An organization may enjoy short-term success in spite of a weak board, but a strong and effective board virtually guarantees an organization will successfully carry out its mission.
Charney|Keyse helps organizations elevate the caliber of their board leadership. Since our founding in 1997, referrals from satisfied clients have resulted in our service to more than 375 clients across many sectors.
We help our clients build stronger organizations with a wide array of services including strategic visioning workshops, governance assessments, coaching, and policy development and implementation.
As one of the country’s foremost governance consultancies, we offer years of experience and success integrating highly practical Policy Governance® principles into governance structures.
At Charney|Keyse, we emphasize accountability and enter into client service agreements only after expectations are clearly articulated. We tailor our services to meet the unique needs of each client and clearly define the measurements of success.
Bill Charney is widely recognized as one of North America’s foremost authorities on board leadership and Policy Governance. Bill’s primary focus is working with and helping individual boards clarify their expectations, roles and accountability to proactively establish performance standards for the organizations they lead.
A popular speaker and highly skilled consultant, Bill is a valuable resource for nonprofits, governmental agencies, corporations, and cooperatives of all sizes. Whether he is presenting a general session for a large convention, leading a two-hour seminar, or helping an individual board evaluate and improve its effectiveness, Bill has the ability to engage his audience while teaching. His unique perspective on effective board leadership has been shared at convention workshops throughout the United States, Scotland, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Holland and Singapore.
Since earning an MBA in Organization Management at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Bill has served on numerous boards, ranging from a small association with no employees to an international trade association, both of which he chaired. Bill also has seen boards from the “CEO perspective.” Bill founded and served nine years as the highly successful initial CEO of a prestigious Denver nonprofit (the Cherry Creek Arts Festival). His leadership tenure as CEO brought the nonprofit organization international acclaim as one of the most highly regarded arts festivals in the country, and for its pioneering volunteer management, environmental and corporate partnership programs.
Tom Keyse joined Bill Charney as a Consulting Associate in 2018. He was named Senior Consultant in 2021, and a Partner in 2025. Tom brings extensive experience with successful nonprofit, faith-based, arts, and trade and membership organizations, primarily as a board member and chairperson with a significant understanding of management and fiduciary responsibilities. Tom draws on his knowledge and insights to provide governance training to boards wishing to clarify roles, expectations and accountability for their organizations. In 2019, Tom received his Policy Governance® Proficiency certification from Govern for Impact (formerly the International Policy Governance Association) and has been designated as a Governance Systems Professional (GSP).
Prior to joining what is now Charney|Keyse, Tom practiced law for thirty years with two highly-regarded corporate law firms in Denver, concentrating his practice on commercial finance transactions and enforcement of creditors’ rights. Tom chaired the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association, a professional community that helps distressed and healthy businesses navigate planned transitions and off-plan events, and throughout his career has maintained a peer rating for the highest level of professional excellence from his legal colleagues.
Tom earned a B.A. in English (with a Business minor) from the University of Notre Dame and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. Tom is a 1996 graduate of the Denver Community Leadership Forum, a year-long program sponsored by the University of Colorado at Denver to foster relationships and collaboration among leaders from public, private and nonprofit enterprises. In 2016, Tom received the City and County of Denver’s Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award for outstanding volunteer commitment and service.
The Board Member’s Playbook features a worksheet that guides any board or board member through the process of using policies (either samples providing in the book, or their own board policies based on Policy Governance principles) to solve virtually any problem or board challenge.
With introductory chapters that introduce the notion of “boards as teams” and the role of “rehearsal” in enhancing virtually any team’s performance, as well as an overview of the Policy Governance model, the Playbook demonstrates how a “systems-based” approach to good governance is not just theoretical – it’s practical!
The primary tool provided in the Playbook is the “Rehearsal Worksheet,” laying a concise sequence of four questions, starting with “What has the board already said in its relevant policies?” When these questions are answered vis-a-vis any given scenario (i.e. hypothetical or actual question/dilemma that comes to the Board or a Board member), boards invariably find they are able to resolve the scenario based on previously stated board values and expectations.
The book provides 50 scenario examples, accompanied by blank worksheets, as well as worksheets completed by Bill Charney and Miriam Carver (referencing the sample governing policies in the Playbook).
Scenarios included are each illustrations of sample challenges that arise pertaining to:
Resources include:
