Claremont Consulting

About Our Team

John Tarvin

John Tarvin, the principal of Claremont Consulting, a national firm, believes that all organizations and individuals have the capacity for continuous growth. Skilled at improving personal and collective effectiveness, John approaches each of his consulting and coaching engagements with a practiced approach to problem solving, grounded in his own extensive experiences as a president, executive director, COO, CFO, and chief development officer of a highly diverse set of nonprofit and for-profit organizations. As a result, he is able to quickly and accurately understand the organizational and personal challenges of his clients.

Prior to Claremont Consulting, John was the founding Executive Director of the Massachusetts Center for Charter Public School Excellence (MCCPSE), the statewide resource center for all of Massachusetts’ charter public schools. At MCCPSE, he:

  • Provided targeted training programs to leaders, CFOs, principals, teachers, board members, and development specialists, and
  • Consulted with charter schools on a wide variety of institutional and leadership concerns, such as strategic planning, governance and accountability, conflict resolution, organizational and programmatic restructuring, change management, and leadership coaching.

Before starting MCCPSE, John was President of Jumpstart, a $15 million, national AmeriCorps program, and previously served as Senior Vice President and CFO.

  • As president, he guided the organization as it launched its first national public relations and fundraising campaign, “Read for the Record®,” which was featured on The Today Show, and oversaw the creation of a new brand identity for Jumpstart.
  • As senior vice president, John managed the organization’s national fundraising efforts, successfully launching a $1 million national partnership with Sodexho, and secured a $1.25 million foundation grant to expand Jumpstart’s program in Washington, D.C.
  • John also served as the CFO, managing the organization’s financial operations.

In addition to K-12 education and community service, John’s nonprofit management experience extends to two other sectors – early education and museums – where he was:

  • CFO of Stars, a provider of comprehensive, early childcare programs.
  • CFO and Acting President (on several occasions) at Historic New England, a museum of cultural history, where he stewarded the organization’s $85 million endowment; managed the finance, technology, and human resources departments; and expanded earned income opportunities.
  • Board of Trustees member and treasurer of the Nichols House Museum.

Prior to becoming a nonprofit leader, John had a significant career in the for-profit sector:

  • Finance manager for Fidelity Investments, where he directed a team of budget analysts who developed and tracked Fidelity Systems Company’s $100 million budget.
  • Systems analyst and accountant at Millipore Corp. and Prudential Insurance.
  • A professional certified coach (PCC) through the International Coach Federation and a certified management accountant (CMA) through the Institute of Management Accountants, John holds a BS in business administration from Boston University and MS in computer information systems from Bentley University.

John has served on numerous boards and committees and as an evaluator for the following:

  • Network of Nonprofit Search Consultants, Treasurer
  • Mass Development Charter School Facility Fund Advisory Board member
  • Nichols House Museum
  • X-Cel Educcation, development committee
  • New York State Education Department and Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education charter school evaluator
  • National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, past conference governance chair
  • Echoing Green fellowship reader/evaluator
  • Town of Milton, MA town meeting and warrant committee member
  • Milton Public School’s long-range planning committee member

What people are saying about John…

“I was a brand new executive director when John Tarvin contracted with us to create our strategic plan.  He was kind, thoughtful, helpful, and thorough.  We have a great product that we use and monitor routinely as a result of his diligent work with us.  I would recommend John to anyone looking for a talented advisor to help them navigate their strategic planning process.”

– Rebekah Gewirtz, Executive Director, MPHA

“As a new Executive Director tasked with implementing change in a 15-year-old organization, I faced a number of obstacles—including some borne of my own leadership and management style. John’s professional coaching helped me identify the areas I needed to improve in order to move my organization forward.”

– Robert Beatty, Executive Director, Atlantis Charter School“

Throughout the demanding chartering process, John provided me with high-touch support, which informed our school design and our strategies for board development and fundraising. His extensive expertise was tapped repeatedly, and his responsiveness was superb.”

– Will Gardner, Executive Director, Alma del Mar

Erin Cox

Erin Cox is a Senior Consultant with Claremont Consulting. She specializes in taking something — a person, a process, an organization, an idea — figuring out what makes it special, and then growing and expanding it to achieve incredible results. Erin honed her skills in management, organizational development, strategy, programmatic quality and growth, partnership management, fundraising and leadership in long stints at two education non-profits (Jumpstart and uAspire).
 

Highlights of Erin’s time as President and Chief Program & Strategy Officer at uAspire include:

  • Oversaw uAspire’s growth from a local Boston organization impacting ~5,000 students annually to the national leader in college affordability expertise and services, impacting 1 million+ students annually
  • Managed the senior executive team and National Board of Directors through three strategic planning processes focused on achieving significant growth with improved organizational strength and programmatic quality
  • Managed the growth of uAspire’s direct college advising program to multiple new locations in MA and nationally
  • Envisioned, created, and managed the national growth of uAspire’s Training and Technical Assistance program, through which we provided training and curricular resources to 50,000+ guidance counselors and college advisors over the first four years
  • Created and managed top-notch Talent functions, including defining and institutionalizing uAspire’s values, significant investments in Equity staff and trainings, and creating new recruitment, performance management and professional development systems
  • Highly-rated speaker at events organized by Obama Administration, the College Board, the National College Access Network, and the National Association for College Admission Counseling
  • Managed the national executive management team, including communications, focus, team dynamics, and performance management
  • Created and expanded the Research & Evaluation function, including collaborative partnerships with the Harvard Graduate School of Education, SignalVine, the College Board, and IES
  • Oversight of Operations, including Finance, Tech, HR, Legal/Risk

Highlights of Erin’s time at Jumpstart over nine years and four roles include:

As VP of Field Operations & Strategic Growth:

  • Managed five regional offices and their 74 direct service sites (including direct management of Executive Directors)
  • Led the organization’s strategic planning process in partnership with New Profit, Inc., creating a comprehensive impact and sustainability plan
  • Oversaw national service relationships, public policy, and internal communication

As Executive Director, Northeast Region:

  • Led Jumpstart’s School Readiness for All Initiative, a first-of-its-kind effort aimed at providing a Jumpstart mentor to all at-risk four-year old preschoolers in Roxbury.
  • Facilitated 400% growth in children served in Roxbury over three years while maintaining high-quality results
  • Managed multiple programmatic pilots testing new ways to scale impact
  • Grew public revenue by 170% and private revenue by 120%

As Director of New Site Development:

  • Added 15-20 new direct service sites (higher ed partners) per year for two years
  • Operationalized and streamlined growth and start-up systems such that new site development could be transferred to regional offices to enable regional control over growth plans.
  • Raised $6m in National Service funding (via state and national AmeriCorps and national Learn & Serve grants).

As Founding Site Manager of Jumpstart Tufts:

  • Recruited and managed 80 Jumpstart Tufts college student Corps members
  • Secured high scores in overall program quality and impact
  • Collaborated with faculty members to create service-learning connections between the Jumpstart volunteer experience and academic classes, thereby improving student learning and satisfaction and child impact

Education

BA from Tufts (Child Development, honors)
MBA from Boston University (highest honors)
iPEC Coaching Certificate (in process)

What people are saying about Erin…

“I have been a part of creating many strategic plans over the years for both schools and non-profit organizations, and despite our having to gather remotely via Zoom this time, I have to say that Erin was the best facilitator that I have ever worked with for this kind of process. Her commitment and attention to detail from the pre-work, during the day-long presentation, and as part of the post-meeting follow up was flawless, engaging and always professional.  I was so impressed with her facilitating and presentation skills that I have given her a most enthusiastic recommendation to my fellow state school counselor association leader colleagues across the country who may be in need of similar services.”

– Bob Bardwell, Executive Director, MACSA

“Erin is thoughtful and engaging. She listens attentively and repackages my jumble of emotions and ideas into succinct themes which help me see that I am greater than I knew I was with more potential than I ever dreamed. She is a ferocious cheerleader, helping me celebrate my successes, while not shying away from asking me what is getting in the way of my ability to accomplish MORE!”

– Rebecca

“I’ve been able to benefit from Erin’s coaching professionally for years as she supported my growth as an organizational leader. Most recently she has helped me navigate a significant life transition. I often find myself coming to her with a lot of questions, limited clarity, and at times, a lack of confidence. I leave with tangible and meaningful next steps, and the belief that I can actually do this! Her ability to listen with intention, ask the right questions at the right moment, and brilliantly distill your meandering thoughts into clarity is unmatched.”

– Chris

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Resources

5 Traits of Highly Effective Leaders

Your Job as a Board Member & How to do it well

The Perfect School Leader: Reality Behind the Myth

Team Building: An Essential Part of the Strategic Planning Process

Get In Touch

John Tarvin
Milton, Massachusetts
617.304.8436
jtarvin@claremontconsulting.org