Laurel O’Sullivan

Laurel O’Sullivan, J.D. is a teacher, speaker, writer, consultant and the Principal and Founder of the Advocacy Collaborative, LLC. The Advocacy Collaborative equips nonprofits and foundations with the tools and knowledge to establish advocacy as a leadership strength and catalyst for mission fulfillment.

Prior to founding TAC, Laurel spent nearly two decades leading and advocating on behalf of nonprofits. As the Vice President for Policy at Donors Forum, Laurel pioneered a new policy advocacy direction for its 1200 nonprofit and philanthropic members while increasing funding an average of 250% per year for 6 consecutive years for a total of $2.2 million. She has also served as a staff attorney, project manager and legal counsel for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Alliance for the Great Lakes, Business and Professional People for the Public Interest and Terris, Pravlik and Millium, LLP.

Laurel is a keynote speaker, teacher and presenter at conferences and educational institutions where she draws upon her signature AdvocacyForward ™ approach to motivate nonprofits and foundations on the power of advocacy.

Laurel serves on the Social Service Advisory Council, for the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the board of the Young Center for Immigrant Children, at the University of Chicago and a past board member of the Forum of Regional Association of Grantmakers. She lives in Evanston with her husband Tim, their 5 children and dog Blue and is an avid runner.