Juan Pablo Berrizbeitia (“jp” — berries-bay-tea-AH) is a consultant with over 25 years of experience in the areas of nonprofit management, program assessment, and innovation management. He has served domestic and international clients, including the World Bank, the United Nations, and the Pan American Development Foundation.
Before starting his consulting practice, Juan Pablo was the CEO of Blue Ridge CASA for Children. A nonprofit dedicated to training volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. He currently serves on several nonprofit boards in Virginia, and teaches Introduction to Nonprofits at James Madison University in Harrisonburg.
Juan Pablo holds LLMs from Harvard University and Warwick University, a diploma from the Institute of Social Studies, and an LLB from the Catholic University Andrés Bello. He is also a Fulbright and Chevening Scholar, and an OAS and Nuffic Fellow.
Juan Pablo is fully bilingual and bicultural (Venezuelan/Spanish and American/English).
Fun facts: he does improv, and practices Aikido.
“I had the wonderful opportunity to recently work with Juan Pablo at Brain Injury Services (BIS). As Interim Executive Director it was his job to onboard me when I was hired to be the full-time CEO. JP did an amazing job setting me up for success with the organization. In addition to walking me through everything I would need to know, he shared some of his knowledge, expertise, and insight on Nonprofits. He is very astute, has deep knowledge of how nonprofits can and should work and is very thoughtful. I highly recommend him either as an interim executive or full-time as he is exceptionally talented. JP is a gem!”
“JP served as the Interim Executive Director for Brain Injury Services in Virginia for the entirety of 2023. As the Board Chair of Brain Injury Services, his work ethic and strategic thinking were invaluable to me. JP came in when the organization and staff was in flux and immediately applied his change management expertise and calm demeanor to ensure our operations continued, business as usual, while also getting to know staff, the Board, and stakeholders. JP is an excellent communicator and asks for direct, in the moment feedback and shares his opinions in a respectful and thoughtful manner. Despite coming in without brain injury knowledge, JP hit the ground running to learn the unique needs of our clients and caregivers and advocated for them throughout his tenure. He also was an incredible staff advocate, not afraid to share his thoughts on how best to engage and support staff through the uncertainty of a Chief Executive Officer search. He also completed an objective, invaluable organizational analysis and presented it to the Board and highlighted areas of organization strength and areas for improvement as well as recommendations. I would highly recommend JP as an executive leader at any social services organization. He works with the best interest of those served in mind while also supporting staff and stakeholders. He is a professional executive leader with nonprofit subject matter expertise and will benefit any nonprofit organization looking for an executive leader!”
“Juan Pablo is a true strategic thinker in the Nonprofit space. As Vice Chair of Brain Injury Services, I worked closely with him, as he took the reins of our organization as the interim ED at a critical juncture. His steadfast and insightful approach was instrumental in moving our organization in a positive direction. He approaches everything he does by taking a 360 degree view -looking at the problem from all sides. He leads with a person-centric approach, which I find rare these days. I would highly recommend Juan Pablo for any non-profit looking for an ED/CEO who thinks strategically and leads with a deft and nuanced touch.”
“I had the honor of working under Juan Pablo’s leadership as he served as the Interim CEO at Voices. Most Interims are hired to hold the organization together while the Board identifies the next strategic leader. Juan Pablo not only held the organization together but also served as a strategic though partner and kept us moving forward. He came in during a critical time of transition and helped board and staff see the potential ahead and provided strategic guidance on steps that should be taken to move us towards growth.
His experience as a CEO has given him unique perspectives and insights to assess organizations current effectiveness. The assessment tool he created identifies gaps and strengths within the company and provides feedback on how to address these and build on them. More organizations need to take advantage of this tool and his expertise. Beyond his knowledge and experience, Juan Pablo provides a critical role of bringing people together around a single mission. This skill is critical in the consulting capacity and goes hand-in-hand with his genuine and inviting personality.
I can’t recommend Juan Pablo enough. Any organization that has the gift of working with and learning from him will be better for it.”
“Juan Pablo is a big thinker who acts with urgency. He thoughtfully assesses nonprofits through his lens as an experienced CEO, using a tool that he has developed. But he doesn’t stop with assessment, he moves swiftly to support organizational and individuals’ strengths and to make appropriate changes. Juan Pablo is a pleasure to work with. I would recommend him as a senior leader or as a consultant.”