Danielle S. Russell, BA, CAE
Danielle S. Russell, CAE is a Canadian Not-for-Profit Industry leader with over a dozen years of experience providing staff support and leadership to Associations and Charities serving a wide variety of sectors. Danielle is passionate about lifting the profile of Canada’s Associations and Charities, and to contributing to the professionalization of Association and Charity Executives.
Danielle leverages her training as a CAE and best practices learned through the past decade in a variety of Not-for-Profit staff leadership roles to enable Volunteer Leaders to make strategic and targeted contributions to their organizations. She helps passionate individuals use their sector specific skills to further their Organization’s Mission and Vision, serving members and stakeholders.
Ms. Russell has served as Executive Director and Chief Operations Officer of the Air Cadet League of Canada, Ontario Provincial Committee (ACLO), overseeing a multi-million dollar Registered Charity supporting the training of nearly 10,000 through 120 local volunteer based committees across Ontario, and ongoing liaison with the Canadian Armed Forces. Danielle provided strategic advice and leadership to 5 full time staff, the Board of Governors, Volunteer Committees and the over 2500 registered and screened members of the ACLO.
Danielle has worked for two of Canada’s leading Association Management Companies (AMCs); Base Consulting and Management Inc. and Association and Events Management. During her time working for AMCs, Danielle worked with Associations at all stages of their life-cycle from start-ups to more mature and established organizations; often at times of intense change requiring stabilizing of finances, the establishment of governance policies and procedures, or simply adding staff resources to serve a rapidly expanding membership base.
Working for AMCs provided Danielle with the opportunity to work with Provincial, National and International Associations serving a variety of industries from Financial Services, to International Medicine. Some of these roles also allowed her to leverage her political training, liaising with various levels of Government and Agencies, including: Health Canada, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US State Department.
Before joining the Association and Not-for-Profit sector, Danielle served in progressive positions in Ontario’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, as a General Assistant and then General Assistant – Policy in the Office of the Minister, as well as Acting Executive Assistant (Chief of Staff) to the Parliamentary Assistant.
Ms. Russell is an active Industry volunteer, mentor and thought leader; she is a long-time volunteer with CSAE (the Canadian Society of Association Management) where she currently sits on the Board of Directors, Government Relations Advisory Committee. In 2023 she is also leading the Awards Committee as well as a Task Force charged with reviewing the Awards Program from coast-to-coast. In 2021 she was also appointed by Markham City Council to the City’s Race Relations Committee, and in 2022 she joined the Advocacy Advisory Committee of Spinal Cord Injury Ontario.
Danielle holds a BA in Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University, and is a life-long learner, having also received a Recognition of Proficiency in French Conversation from Seneca College, a designation as a CAE (Certified Association Executive), as well as having completed a course in Creative Non-Fiction through the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Education. She is currently pursuing her Chartered Director designation from the Directors College, DeGroote School of Business.
Learn More:
Connect with Danielle on LinkedIn
View Danielle's 2023 CV: DSR CV 2023 _ January
Learn Why Danielle is "Ready to Hire"
Watch Danielle on the Save the Associations Webcast, November 2021