Michaela Hayes, MHSA is a Senior Manager with La Piana Associates where she specializes in research and development, and marketing and communications.  She has an extensive background in population, market, and survey research; marketing; communications; strategic planning; and, program development and evaluation. 

Michaela has held manager and director-level positions of marketing and market research with several organizations, as well as senior and managing consultant positions with national consulting firms.  Michaela’s professional work spans the nonprofit, for-profit, and government sectors, and includes organizations focused on health care, mental health, social services, children and youth, seniors, environment, education, and arts and culture.  She has designed and conducted innumerable research projects on behalf of clients who seek to better understand their markets and market trends, market position, competition, and customer/client needs and demands.  She advises these organizations on how to use this information to make better decisions and to develop more effective strategies to achieve their missions, and on how to develop their own in-house research and marketing functions. 

Michaela is the Project Manager for the firm’s Strategy Formation project, and is a contributing author to David La Piana’s book, Play to Win: The Nonprofit Guide to Competitive Strategy.  Additionally, she was a co-author of La Piana Associates’ recent book: The Nonprofit Mergers Workbook, Part II: Unifying the Organization after a Merger (2004).

Michaela has served as a board member and volunteer for several nonprofit organizations.  She is active in professional organizations including the American Marketing Association and the International Association of Business Communicators where she serves on the Board of the San Francisco Chapter.  She also serves on the Steering Committee for the Philanthropic Consultants Network, located in Northern California.  Additionally, Michaela is an instructor of the Market Research course for San Francisco State University’s Integrated Marketing Program. 

Michaela received a Master’s degree from the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, and a BA in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.

You can reach Michaela at 510-653-0282 or hayes@lapiana.org.