Bruce Theriault founded Bolder Strategies after over thirty years working in executive management for various nonprofit organizations from Connecticut to Alaska. With his experience as a senior nonprofit business executive and savvy public broadcasting insider, he is able to provide clients with high-level consultation and advice on how to rethink organizational strategy, build successful collaboration and partnership, craft policy, and negotiate deals. He offers senior managers external insight on how to effectively exercise leadership.

His specific areas of expertise are:

• Strategic thinking and organizational strategy
• New business development and service expansion
• Negotiations strategy and policy development
• Business modeling & planning
• Collaborations, partnerships, mergers & acquisitions
• Executive leadership and managing change
• Public Broadcasting

Bruce has worked in and with nonprofit organizations at the local, state, and national level, building bridges between people, developing creative solutions to business challenges, and shaping strategic directions. He was part of the 1990 Public Radio Expansion Task Force that recommended significant policy changes for the public broadcasting system, and received NPR’s Edward E. Elson Award in appreciation for helping create an environment to extend public radio services to unserved and underserved audiences. In 2001, he left Public Radio International (PRI), after thirteen years as one of their top executives, to help create and establish a new resource for the public broadcasting industry. Bruce was one of three co-directors for Public Radio Capital, a nonprofit organization designed to preserve the public media spectrum and extend its reach using creative financing and acquisition strategies.

Bruce has a deep understanding of how nonprofits work. He understands the dynamics of leadership, how organizations get the work done, handle change, and what it takes to assist clients achieve their business goals. A few years ago, he founded the consulting firm, Bolder Strategies, Inc. For each project, he assembles a team of associates, chosen from a wide range of experts, and specifically created with regard for the client’s unique needs. He applies the same distinct approach to business consulting projects that have been so successful in his long nonprofit management career.

Bruce advises a range of clients from large school districts, to major funding agencies, to broadcast networks and individual stations. He has written and published numerous reports and articles, including the recent Native American Radio Assessment for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

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Brief Summary of Experience
Bruce Theriault is the President and founder of Bolder Strategies, Inc, a Boulder, Colorado-based consulting firm for nonprofit organizations. Until early 2003, he was a co-Managing Director of Public Radio Capital (PRC), working with public radio stations on expanding their services using creative acquisition and finance strategies, including securing tax-exempt financing. During that time, he was part of the team that presented the public broadcasting system to the Wall Street rating agencies (Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P) and successfully obtained investment grade financing for two public broadcasting organizations seeking to make major acquisitions.

Before joining PRC, he directed the planning stage of a major strategic services initiative for public radio for the Station Resource Group (SRG) and helped launch Public Radio Capital as a separate operating organization.

Prior to work with SRG, Bruce was Senior Vice President of Public Radio International for thirteen years, where he directed activities in business and contract negotiations, strategic planning, communications, affiliate relations, broadcast services, satellite radio, and new business development and played a central role in content and network development for public broadcasting’s online application service provider, Public Interactive. He project managed the successful private placement investment offering to capitalize this set-up company.

During his tenure with PRI, Bruce played many roles, including serving as acting Director, of Cultural Programming and Marketing, project managing the launch of three satellite radio channels, managing new initiatives and international distribution, negotiating the contracts to establish a daily international news program co-production, and managing the renaming and branding strategy for the company.

Bruce also was Associate Director for the Telecommunications Development Center and Assistant Professor at the Minnesota Extension Service, University of Minnesota. Mr. Theriault managed KTOO-FM and KRBD-FM in Alaska where he co-founded and served five terms as President of Alaska Public Radio Network. Bruce helped establish and then served three years as Chairperson of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB).

In his earlier years, Bruce was project manager and counselor for a community-based social services agency, where he organized and secured a FCC license for a community radio station. He has served on numerous national panels, committees, and task forces shaping public policy, public broadcasting strategic initiatives, and various funding programs. Bruce also was a ten-year member of the Board of Directors of the Twin Cities Schools Television Group (TCSTG).

Educational Background
Bruce holds a Master in Public Administration Degree from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, with an emphasis in public management, political analysis and media communications. Bruce earned a B.S. Degree in Education from Southern Connecticut State University, with a minor in Psychology.

He also has certificates for the Executive Management Program from Harvard University faculty, the Advance Strategic Management Program, at UC Berkeley, and The Program on Negotiations for Senior Executives by Harvard, MIT, and Tufts.

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