Firm Overview
Executive Operational Leadership for Organizations in Transition and Growth
Our work sits at the intersection of strategy and execution — where vision becomes operational reality.
We partner with nonprofit organizations, healthcare systems, and growth-stage ventures navigating complexity, transition, or scale.
About Curtis Consults
We provide executive-level operational leadership to nonprofit, human services, and healthcare organizations facing instability, performance gaps, or structural misalignment.
Led by a former Chief Operating Officer, our firm specializes in nonprofit turnaround, operational stabilization, governance realignment, and performance infrastructure design. We are engaged when complexity has exceeded capacity, when growth has outpaced systems, or when leadership transitions require disciplined execution.
We work directly with CEOs, Executive Directors, and Boards to:
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Restore operational control
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Reestablish Board–CEO–COO accountability
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Stabilize program and service delivery
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Strengthen compliance, risk, and quality systems
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Protect funding streams and grant performance
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Build scalable operating models for long-term sustainability
Our approach integrates nonprofit financial stewardship, Lean Six Sigma process discipline, enterprise project management, and executive accountability structures. We do not layer recommendations onto unstable systems - we redesign and embed operational frameworks that restore clarity, authority, and measurable performance.
This is not advisory consulting.
This is executive operations leadership.
When mission-driven organizations require disciplined stabilization, governance alignment, and decisive operational restructuring, we step in to lead the work.
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Choose Us for Executive Level Operational Stabilization
Dr. Nicole Curtis is a former Chief Operating Officer and seasoned healthcare and human services executive with nearly three decades of experience leading complex, mission-driven organizations. Her leadership spans academic medical centers, accountable care organizations, federally qualified health centers, and state government, including service as Deputy Director of Performance Management for the Illinois Department of Public Health.
As a COO, she oversaw cross-functional operations, strengthened governance-to-operations alignment, implemented enterprise performance management systems, and led organizations through restructuring, executive transition, and operational stabilization. She brings deep expertise in healthcare operations, regulatory compliance, performance improvement, and scalable systems design.
Today, as an organizational development consultant and fractional COO, Dr. Curtis partners with nonprofit, healthcare, and government leaders to translate mission into disciplined execution. She clarifies authority and accountability structures, strengthens compliance oversight, aligns executive teams, and builds operational infrastructure that supports financial sustainability and measurable impact.
In addition to her executive leadership, Dr. Curtis serves as an adjunct instructor in Master of Health Administration (MHA) programs, equipping emerging healthcare leaders with practical frameworks grounded in real-world operational transformation.
Dr. Curtis is available for fractional engagements and full-time executive leadership opportunities.
Executive Profile
Credentials
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Doctor of Health Science, Leadership & Organizational Behavior
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Master of Health Administration
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Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Practioner
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Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ)
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Certified Patient Experience Professional (CPXP)
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Professional Member, Association of Nonprofit Consultants
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Member, National Association Health Executives
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Member, American College Healthcare Executives
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She is a two-time recipient of the OnCon Icon Top 50 COO Award
Who We Serve
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Leadership transitions
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Rapid growth or scaling
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Regulatory or compliance pressure
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Funding shifts
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Operational inefficiencies
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Infrastructure gaps limiting performance
We support organizations navigating pivotal moments:
Healthcare Organizations
Balancing compliance, quality outcomes, and financial sustainability.
Nonprofit Organizations
Strengthening governance, operational clarity, and performance management.
Startups & Growth Ventures
Building foundational systems that support disciplined expansion.
Impact Deserves Infrastructure
Mission-driven organizations require more than passion. They require disciplined operational leadership
Our Approach
Our work is grounded in an executive-operator mindset.
We assess organizational health across leadership alignment, process integrity, decision rights, performance management, and infrastructure readiness.
From there, we implement structured, time-bound frameworks that move organizations from instability to clarity, control, and measurable progress.
Aligned Leadership
Clarify decision rights, reestablish Board-CEO-COO accountability, and restore executive cohesion.
Stabilize Operations
Contain risk, standardize workflows, strengthen compliance posture, and implement measurable performance controls
Build Infrastructure
Design scalable operating models, KPI dashboards, and governance reporting systems that protect funding,
compliance, and long term growth