Gretchen Upholt

Gretchen is a senior consultant with FMA, a national consulting firm focused on helping nonprofits strengthen their financial and operational health. In that role, Gretchen splits her time between playing an active role as trainer, coach, and curriculum developer for FMA’s cohort training initiatives and as consultant to nonprofit clients across the country.

Gretchen has been studying classical voice since an early age and her passion for music led her to American University in Washington, DC, where she received a BA and MA in Arts and Cultural Management. From there, she got her start in the nonprofit sector as the chorus manager for The Choral Arts Society of Washington. After spending 5 years working abroad in international development she returned to the US, where she reignited her passion for choral music and put her nonprofit management skills to use as a chorister and board member for NYChoral in New York City. Gretchen currently resides in Chicago where she sings with the SATB choir Allegrezza and remains active in the arts community locally and nationally, including as a panelist for the NEA’s ArtsWorks grant program.

In addition to her degrees from AU, Gretchen holds a Masters of Public Administration in public and nonprofit management from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service, where she was a head teaching colleague for the core finance and management classes and later served as an adjunct professor.