Chrystal Morris Murphy is the founder and Principal of Onyx Strategies Group. OSG designs mission critial strategies, Communities of Practice and strong boards for nonprofit clients, primarily in the outdoor sctor. 

Before she founded OSG, Chrystal served as Senior Vice President at the National Park Foundation (NPF). There, she built the Foundation’s only Community of Practice called Strong Parks, Strong Communities (SPSC). It was designed to help park philanthropy leaders connect, learn and share strategies about what it means to successfully support the National Park Service. Under Chrystal’s leadership, SPSC provided capacity building grants, technical assistance, affinity groups, professional development, peer-to-peer learning, special events and travel grants to the Practice.  

Prior to NPF, she served as VP of Engagement at America’s Promise Alliance, a nonprofit founded by the late General Colin Powell. There she served as a thought partner to state school superintendents and their corresponding governor’s office to design innovative opportunities to keep kids in schools. Chrystal also worked closely with mayors in urban and rural sites across America to create public, private partnerships to help improve graduation rates through evidence-based interventions.

Chrystal holds a degree from American University and certificates from Kellogg School of Management and Executive Education at Northwestern University, Design Thinking from Stanford University and the American Express Leadership Academy. She is also a Board Source certified consultant, is the Board Governance Chair and Secretary of the Board for the Western National Parks Association and an advisory council member to Oregon Parks Forever.