Maria Fibiger, President / Senior Consultant

With nearly 20 years of consulting practice combined with career experience in the nonprofit and public administration fields, Maria brings a wealth of knowledge to her work. A deep passion and understanding of the importance of nonprofit organizations and a community’s socio-economic stability and growth are the inspiration and stimulus for Three Dog Consulting’s business development, and more particularly, Maria’s interest in cultivating methods to successfully assist nonprofit organizations.

Maria has held top-level nonprofit management positions for numerous organizations and as such, her view of the day-to-day challenges faced by so many nonprofit organizations is realistic and down-to-earth. From providing board and fund development guidance to a new 501(c)(3) chapter of a national organization providing legal representation to abused and neglected children, to developing & implementing an operational work plan for a 6-county wellness program for cancer patients, to fundraising & marketing plan development for a small animal welfare organization… her talents and expertise have benefited and provided fine support to Three Dog Consulting clients.  Maria is also a sought-after trainer/facilitator for a wide range of nonprofit topics.

Maria holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration & Urban Planning with a Certification in Nonprofit Management & Organizational Development from the University of Illinois at Chicago, together with an A.A.S. Degree in Criminal Justice from Fulton-Montgomery Community College (SUNY). She has continually expanded her consulting skills through participation in continuing education and training.  Maria is founding Certified Capacity Consultant of the Nonprofit Lifecycles Institute, utilizing the Nonprofit Lifecycles^TM capacity building and assessment model of renown author & nonprofit advisor, Dr. Susan Kenny Stevens.

Believing that it’s important to give back to your community, for more than 30 years, Maria has been a volunteer, committee member, and/or board member for many community and national organizations. Currently, she volunteers at the local level with Rockbridge Animal Alliance and is a national volunteer with Best Friends Animal Society. She also served for nine years as a Grant Selection Panelist for the New York State Decentralization Arts Program in three regions of Upstate NY.

(Maria spends "home time" in both the Lexington, VA and Upstate NY regions with her husband Dave, 2 comical & energetic rescue hounds, 2 really obnoxious tuxedo cats, and a sweet semi-feral Italian cat named "Grazie".)