Carlyn Madden is the founder and CEO of Good Insight, a national nonprofit executive search firm and governance consultancy. The firm’s mission is to connect good causes to great leaders and serves a range of nonprofits, associations, public agencies, universities, and social enterprises.

As CEO of Good Insight, Carlyn advises boards and executives about their talent needs, from succession planning to compensation to board recruitment strategies. She leads the firm’s CEO and Executive Director searches. With over 15 years of experience in nonprofit recruiting, governance consulting, and philanthropy, Carlyn has dedicated her career to connecting people to causes they care about. She is actively building Good Insight as an anti-racist consulting firm, and believes in the power of leadership transitions as a tool for racial justice.

Prior to launching her consulting practice, Carlyn spent a decade in philanthropy where she began building an expansive multiracial network of executives, consultants, and grantmakers. She started her career at The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation where she managed a portfolio of grants related to education, community service, health, and the arts.

Carlyn is certified in board consulting by BoardSource, is a Center for Nonprofit Advancement Industry Expert and holds memberships with Leadership Greater Washington (c/o 2021), the National Alliance for Nonprofit Management, and Art Table. A committed philanthropist, board member, and volunteer, she has held leadership roles on numerous boards and committees to advance leadership in small and mid-sized nonprofits.

Carlyn is a sought-after speaker on the nonprofit workforce’s generational and demographic shifts. She advised the Obama administration’s Office of Public Engagement on young professionals’ perspectives, chaired the DC chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professional Network, and has been a featured guest on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi show as a thought leader on the topic. In 2019, she founded the Next Gen Giving Circle, a group of nearly 100 mid-career professionals whose collective donations support BIPOC-led grassroots organizations in the DC region.

With a BA in Art History from Emory University and an MA in Museum Administration from The George Washington University, Carlyn puts her education to good use through frequent visits to museums and art institutions across the globe. Her hobbies include gardening, cooking, and international travel. She and her husband live off the H Street NE corridor in Washington, DC, the fifth generation in her family to do so.