Our Consultants
Below, you’ll meet some of the primary consultants behind Summit West Strategies. But our team extends well beyond the people you see here. Every organization and project is different, and when your needs call for expertise outside our core team, we tap into our trusted network of specialists to bring in the right people — without adding unnecessary complexity.
Nicole Craig, MBA
Nicole brings more than 20 years of management and operations experience across the political, corporate, and nonprofit sectors, with a focus on building systems that help organizations and the people within them work more effectively.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin (Go Badgers!) and an MBA from Louisiana State University with a specialization in Project Management. Nicole is also a Certified Lean Practitioner and Certified Six Sigma Green Belt, bringing a process-improvement mindset to project management, operations, and organizational strategy.
Outside of her professional work, Nicole is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and coaches middle school and club cross country and track & field. She is also part of a retired military family, an experience that has shaped her adaptability, resourcefulness, and comfort navigating complex systems and constant change.
When she’s not working, you’ll usually find her outside with her family — skiing, biking, hiking, or competing in endurance sports.
CSSGB, Certified Lean Practitioner, NASM-CPT
Lizz Switzer
Lizz is a nonprofit consultant, development professional, creative thinker, and lifelong believer in the power of a good story. With a background spanning nonprofit development, arts, and education, she brings a mix of strategic thinking, creativity, and practical problem-solving to every project.
Her work includes fundraising strategy, donor engagement and stewardship, communications, grant writing, systems and workflow improvement, and project planning and implementation. Before moving into nonprofit development, Lizz spent 15 years working in education and the arts—a background that continues to shape her curious, collaborative approach and her ability to turn big ideas into clear, actionable plans.
She is especially energized by the places where strategy and creativity overlap: finding better ways to work, building meaningful connections with donors and communities, and helping organizations move good ideas from “someday” to “let’s do this.” She believes the best solutions are both thoughtful and practical—and that people, systems, and stories all play a role in making organizations stronger.
A proud member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Colorado, she currently serves as Vice President of Membership. When she’s not thinking about fundraising, you’ll likely find her writing, drawing, hiking, or attempting to keep all of her plants alive.
Jill Culver, MSW, LGSW
Jill brings a background in mental health, social work, case management, foster care, and residential treatment to Summit West’s work with neurodivergent leaders and teams. Her approach is trauma-informed, strengths-based, and grounded in the belief that people do their best work when the systems around them support how they actually think, communicate, and function. That perspective aligns closely with Summit West’s focus on helping neurodivergent leaders and mixed ND/NT teams create clearer communication, more workable routines, and systems that reduce friction without trying to change the people using them.
Jill holds a Master of Social Work and is a Licensed Graduate Social Worker and practices in clinical therapy. Her experience in case management has given her a strong understanding of how to help people advocate for what they need and navigate complicated systems, while her clinical work has centered on creating inclusive, nonjudgmental environments where people feel heard, understood, and able to build on their existing strengths.
Before becoming a social worker, Jill spent a decade in the culinary world as a line cook, pastry chef, and chef/manager. That experience still shapes the practical, creative way she approaches problem-solving: sometimes the right solution is less about pushing harder and more about changing the recipe, adjusting the process, or giving something room to work.
Outside of work, Jill enjoys reading, swimming, hiking, cooking, thrift shopping, camping, going to plays and Valleyfair, and spending time with her daughter, two cats, and sometimes a snake or two.