Partners in its early years and today leads a portfolio of CEO, President, Executive Director, and other senior executive searches for mission-driven clients across the country and around the world. Her clients have included Amnesty International USA, Southern Poverty Law Center, Sierra Club, Women Moving Millions, Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights, ACLU, and Natural Resources Defense Council, among many others.

Molly’s particular areas of focus include leadership, retention, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Her thought leadership has been widely quoted and published in leading publications such as Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Philanthropy News Digest, and Fast Company as well as by the Society for Human Resource Management. She recently authored The Governance Gap: Examining Diversity and Equity in Nonprofit Boards of Directors, which explores the persistent lack of diversity on nonprofit boards and offers actionable strategies for increasing board diversity and inclusion.

Brennan began her career as a journalist, then moved into the online communications space. Prior to joining Koya, she served as a Senior Editor at LifeWorks, one of the nation’s leading Employee Assistance Programs, where she partnered with HR leaders to create custom content designed to improve employee engagement and satisfaction. She has served on numerous boards nationally and locally, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Our Neighbor’s Table, a hunger relief organization in Massachusetts that aims to eliminate food insecurity in the communities it serves.

She has also completed a program in Diversity and Inclusion at Cornell University, is a Certified Diversity Recruiter, and is an alum of LeadBoston, a professional leadership program of the YW Boston that is focused on racial equity.

Education

MA, Writing and Publishing
Emerson College

BA, History and Anthropology
University of Vermont