About Us
DGW Group delivers customized, high‑touch executive search to mission‑driven organizations nationwide.
Our Story
Founded in 2012, DGW Group is a national, Black woman-owned executive search firm recognized for cultivating diverse, high-caliber candidate pools. Many clients come to us because they trust our ability to support their commitment to mission‑aligned leadership and inclusive outcomes.
We specialize in placing C‑level leaders—especially CFOs and COOs—across the nonprofit, education, philanthropic, and social impact sectors. We build deep partnerships and deliver a customized, high‑touch search process for every assignment.
Our Value Proposition
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You work directly with senior leadership—no junior hand-offs. We bring agility, responsiveness, and personalized attention to every search, ensuring alignment and trust at every step.
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With ~15 years of C-level search experience and 30+ years in finance, strategy, and operations across private, public, and nonprofit sectors, we deeply understand organizational culture, mission metrics, and the nuanced competencies needed for success in nonprofit, education, and social justice environments.
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We’re recognized for building candidate slates that reflect the communities and values our clients serve—prioritizing both equity and effectiveness in leadership placement.
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We offer full retained searches or ad‑hoc talent support tailored to your organization’s needs, budget, and timing—providing flexibility without sacrificing quality or strategic impact.
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More than recruiters—we act as strategic partners, aligning each search to your mission and long-term goals. We help identify leaders who strengthen operations, deepen mission alignment, and deliver measurable results.
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Executive candidates evaluate us just as closely as we evaluate them. We ensure a respectful, transparent, and structured process—providing regular communication, clear timelines, and thorough support—so every candidate feels informed, valued, and motivated throughout.
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We operate under a strong sense of urgency—closing most executive searches within 3–4 months with a 98% placement rate. 85% of our placements identify as women or people of color, reflecting our commitment to equity in action.
Founder & CEO
DeRonda Williams has over 20 years of business experience across multiple industries. She served as Finance Director for the KIPP Foundation, a national charter school organization for five years. Prior to joining KIPP, DeRonda spent over ten years at Pearson Education as a business unit CFO for the K-12 and college publishing divisions. She also has experience in manufacturing, where she worked as an Industrial Engineer for Olin Corporation.
In 2012, DeRonda founded DGW Group (DGWG) and is the organization’s CEO. DGWG provides executive recruiting services and specializes in placing diverse C-level leaders, primarily CFOs and COOs, in organizations across the country. DeRonda is actively involved as a volunteer and board member with several community organizations. She is a 2018 Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow and a board member and board Treasurer of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC). DeRonda has a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She and her husband have three children and live in Las Vegas.