Profile

Steven Strehl

Consultant · Organizational Developer · Computer Scientist

Supports NGOs and purpose-driven organizations as an external consultant at the intersection of strategy, culture, funding, and technology. Brings his own board- and managing-director-level responsibility from building a growing donation-financed NGO with a Holacracy operating system and needs-based compensation into the work. Today active for boards and executive teams, and as a trainer in corporate leadership programs.

Career path

  1. Today Berlin 🇩🇪

    Founder & Consultant

    ngo.consulting

    Consulting for NGOs and purpose-driven organizations at the intersection of strategy, culture, funding, and technology. Focus areas: organizational development, compensation models, self-organization, funding mix, AI strategy.

  2. From 2024 Hannover 🇩🇪

    Senior Consultant & Trainer

    in-stability — management consulting

    Consulting executive directors of NGOs on efficiency and professionalization in leadership and work organization — against the backdrop of a shrinking state funding landscape (focus on inclusion and integration).

    Trainer in corporate leadership programs with a focus on far-reaching changes — AI introduction and outplacement to third countries — and on the question of how leaders carry their teams steadily through such phases.

  3. 2023 & 2025 Sacramento 🇺🇸

    Continuing Education — Intercultural Communication & Entrepreneurship

    California State University, Sacramento — College for Continuing Education

    Deepening of Intercultural Communication and Entrepreneurship across two stays as a foundation for international consulting work.

  4. 2016 ff. Berlin 🇩🇪

    Board Chair, Managing Director, and Developer

    Mein Grundeinkommen e.V.

    Joined in 2016 as a developer one year after the association was founded. Built up the IT team and gradually took on managing-director and board responsibility, eventually as Board Chair.

    Scaled the donation platform into the load-bearing pillar of the organization. Introduced and further developed Holacracy as an operating system, alongside a needs-based salary model.

  5. 2011 ff. Berlin 🇩🇪

    Software Engineer (NLP)

    OMQ GmbH

    Early stage of what is today an AI-powered customer service provider: automation of customer acquisition, applications in Natural Language Processing, software installation and remote maintenance on-site at clients. Bachelor’s thesis at the company on indexing texts via Reflections (self-modifying code).

  6. 2010 Winterthur 🇨🇭

    Research Associate

    ZHAW — Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften, Center for Innovative Didactics

    Development of content-management systems and research websites; early mobile applications for direct interaction between students and lecturers in the lecture hall. External mandates — including a mobile application for officer training at the Basel-Stadt police.

  7. 2009 Toulouse 🇫🇷

    Software Engineering studies

    Université Paul Sabatier

    Semester abroad with a focus on agile software development in a student team.

  8. [years — to be added] Berlin 🇩🇪 & Warsaw 🇵🇱

    Project Assistant

    Berlin Senate Administration

    Project assistance for initiatives between Berlin and Warsaw.

  9. 2003 ff. Paris 🇫🇷

    Shift supervisor and trainer

    McDonald’s France

    Started at 17 as a crew member, promoted at 18 to shift supervisor and trainer. First leadership experience — a formative school in process efficiency, quality management, and customer experience.

Focus areas

  • Organizational development
  • New Pay & needs-based pay
  • Self-organization (Holacracy, Sociocracy)
  • Legal form & compliance
  • Funding mix & micro-donations
  • AI strategy & automation
  • Leadership development
  • Digitization at the strategy/technology intersection

Education

  1. 2023 & 2025 Sacramento 🇺🇸

    Continuing Education — Intercultural Communication & Entrepreneurship

    California State University, Sacramento
  2. [years] [university to be added]

    Bachelor in Computer Science

    [university — to be added]

    With a semester abroad at Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse, 2009) and a bachelor’s thesis at OMQ GmbH on indexing texts via Reflections.

Scholarships, honors & mandates

  • Alumnus of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German Academic Scholarship Foundation)
  • Alumnus of the California State University, Sacramento
  • Former Board Chair, Mein Grundeinkommen e.V.

Languages

  • German — native
  • French — fluent / professional working proficiency (acquired immersively in Paris and Toulouse)
  • English — fluent / professional working proficiency

Prefer it as a story?

You’ll find the full career as a chronological narrative with more context under My career path.

Let’s talk.

30 minutes on video — free, no sales pitch. I listen, sort the open questions, and tell you honestly where an outside contribution would be worth it — and where it wouldn’t.

Schedule a video call ← Back to home