Nelson Layag is a certified leadership coach and organizational consultant specializing in social justice and nonprofit organizations. He has worked in the San Francisco Bay Area, supporting organizations on a wide range of issues, including staffing, leadership development, executive succession and transitions, board governance, and strategy and sustainability planning.
Before starting his own consulting firm in 2018, Nelson spent 24 years at CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, where he held various roles, including directing the public training program, leading consulting projects, and designing and implementing leadership development initiatives. At CompassPoint, he was also a member of the āEquity Panel,ā which executed a reimagined equity-centered compensation structure for the organization.
Most recently, Nelson co-designed the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern Californiaās Anti-Racist Champions of Change leadership program and co-created an emerging BIPOC leaders program for the California Coalition for Rural Housing. He has been the lead sabbatical coach and advisor for the O2 Sabbatical Awards, the Kenneth Rainin Foundationās Rest and Care Award, and the Latino Community Foundationās Rest is Power Sabbatical Fund, leading a team of sabbatical coaches who support the awardees’ leaders and teams. Some of his recent clients include SOMA Pilipinas Cultural District, San Jose Local Color, Berkeley Arts Center, Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, Z Space, Sierra Club, Mission Action (formerly Dolores Street Community Services), Compass Family Services, Jobs with Justice SF, the United Way Bay Area, and Tipping Point Communities. In addition to his professional work, he recently servied 10 years on the board of Filipino Advocates for Justice and held both President and Treasurer positions.
He currently serves on the board of Youth Leadership Institute. Before starting his career in nonprofit organizational development, Nelson served as a youth group home supervisor at Star House in San Jose and as a social worker for youth in Baltimore, Maryland. He earned a BA in Business Administration and Marketing from Loyola University in Baltimore, where he was part of a student group that helped develop what later became the Center for Service and Justice. Nelson currently lives with his partner in Alameda, California and spends much of his spare time gardening, cooking, and supporting his three adult childrenāan aspiring filmmaker, an artist, and a soccer superstar.