About
Courtney Chapin
Founder and Principal of Volta Park Group, a Washington, D.C., consultancy advising nonprofit, educational, civic and corporate leaders on strategy, partnerships, governance and philanthropy.
Two decades of senior leadership in federal government, national nonprofits and presidential campaigns and transitions.
Courtney Chapin is the founder and Principal of Volta Park Group, a Washington, D.C., consultancy advising nonprofit, educational, civic and corporate leaders on strategy, partnerships, governance and philanthropy. She brings two decades of senior leadership in federal government, national nonprofits and presidential campaigns and transitions.
As Executive Director of The Better Angels Society from 2017 to 2023, Courtney led the organization in raising more than $70 million for American history documentaries on PBS, particularly the films of Ken Burns, and built partnerships with PBS, WETA, the Library of Congress, National History Day and Georgetown University. She created the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film and the Next Generation Angels Awards for student filmmakers.
From 2010 to 2017, she served as Chief of Staff, White House Liaison and Director of Congressional Affairs at the National Endowment for the Humanities, overseeing a staff of 150 and a $150 million annual appropriation, directing congressional and White House relations, and managing partnerships with the Smithsonian, the National Gallery of Art and the Federation of State Humanities Councils.
In 2020, Courtney led the Biden-Harris Transition’s Agency Review Team for the federal arts, humanities, science and public media agencies, assessing each agency and helping recruit its incoming leadership. Earlier, she built corporate partnerships with American Express, UnitedHealthcare and Nike at the Corporation for National and Community Service, and served as Mid-Atlantic Finance Co-Director for Obama for America and the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Today, Courtney advises Artful Learning, the New York–based education nonprofit inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s educational philosophy. She serves on three nonprofit boards: Historic Deerfield, where she co-chairs the Strategic Planning Committee; Island Health Care, where she serves as Secretary; and National History Day, where she co-chairs the Development Committee. A 1986 magna cum laude graduate of Harvard, she lives in Georgetown, where Volta Park Group makes its home at Volta Park House.
About the name
Volta Park House and the Federal fanlight
Volta Park Group takes its name from Volta Park in Georgetown, and its emblem from the Federal fanlight above the door of Volta Park House, where the firm makes its home. The park and the street beside it are named for the Volta Bureau, which Alexander Graham Bell founded nearby with the Volta Prize France awarded him for inventing the telephone.
That history reflects two traditions at the heart of our work: a deep commitment to history and the arts, and a belief that innovation can renew educational, civic and business organizations alike. The fanlight’s design is a reminder that what endures is built with care, proportion and respect for what came before. It is the same standard we bring to the institutions we serve.
Start a conversation
Every engagement is led personally by Courtney Chapin
Whether you are charting a new direction, navigating a transition or building support for your mission, we would welcome the chance to talk.