About
About Wheels on the Bus, LLC
Wheels on the Bus, LLC was founded by Christine Gendron in 2020 to support mission-driven organizations by providing high-quality and versatile consulting and contract services. The vision for Wheels on the Bus was inspired by Christine’s experience as an Executive Director, in which she identified a need for consultants who are highly skilled and knowledgeable, ready to dive into anything, and willing to get their hands dirty. The name for Wheels on the Bus was inspired by Christine’s niece, Annie (pictured), who had a passion for buses when she was a preschooler.
About Your Lead Consultant
Christine Gendron
Christine Gendron is an experienced and entrepreneurial leader, a systems thinker, a connector and collaborator, and a capacity builder. She has nearly 20 years of leadership experience serving as a resource for nonprofits, policymakers, government, and philanthropy.
Christine previously served as the Executive Director of a statewide association and advocacy organization for eight years. She stepped into that role when the organization was struggling, defined a new strategic direction, streamlined operations, established partnerships with stakeholders across the state, and raised new funds, ultimately tripling the organization’s annual budget. She led legislative advocacy efforts that secured new state appropriations for youth services, led the coordination of high-profile capacity building initiatives for direct care, and oversaw the provision of training on best practices for thousands of professionals. She served as an advisor on legislative and regulatory policy, among other topics, for leaders at 60+ member organizations.
Christine has also served as Vice President for two larger nonprofit organizations, where she was responsible for advocacy and capacity building, and as a Senior Research Associate for the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, where she evaluated public programs serving children and families. She is a skilled and experienced facilitator, and she has helped numerous organizations and initiatives with needs assessment, consensus building, and strategic planning.
Christine holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from Texas A&M University and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin’s Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. She lives in Austin with her husband, Ben, and their rescue poodles. Christine has served on numerous nonprofit boards, she has been heavily involved in the LBJ School alumni association, and she is active in the philanthropic community. In her free time she enjoys reading, cooking, staying active/fit, learning Spanish, and supporting high school speech and debate.
Working with Christine
I served on the Board of the Texas Network of Youth Services and was a Board Chair when Christine was the Executive Director. When Christine started her tenure at TNOYS the Agency was in a precarious financial position and there were concerns of closing. Under Christine’s leadership the agency turned around its financial situation with new opportunities that she secured and greater operating efficiencies she created. Christine developed a strategic direction with support from the Board and stakeholders that involved diversification of the agency membership through reach to new sectors, new programming and measured risk through new funding opportunities. With Christine’s leadership, TNOYS became a leader in youth engagement, both in Texas and nationally. I found Christine to be a very intelligent, creative and passionate individual.
Joel Levine
Executive Director, Harris County Resources for Children and Adults
I had the pleasure of working with Christine when she was Executive Director at the Texas Network of Youth Service (TNOYS) where I served as a board member. I found Christine to be a tenacious and visionary leader who helped TNOYS reestablish its footing and become a strong and viable non-profit. Christine is a systems thinker whose strength is in bringing groups together collaboratively to help solve some of the more difficult challenges facing our society.
John Bracken
former Executive Director of Montgomery County Youth Services
