Shirley Ferguson Jenks is a consultant with Gow & Partners, heading the not-for-profit practice. She has been in this sector for nearly 30 years, serving in both staff and consultant capacities with a focus on fundraising and development. She has been a chief development officer with the New York Landmarks Conservancy, the Cultural Council Foundation, the American Craft Museum, and the American Academy in Rome.

As a consultant to charitable organizations, Shirley has been Senior Consultant with the New York firm of Goodale Associates. In 1994, she established her own fundraising consulting firm, the Jenks Group, LLC. The firm works nationally and internationally with a wide array of museums, historic preservation groups, and other cultural organizations; health and human services causes; and educational institutions. The Jenks Group joined Gow and Partners World Team in 2008, broadening the service offerings of both firms.

Shirley graduated with honors in Political Science from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. Her Masters degree is from the University of London where she studied medieval architecture at the Courtauld Institute of Art. She is also an active volunteer, serving as President of the Bermuda Fine Arts Foundation and a board member of both the American Foundation for the Courtauld Institute of Art and Community Access to the Arts.