Testimonials

"We had a great experience working with Boyden. Beth Parsons and Wendy Wilsker were patient with us throughout the process, helped guide our thinking along the way, and really listened to what we needed. We had a long list of things we were looking for in this person, and in the end, they helped us find a candidate who really matched what we were looking for. We are very grateful for their expertise, persistence, and patience, and for their partnership throughout the search."

"Working with Boyden has been nothing short of rewarding and productive, from start to finish. Always prepared, always professional, always a step ahead, the Boyden team worked with us to think strategically about finding the right people for the right roles. First and foremost, Boyden is a partner in your success, and they truly consider themselves an extension of your team. I can't recommend Wendy Wilsker and Boyden enough to organizations looking to achieve ambitious philanthropic aspirations. I am grateful to have made lifelong professional partners with the Boyden team!"

“We set high expectations for the Boyden team when we launched our search for Vice President of Advancement, and the team exceeded those expectations. The Boyden team worked closely with us from the start of our search, and they were always available, including after hours and on weekends. Boyden delivered us an outstanding and extremely diverse pool of candidates, which can be challenging in the fundraising arena. Our first choice from that pool accepted our offer, and the campus is thrilled to welcome him to the community. I enthusiastically recommend Boyden for executive level searches. I'd additionally like to thank Lisa Vuona for her personalized approach -- she is an outstanding leader on whom university presidents can always rely!”

“Boyden is a first-class company that adds the right balance of a personal touch, with a professional one, that enables them to recruit and help place top talent in an organization. We couldn’t have been more pleased with our partnership.”

“I currently serve as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech, a non-profit school that teaches children who are deaf or hard of hearing to listen and speak so that they can succeed in mainstream schools and the wider world. In my capacity as the Chair, I retained Boyden to run the executive search to find Clarke’s next President and CEO. Hiring Boyden was the best decision that we could have made in the process. The Board-led Search Committee worked extremely closely with Wendy Wilsker and Shaké Sulikyan. Wendy and Shaké could not have been better partners in assisting Clarke in finding a new President and CEO. From the start of the process, Boyden, specifically Wendy and Shaké, worked with me and other Board members to tailor the process to Clarke’s needs. A large part of the process involved looking internally to determine what Clarke needed in its next leader and Wendy and Shaké masterfully navigated this process by meeting with dozens of Clarke personnel across five campuses. After creating a profile of the ideal President and CEO, Boyden went to market to find us candidates and the Board and Search Committee could not have been more pleased with the candidates who were selected to meet with the Board. Wendy and Shaké walked us through every step of the process, and, in the end, we were able to hire a President and CEO who is a perfect match for the organization. Having gone through this process in the past without using an executive search firm, I can truly say that Boyden, Wendy, and Shaké provided a very real and quantifiable value add and that Clarke’s partnership with Boydenelevated the entire search process and the candidates that we were able to interview. I cannot say how strongly I would recommend using Boyden, specifically Wendy and Shaké, to anyone in my position and I would certainly engage them for any future searches!”

“When we made the strategic decision to grow our team, we knew that our ongoing partnership with Boyden would give us the edge to attract proven and successful candidates. Their deep industry knowledge and meticulous screening ensured we only met with top talent. We found the perfect fit for our Director of Philanthropy roles, thanks to their expertise, professionalism, and strong communications.”

“In looking at search firms to assist our recruiting efforts for the inaugural fulltime CEO for B3K initiative in Bakersfield/Kern County Region, our Leadership Council selected Boyden.  The professionalism and constant energy the Boyden team exhibited throughout our search was outstanding.  Our Leadership Council had the mission and focus in mind to what we wanted and needed in a CEO.  The Boyden team was not just the hired search firm, but the collaborative team member our organization needed to guide us and bring us the candidates that matched our agreed upon mission and focus.”

“Utah State University truly appreciates our partnership with Boyden Executive Search. They are incredibly transparent, highly responsive, and extremely dependable. Boyden has an extensive network they can leverage to ensure success in the recruitment process, and a talented team of leaders with breadth of knowledge across diverse industries.”

“The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation has been proud to partner with Boyden in hiring several key positions within our Advancement Department. We have been consistently impressed by the professionalism, responsiveness, and dedication of the Boyden team.

To date, we have successfully filled four out of the five roles for which we engaged Boyden, and each hire has brought exceptional expertise, professionalism, and a deep commitment to our mission. The Boyden team has truly become an extension of our organization. They take their role as our representative seriously, and we’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the majority of candidates we interviewed. Many shared that they felt well-informed, well-prepared, and genuinely supported throughout the interview process.

Boyden has done an outstanding job serving as both our advocate and partner during this important phase of growth. I cannot recommend them highly enough for high-level searches, particularly within the advancement and development space. They understand the unique needs of organizations like ours—and they deliver. Thank you, Boyden, for your continued partnership and support!”

“I cannot overstate how impressed I was with Boyden Exchange's professionalism, flexibility, determination, organization, and ability to bring phenomenal candidates to the table. We had an ambitious timeline to fill two frontline fundraiser positions and Wendy Wilsker and Beth Parsons delivered incredibly well. I wholeheartedly recommend their services for your open positions.”

“In tough market conditions, Boyden led our national search for a VP for University Advancement. Lisa Vuona and the Boyden team were attentive to our institutional needs. It wasn’t a generic search—it was very much a search for the candidate Assumption uniquely needed. They actively recruited and guided us through the process with professionalism, careful attention, and skill. A year later, we remain thrilled about the outcome.”

“I have had the pleasure of working with Wendy Wilsker since the early days of her career in executive search. During the pandemic, Wendy reached out to me to discuss the idea of forming a new search firm and asked two critical questions: “Is there room in higher education for a new firm?” and “What would differentiate us from others?”

I shared that higher education is a crowded field with many executive search firms—many of which I have engaged as both a client and a candidate. My consistent frustration had been the lack of quality care and nurturing of candidates, often at the expense of both the candidate experience and the client. I encouraged Wendy, if she were to enter this space, to differentiate herself through regular, personal communication that genuinely cares for candidates while also promoting the institution being represented.

Wendy took this charge seriously. When I later hired Wendy for several searches, I consistently received feedback from candidates praising the quality of personal communication and care they experienced throughout the process. Notably, several candidates who were not selected reached out to compliment Wendy and the team on how supported they felt during the search. Kudos all around.

We are, at our core, in a human relations business. Wendy Wilsker and the Boyden Group clearly understand this responsibility and execute high-quality searches at the highest level. Cheers to five years—and to the next five.”

“Working with Boyden was a fantastic experience. The Boyden Team’s passion for our mission was evident throughout the entire search process, and it clearly came through in the candidates she identified and presented. Boyden took the time to truly listen and understand what we were looking for, which made the process smooth, efficient, and well-aligned from the start.

Boyden went above and beyond what we expected from a recruiter. They were consistently available, responsive, and became a true thought partner to our internal team. At a critical moment in our organization’s history—when we were focused on hiring the right professionals to help build a best-in-class fundraising program—Boyden felt like an embedded member of our team.

The Boyden Team was diligent, thoughtful, and incredibly thorough while working within the timeline we had established. The candidates she presented were exceptional and reflected a deep understanding of both the role and our organization. I would highly recommend Boyden to any organization looking for a dedicated and effective nonprofit executive recruiter.”

“Working with Boyden, specifically Holly Wolk, facilitated our investment in a group of managers that are positioned to be game changers. Holly's knowledge of development, metrics and management was of great benefit to the participants and me. This makes Boyden an easy choice for anyone in Advancement looking for a partner to help evolve positive change and ROI.”

“Our Leadership Forward with Boyden gave us important insights into our individual leadership styles and how we work together as a team. George Cangiano shared tools that we can draw on when we hit stumbling blocks, or welcome new members to the team. I've already noticed that we're using what we learned to communicate and collaborate in a more constructive manner. I'm confident that the long-term impact will be a more productive working environment that fosters belonging and true team work for the good of Bank Street.”

“George Cangiano with Boyden took the time to understand our needs, made recommendations for a path forward, and his work had an immediate and lasting positive result. Working with George is always seamless, thorough, and impactful.”

"We had an outstanding experience working with Boyden during our search for a new Executive Director for Project Home Again. From the very beginning, Beth and Wendy worked closely with our Board of Directors, taking the time to truly understand our mission, culture and the type of leader we were looking for. They asked thoughtful questions, and developed a genuine understanding of both the professional qualifications and personal qualities that were most important to us. Throughout the process, they were responsive, collaborative, and trusted advisors every step of the way. 

Most importantly, they found us an exceptional Executive Director who has exceeded our expectations. He has brought the leadership, vision, integrity and passion our organization needed. We are incredibly grateful for Beth and Wendy's expertise. Boyden proved to be an invaluable partner."

"We engaged Boyden to structure and facilitate a senior leadership conversation that helped us establish commitments to each other and guiding principles for navigating a leadership transition, allowing us to drive positive momentum and deliver our mission unabated as we searched for our next CEO. George Cangiano led this session and his expert listening and facilitation moved us to a clear vision for showing up as a unified, trustworthy, aligned team,

supporting our interim CEO and setting our next leader up for success from day one. George's preparation, approachable style, and outcomes-driven approach prepared us lead with clarity, confidence, and trust through a critical period in our history."