Our Story

Since 2016, organizations have engaged Northington & Associates to support their strategic initiatives. Whether the end goal is a viable strategic plan for the future or an elevation of thinking about a new approach, our team brings over 30 years of combined experience to work on behalf of your mission. Our perspectives are informed by a range of sectors that include health and human services, the arts and humanities, education, child welfare, the environment, and more.

“Strategy simply refers to a plan, practice, or policy that helps a group of people accomplish a purpose. A strategic plan is a tool through which an organization can ensure all of its constituents – clients, employees, volunteers, supporters, etc. understand what they are doing, why they are doing it, and when it might be time to do something different. Shared purpose is key for every team - business and nonprofit teams alike. Nonprofits, however, tackle a community’s most arduous challenges and often with resource constraints that render long-range planning difficult. I started this work because it allowed me to work with others who care deeply about their community and contribute to their efforts, making a difference along the way.”

-Katheryn L. Northington, Principal and Founder

Our Mission

We work for a future where all people thrive by uniting communities and ideas under a shared and clearly defined purpose, galvanizing energy for meaningful impact that inspires real change.

Our work is founded upon authentic conversations that lead to a clearly articulated, unifying purpose informed by community voice and carried forward by the organization’s leaders, constituents, volunteers, donors, and the community at large.

Our Team

No single person has sufficient knowledge or experience to single-handedly solve complex problems. At Northington & Associates, we are facilitators, strategists, and connectors with a wide-reaching network. We rally our collective knowledge and resources for every organization we support. Our team will work with your organization to articulate your vision and mission, listen to your community, and align the resulting strategies with your impact and purpose.

Northington & Associates is HUB certified (Historically Underutilized Business).

Katheryn L. Northington

  • Katheryn began her career as a high school math teacher and, after a stint in the investment industry, has served nonprofits in varying capacities for over 20 years. Since 2016, Katheryn has assisted nonprofits as a facilitator and consultant to effectively align the board, staff, and community stakeholders behind a clear and relevant vision, mission, and strategy. Experience across a wide range of service sectors informs her perspective, including education, culture, faith, child welfare, the environment and health and human services.
    Katheryn believes that complex problems are best solved by a group of committed leaders together, who can share diverse perspectives rooted in a variety of lived experiences, listen to the voices of their community, and apply evidence-based approaches within the context of their unique community. Katheryn supports nonprofit leaders as they contribute meaningfully to their organization’s future through facilitation and inquiry, productive dialogue, and process mapping.
    As a volunteer, Katheryn serves as a past chair and current secretary of the Board of Trustees of Crossnore Communities for Children. Navigating the turnaround of a 110-year-old service provider and home for children in the child welfare system, she steered leadership of The Children’s Home through a broad-based strategic assessment and the resulting merger with The Crossnore School, a home and school for children experiencing trauma.
    Raised in Greensboro, NC, Katheryn earned her MBA in Finance from UNC-Charlotte and her BS in Math Education from North Carolina State University. After nearly 20 years in Charlotte, NC, Katheryn and her husband, Otis, relocated to Winston-Salem in 2013. Current community engagement includes Crossnore Communities for Children, the Junior League of Winston-Salem and REACH Women’s Network.

Principal and Strategist

  • April is a facilitator and DEAI strategist. At Northington & Associates, she works with a team to support nonprofit organizations’ strategic planning and diversity, equity, and inclusion mission development needs. In her role, she works directly with clients centering community voice to create meaningful strategic planning and implementation.
    In addition to her work with Northington and Associates, April is a lecturer in the African American and African Diaspora Studies Program at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is a Contributing Faculty member at Walden University in the School of Social Work. A graduate of Hampton University, April holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. She also has Masters in Social Work from the Joint Master of Social Work Program at NC A&T State University and UNCG and a PhD in Cultural Foundations of Education from UNCG. April is passionate about creating a world where peace, justice, and inclusivity is a reality for all people.

April Ruffin-Adams

DEAI Strategist and Facilitator

Shon Gilmore

  • Shon Gilmore is a dynamic and versatile communication, marketing, and public relations professional with Northington and Associations. With a demonstrated history of successfully applying talents and skillsets towards various industries, Shon has a passion for marketing, branding, client and community relations, and sponsorship procurement. Consistently known for developing and implementing organization-wide strategic marketing strategies for peak client engagement, business development, and effective fundraising. A highly organized and detail-oriented project and relationship manager, Shon is eager to contribute to mission-driven projects that seek to advance, develop, diversify, and purposefully communicate.
    With more than 20 years of experience, Shon has a proven ability to maintain clarity and productivity in high-performance situations, all while multi-tasking and maintaining exceptional and rich interpersonal relationships with teammates and external clients. Shon is a strong leader and connector with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Public Relations.

Communications Strategist

  • Dale is a nonprofit strategist with Northington and Associates where she works with a team to support nonprofit organizations’ strategic planning goals. She has a particular interest in organizational sustainability, meaningful capacity building, historic preservation, and cultural tourism.
    Dale has 14 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, most recently, serving as Executive Director of the Körner’s Folly Foundation from 2011-2023. As Executive Director, she was responsible for all aspects of the operation of the historic house museum and administration of the nonprofit Foundation. Dale has amassed a broad understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities nonprofit organizations face, and has specialties in Board engagement and development, fundraising and marketing strategy, and organizational administration.
    A graduate of NC State University, Dale holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in History and Communication. She also has a Masters of Arts in Public History from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Dale P. Bodenheimer

Nonprofit Strategist