Greg Lais is a social entrepreneur and creative problem solver who excels at building organizations and generating connections to the philanthropic community. As the Founder and long-time Executive Director of Wilderness Inquiry, Greg pioneered many non-profit systems and practices widely in use today, including earned revenues, Key Performance Indicators, and systems for inclusive decision making. Greg received his BA from St. John’s University and his MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School in 1991. He has brought a business discipline to the non-profit sector ever since. Greg has served on over a dozen non-profit boards and currently serves on the Metropolitan State University Foundation board as well as the Friends of the Falls. Before retiring from Wilderness Inquiry, Greg left the organization with over $9M in the bank—during the pandemic, no less. Greg enjoys helping non-profits of all sizes along the path to sustainability. Career highlights include:
- National, regional and local fundraising of over $50,000,000
- Early pioneer in non-profit earned revenue generation
- Experienced at strategic and tactical planning with board and staff
- Expert at scaling programmatic results. Grew services from 34 persons to 40,000+ persons annually through award-winning systems and best practices
- Developed Universal Program Participation Model and 7-Steps to Social Integration
- Hired, trained, and supervised hundreds of full-time staff and field staff
- Created Great River Race, a unique fundraising event on Mississippi and Ohio Rivers
- Wrote, secured, and administered major grants with the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human
- Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Agent Orange Class Assistance Program, the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources, and the Minnesota Legacy Fund<
- Has personally guided over 500 wilderness and outdoor adventures throughout the world
Greg lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Patti Thurber, and enjoys travel, photography, boating with friends, and all things outdoors.