Faculty

HUNTER BOYLE

Hunter Boyle is founder and CEO of GrowYourSocialBusiness.com, a new startup dedicated to helping global organizations optimize their bottom line and social impact at the same time. Previously, he led business development for email marketing service AWeber, and online marketing at 1800Hotels and MarketingExperiments.

With his multifaceted background, Hunter has helped clients achieve triple-digit gains since the dot-com days. In that time, he’s worked with nonprofits large and small, ranging from the Smithsonian Institution, University of Pennsylvania and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to Artblog and Theatre Horizon. Hunter’s passion for helping marketers optimize their growth has fueled over 300 articles, blog posts, webinars and workshops. His insights have been featured in Entrepreneur, Newsweek, Success, MarketingProfs and several other outlets, and he’s a highly rated presenter at events worldwide. Connect with him on Twitter: @hunterboyle

Hunter leads the session "Website Optimization: How to Convert More Prospects to Donors Online."

KEN BURNETT

Ken Burnett is a writer, communicator and inspirational speaker. He is author of several influential books on donor development and communication, including Relationship Fundraising, the Zen of Fundraising, Tiny Essentials of an Effective Volunteer Board and the recently published (and his most important book to date), Storytelling Can Change the World. All are available on Amazon or at www.whitelionpress.com. Chairman of Trustees at ActionAid from 1998 to 2003, Ken began his fundraising career with that charity back in 1977. He is founder and managing trustee for SOFII, the Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration, an independent trustee of the Disasters Emergency Committee and a commissioner on the UK’s Commission for the Voluntary Sector and Ageing. For more see www.kenburnett.com.

Ken leads the session How Storytelling will help You Build Long-term Relationships with Your Donors.

Tina started Funding Change after seeing too many nonprofits excelling at their program work but struggling to raise the funds to pay for it. Or, raising huge sums from foundations with little income from individual donors – the largest and most reliable portion of money given away each year. Funding Change gives grassroots groups access to the same knowledge and the same successful fundraising techniques that many big charities can afford to have in-house. But without having to pay to have that expertise permanently on staff. Learn more about Funding Change at http://fundingchangeconsulting.com.

Tina wrote the popular post Donor Thank You Calls: Everything You Need To Know.

Shanon Doolittle is a born do-gooder, high-fiving fundraising coach and donor happiness champion. As the co-founder of Stewardship School and Gratitude Camp, she’s out to help fundraisers everywhere take better care of their donors with creative stewardship strategies that put the fun back in fundraising. After signing up for AmeriCorps for a year, Shanon marched through the trenches, raising over $10 million dollars for various nonprofits and learning the dynamic challenges organizations faced when trying to build better relationships with their donors. Those experiences made her realize that gratitude is part of the asking, and the key to donor loyalty is giving your supporters the deeper connection and appreciation they crave before making a second and a more meaningful gift. Now, as a popular speaker and trainer, Shanon coaches other donor champions to do the same. (She may also be saving snail mail, one stamp at a time.) Learn more about Shanon at www.shanondoolittle.com.

Shannon co-leads the high-energy session Making Stewardship Fun for You AND Your Donor.

Leah is Chief Idea Goddess at Good Works, a boutique philanthropy consulting agency based in Canada. An idea-generator and strategic thinker with a wide and varied background in charitable fund development, Leah works with clients to help tell powerful stories through direct marketing, cases for support, legacy giving and social media. She has a particular interest in strategic planning and ‘looking under the hood’ of fundraising programs to help tune up revenue-generation activities.

Leah’s volunteer work is extensive. She is Chair of the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy Canada, and has been heavily involved in AFP’s efforts in the area of diversity and inclusion in philanthropy. Leah was instrumental in securing over CA$700,000 in grants to support diversity initiatives in Ontario.

In 2014, Leah earned both her ACFRE accreditation, and was honoured with the AFP Ottawa Chapter Outstanding Fundraising Executive Award.

Leah leads the session called Anchoring: Making sure your story sticks with donors.

John Frank is passionate about stewardship. He studies, teaches, and consults on stewardship and believes it is the key to a holistic approach to life for individuals and organizations. www.TheFrankGroup.us A nationally and internationally recognized speaker and teacher, John’s expertise includes stewardship, leadership, nonprofit organizations, as well as biblical training in various topics. He speaks with churches, ministry leadership, non-profits, boards, and retreats. He has authored articles numerous on stewardship, development and leadership and his first book "The Ministry of Development" was published in 1996 and reprinted in 2010. His second book, “The Monthly Partner” was published in 2005. His new book, Stewardship as a Lifestyle was released in 2013. He is a contributing author to “Revolution in Generosity” as well as having contributed to “From Soup & a Sermon to Mega-Mission, A Guide to Financing Rescue Missions” and two chapters in “In the Trenches, You and Your Nonprofit”. He is the Founder/Director of the Stewardship Summit, a meeting to bring those interested in the research, writing, teaching, and learning about stewardship in the church and parachurch together. www.stewardshipsummit.org

John leads the NPA session called The Call of the Steward – Generosity to Your Cause.

Joe Garecht is the founder of The Fundraising Authority and specializes in helping small and mid-sized non-profits supercharge their fundraising. He is the author of The Non-Profit Fundraising Formula and The Silent Auction Handbook and works with organizations worldwide as a consultant and fundraising coach. Through The FundraisingAuthority.com, Joe offers weekly fundraising guides as well as monthly classes and webinars. Joe, his wife and four children live in Philadelphia.

Joe leads many NPA sessions including Rapid Growth Fundraising, How to Use the Fundraising Funnel to Maximize Your Fundraising, and How to Write a Successful Non-Profit Fundraising Plan.

As Publisher and Executive Director for Nonprofit Hub, and a Professional Certified Marketer, Randy shares his passions of marketing and education with nonprofits to help them implement marketing and organizational leadership principles so they can grow their organizations. Randy lends his marketing and organizational leadership expertise to a number of nonprofits in his community. Outside the office, Randy works with high school and college students and mentors young professionals to develop their leadership and entrepreneurial skills.

Randy leads the session Why Nonprofits Should Make Money, Not Just Raise It

Lori L. Jacobwith is a nationally-recognized master storyteller and fundraising culture change expert. Lori has delivered coaching and training sessions that have helped nonprofit organizations raise nearly $300 million dollars from individual donors. Her proven strategies & tools teach staff and board members to share their stories powerfully and effectively. Lori holds a BA from the University of Minnesota in speech-communications and Political Science and has additional training from Indiana University’s Fund Raising School. Lori is a longtime member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Twin Cities Chapter in Minneapolis, MN.

Lori leads the session Advanced Storytelling: Transform Boring Stories into Brilliant Action-Causing Stories

Sheri Chaney Jones specializes in helping organizations successfully collect, organize, and use data and information to demonstrate and communicate their value. The outcomes of her work allow her clients to fully achieve their dreams and take their missions to the next level. For over a decade, Sheri has improved government, non-profits, and small businesses through the use of performance management, evaluation, and organizational behavior best practices. Her experience and expertise has transformed the measurement culture and as a result saved public dollars, improved outcomes, demonstrated effectiveness, and increased revenues. Her clientele is vast including arts, education, health and human services, juvenile justice, faith-based, and private organizations. http://www.measurementresourcesco.com/

Sheri leads the sessions Improving Your Grant Results and Grow Yourself and Your Impact.

Originally from upstate New York, Paul attended Union College and the State University of NY and worked with the Dale Carnegie Institute and AWESCO before coming to Florida in 1986. He began and operated a coffee franchise operation eventually covering all of southeast and southwest Florida. Upon divesting of the company fifteen years later, he went to work for a not-for-profit hospice covering south Florida eventually becoming the Director of Planned Gifts and running the Community Outreach programs. Over the years Paul has worked with several charities in all sectors to help increase donor involvement and contributions as well as establish events and programs designed to increase awareness and financial capacity. He is co-founder of Philanthropia, a consultancy designed to assist not-for-profit’s in their fundraising needs. Paul has been active in community affairs and has served as President of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Ft Lauderdale/Broward chapter (AFP), Past President of Elder Services Resource Network (ESRN) and additionally serves on the boards of the National Council on Planned Giving, Broward, and the advisory board of Impact Broward.

Along with Michael Thorsen, Paul leads the NPA session Harvest Time: 10 Ways to Increase Revenue through Low Hanging Fruit.

Andrea Kihlstedt has been thinking up new ways to approach knotty problems in fundraising for more than 30 years. In fact, she pioneered the concept that people have different asking styles featured on the cover page of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

She’s written four books on fundraising. She’s counseled and coached dozens of nonprofit organizations. She’s been on the faculty of The Fundraising School and the Gestalt International Study Center. She’s thoughtful, unconventional, irreverent and fun.

Andrea leads the sessions The Asking Conversation: Exactly what to say in a major gift solicitation and when to say it and Capital Campaigns 101: The Critical Lessons you MUST to know about a capital campaign before you get started!.

A fundraising professional for more than a decade, Rob Koenig currently serves as the President/Program Strategist for LTV Strategies in Louisville, KY and as a Development Officer at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, IN.

In his career, Rob has served organizations throughout the country as a program director manager and as an account director for a fundraising agency. He has experience in a variety of nonprofit sectors including faith-based charities, food banking, higher education, animal welfare, conservation, literacy and healthcare.

He received a B.A. in political science from Providence College in Providence, R.I., and holds the Certified Fund Raising Executive professional designation.

Rob leads the session Improving Your Direct Mail Fundraising Results.

Diane H. Leonard, GPC is an experienced and respected grant professional who has provided grant development counsel to nonprofit organizations of varying size and scope for more than a decade. Clients she serves include health care providers, advocacy organizations, social services agencies, elementary and secondary schools, and municipal corporations. In addition, Diane is an in-demand speaker on the topics of grant writing and grants management and regularly provides her expertise to audiences ranging from national conferences to boards of directors for small, nonprofit organizations.

Diane leads the session Tips & Tricks from the Foundation Side of Grant Seeking.

Linda is one of slightly more one hundred professionals worldwide to hold the Advanced Certified Fund Raising Executive designation. In her thirty years in the development field, she has managed capital campaigns; helped dozens of nonprofit organizations achieve their development goals, and has trained more than 30,000 professionals in Mexico, Canada, Egypt, Bermuda, and most of the fifty United States. Linda is a graduate of Alvernia College in Reading, PA with majors in Banking and Finance; Communications; and Theology/Philosophy. She is a graduate of AFP’s Faculty Training Academy and has received two AFP research grants. She is also a prolific writer, having written or contributed to more than a dozen books. She serves as Acquisitions Editor for CharityChannel Press and For the GENIUS Press. Linda has received the Outstanding Fundraising Executive award from the Eastern PA, Las Vegas, and Sierra (NV) chapters of AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals) was recognized internationally with the Barbara Marion Award for Outstanding Service to AFP. She was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Las Vegas Chapter of AFP.

Linda leads the session on corporate philanthropy at: https://thenonprofitacademy.com/trainings/corporate-philanthropy/

Kimberley is passionate about building the capacity of the third sector and works with a variety of organizations to advance a culture of philanthropy for their important work. For over 15 years she has been transforming fundraising programs and always delivers double-digit growth. Kimberley also serves as Editor of Canada’s leading weekly fundraising resource Hilborn’s eNEWS, sits on the relationship fundraising advisory panel for the Rogare Think Tank, is a sought after facilitator, writer and trainer and was a driving force in the early days of our much loved SOFII.org.
Kimberley likes to “just pick up the phone” – so feel free to call her at 289-231-1339 or if that isn’t your style you can learn more about her at www.kimberleymackenzie.ca, chat with her on twitter @kimberleycanada or drop her an email k@kimberleymackenzie.ca

Kimberley leads the session Shaking the tree: Five ways to jumpstart your legacy program

Dana Ostomel is the founder and Chief Gifting Officer of Deposit a Gift.com, a crowdfunding platform that allows anyone to easily create an online fundraising campaign for any organizational, school or personal need. Whether you're a nonprofit or school looking to get into crowdsourced fundraising, or an individual looking to raise money for a personal project, business, disaster relief, memorial fund or help with medical bills, Deposit a Gift makes it easy.

Dana is a marketing and branding expert with over a decade of experience developing integrated marketing solutions for brands in a wide range of industries, from Snapple and CENTURY 21 to The Home Depot, DIRECTV and MasterCard before she left to launch Deposit a Gift 6 years ago. Since then she has been advising organizations, schools and individuals on the best approach to setting up and marketing their campaigns. She has a Bachelor's degree in communications from U.C.L.A. and has also studied in Israel and Spain. She is fluent in Spanish and loves to travel, exercise and cook. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two daughters.
Follow Dana and the Deposit a Gift team on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!

Dana leads the session Crowdfunding 101: How To Run a Successful Campaign, from Prep Through Appreciation!

Peter Panepento is principal at Panepento Strategies, a full-service content, digital, and social strategy firm that works with nonprofits, foundations, and socially-minded companies, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the National Center for Family Philanthropy, the Eugene and Agnes Meyer Foundation, and GuideStar. He was formerly an assistant managing editor at the The Chronicle of Philanthropy, where he led its transition into digital journalism and social media — a transition that included the creation of some of the nonprofit world’s richest online communities, the launch of a highly profitable webinar series, and the creation of new digital products such as the How America Gives giving database. He is also an adviser for Nonprofit Marketing Guide on media relations for nonprofits.

Peter leads the session Media Relations for Nonprofits: New Approaches for the Digital Era

Richard Perry is driven by a passion for donor stewardship and care and has a 35-year record of delivering outstanding results for clients and non-profit organizations.

Currently this passion is expressed through The Veritus Group, founded in 2005 by Richard and business partner Jeff Schreifels. Their work, of helping non-profit organizations develop highly effective major donor programs, is recognized by scores of leading non-profits and fundraising thought leaders in the United States, Canada and Europe. The combined annual major gift income of the agencies they serve recently totaled in excess of $500 million.

Richard is particularly valued for providing clients with innovative and effective approaches to reverse the loss of major gift revenue which (for many non-profits) can exceed 50% a year for a single organization, equating to millions of dollars lost from good donors every year.

Their blog, Passionate Giving (at www.veritusgroup.com) shares practical and helpful advice on starting and maintaining a successful major gift program, no matter what size organization you have. It has won recognition in recent years for its outstanding contribution to online fundraising resources.

Previously Richard co-founded The Domain Group, a leading direct marketing agency serving major non-profits in the United States, Canada and Europe. From its Seattle base it expanded to offices in Colorado, Atlanta, London and Paris. The agency was sold in 2005.

Richard leads the session Successfully Packaging Program Into Donor Offers with Jeff Schreifels.

Called by others as the "Johnny Appleseed of fundraising", Marc A. Pitman loves spreading the joy of asking for money to people who never expected to believe it! Marc is the author of "Ask Without Fear!" and founder of FundraisingCoach.com and director of The Nonprofit Academy.

Marc's expertise and enthusiasm engages audiences around the world and has caught the attention of media organizations as diverse as Al Jazeera, SUCCESS Magazine, and Fox News. Marc’s experience also includes pastoring a Vineyard church, managing a gubernatorial campaign, and teaching internet marketing and fundraising at colleges and universities. On Twitter, he is @marcapitman. He is the husband to his best friend and the father of three amazing kids. And if you drive by him on the road, he’ll be singing 80’s tunes loud enough to embarrass his family! Sign up for his free fundraising tips, the Ask Without Fear! email newsletter, at http://fundraisingcoach.com/subscribe/.

As well as directing NPA, Marc's also created the sessions 10 Ways to Get Your Board Engaged in Fundraising and FaceTwitLink? TwitteredIn? TheLinkedBook?: An introduction to social media for fundraising.

Alison J. Rapping is a consultant serving nonprofit organizations and community initiatives. She provides services in the areas of nonprofit capacity building and organizational effectiveness, fundraising and resource development and facilitation of community initiatives. A recognized leader in the non-profit community, she brings more than 20 years nonprofit experience to her role. She has been is responsible for providing the strategic direction for organizations, managing an extensive volunteer structure including the Board of Directors, and creating fund raising plans and raising the resources to support year-round programs and activities.

Ms. Rapping is passionate about helping people align their giving – time, treasures and talents – with causes and organizations that are making a transformational difference in the world. She has worked extensively in the nonprofit, philanthropic, and community development sectors as the Executive Director of Valley Leadership; the Executive Director of VisionQuest 20/20; and CEO of the Alliance for Arizona Nonprofits, where she oversaw the successful launch of this new statewide organization focused on promoting, supporting and serving Arizona’s nonprofit community. She invested 12 years of her professional career with Hands on Greater Phoenix, (formally Make A Difference), a nonprofit dedicated to mobilizing volunteers and developing and managing innovative community programs. While at Hands on Greater Phoenix, she facilitated the growth of the organization from a very small start up to a $1.2 million organization offering a wide-range of programs and services.

She was named one of the inaugural members The Business Journal’s ‘40 Under 40’ emerging leaders and is a graduate of Valley Leadership Class XX. Alison is also a graduate of the Community Driven Institute. Ms. Rapping received her Masters in Public Administration from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Alison leads the session Organizational Culture: Why it matters and how it translates into money

Sandy Rees CFRE, founder of GetFullyFunded, helps nonprofit leaders raise the money of their dreams and build successful Boards. She’s a Coach and Consultant and provides clients with the “how to” of fundraising as well as help with personal/professional development.She started her career in nonprofit work in 1998 at Knox Area Rescue Ministries, then spent 5 years at Second Harvest Food Bank. During her time at Second Harvest, the organization nearly tripled its budget, based largely on her efforts in fundraising. Sandy is the author of Get Fully Funded: How to Raise the Money of Your Dreams, Fundraising Buffet, and Simple Success Fundraising Plan. She co-authors the column “Little Shop” for Fundraising Success magazine and authors the blog Get Fully Funded.Sandy is an accomplished presenter and an AFP Master Trainer. She’s led fundraising seminars for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Chattanooga Center for Nonprofits and many local and regional conferences.Sandy lives with her family on a small farm in Loudon, Tn. Sandy can be reached by email at sandy@sandyrees.com. www.GetFullyFunded.com

Sandy leads many NPA sessions including Planning a Successful Appeal, 6-Figure Fundraising: How to Start and Run Your First $100,000 Campaign, How to Find the Donors of Your Dreams, and 4 Simple Steps to Raising All the Money You Need.

Julia Reich is a designer and brand strategist. Her company Stone Soup Creative helps nonprofits look, sound and feel different than other organizations so they can stand out from the crowd. Stone Soup does everything from branding to website design to marketing and everything in between.

She can be reached at: julia@stonesoupcreative.com, www.stonesoupcreative.com, on Twitter @juliareich, or on Facebook.

Julia leads the session on Let’s Get Visual! Basic Graphic Design Principles for the Creatively-Impaired

Eric François Rolfson is President of the Rolfson Group, Inc. Eric spent more than 30 years raising money for nonprofit institutions and held leadership positions in $10 million, $35 million and $150 million comprehensive fundraising campaigns at Thomas College, Colby College, and the University of Maine. He founded the Rolfson Group to help organizations make a difference in the world by effectively identifying and engaging like-minded constituents in their futures.

Prior to his career in fundraising, Eric taught English, French and American Studies at the secondary and college levels, both in the United States and abroad. Additionally, Eric was co-founder and President of Toast Technologies Inc., a Massachusetts-based information technology company with expertise in network infrastructure consulting.

An avid musician, Rolfson travels regularly with old-time country music bands representing the United States on musical and cultural exchanges, primarily in developing countries. Trips over the past dozen years include tours in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Algeria, Cuba, Benin, Niger, Mauritania, Israel, Jordan, Poland, Mongolia and Ukraine. In his spare time, Eric runs a family maple syrup operation and maintains trails on his land in rural Maine.

Eric leads the session: Top 10 Lessons Learned from 30 Years on the Campaign Trail

Kathie has excelled in development and leadership positions in the nonprofit sector for 15 years. Kathie’s passion for connecting donors to the causes they care about led her to launch Arroyo Fundraising. Kathie’s areas of expertise include individual giving and major gifts, annual fundraising events, start-up fundraising (building a comprehensive fundraising program from the ground up) and grants management. Kathie is a past-president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Colorado Chapter. She serves on the Steering Committee and chairs the Mentor Committee for the Institute for Leaders in Development at the University of Denver. She has held numerous board, committee and advisory positions. Sign up to receive weekly fundraising tips from Kathie here and follow her on Twitter @KathieKRyan.

Kathie leads the session Don’t Wing It! – Major Gift Mistakes Even Smart Fundraisers Make.

Jeff Schreifels has over 27 years’ experience in non-profit fundraising. The first 8 years of his career Jeff worked on the non-profit side working for two organizations as Development Director.

In 1996, Jeff joined the Domain Group based in Seattle. There, Jeff as Senior Strategist, led a team that executed strategic plans and direct-response marketing for clients such as, Feeding America, Arthritis Foundation, American Cancer Society and the Salvation Army; among many others. Jeff and his team helped raise over $200 million for their clients over 12 years.

In 2009, Jeff joined Richard Perry, one of the former owners of Domain Group, to become Senior Partner of Veritus Group. Veritus Group is a major gift consulting agency that has taken the discipline of direct-response and applied it to major gifts. This is a unique approach to major gift fundraising. Veritus helps non-profits all over the United States and the U.K. by helping create, develop and manage mid and major gift programs. As senior partner, Jeff is responsible for client strategy, sales and marketing.

Jeff is also the co-author (with Richard Perry) of a popular fundraising blog focused on major gifts called “Passionate Giving.” They also recently co-authored a book called It’s Not JUST About the Money.

Jeff is the proud father of two adult children who are the joy of his life. Jeff is passionate about life, spirituality, philanthropy, relationships, and the city of Philadelphia!

Jeff leads the session leads the session Successfully Packaging Program Into Donor Offers with Richard Perry.

Steven has 22 years of fundraising experience and has helped hundreds of nonprofits raise more money. He is co-founder and Creative Director of The Better Fundraising Co. He’s created and tracked the results for hundreds of donor newsletters and is a recognized expert in helping organizations raise money with donor-centered newsletters. Steven is the co-host of the Fundraising Is Beautiful podcast, and a past winner of the Direct Mail Package Of the Year award from Fundraising Success magazine. Steven is married and has 3 kids.

Steven leads the session How to Raise Money and Retain Your Donors with Your Nonprofit's Newsletter.

Isaac is a senior strategist, master planner, and organizational coach. Over the last fifteen years, Isaac has led nonprofit organizations through significant transformations, including startups, turnarounds, and digital transformation. As founder and principal consultant at Sage70, Isaac advises organizations on all facets of transformation and change, from strategy, marketing, and resource development to personnel, culture, process and technology. His broad lens and deep experience make him an invaluable resource to organizations tackling ambitious projects. Isaac also lectures frequently at nonprofit incubators, capacity-building organizations, and conferences, helping nonprofit professionals develop core skills around data, technology and operations.

Isaac leads the session: Accounting for Fundraisers.

Steven Shattuck is Chief Engagement Officer at Bloomerang. In addition to leading the sales and marketing teams, he curates our blog, administers Bloomerang's weekly educational webinar series and hosts Bloomerang TV, a weekly video podcast that interviews fundraisers and consultants in the nonprofit sector.

Steven got his start in the nonprofit sector producing fundraising videos and other digital content for organizations like Butler University, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, the Domestic Violence Network, the Adoption Support Center, the American Heart Association and CICOA. In 2015, he co-founded Launch Cause, a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping emerging nonprofit organizations enhance the impact of their work through collaborative office space, shared services, educational programming and networking with other nonprofit professionals. As a HubSpot Certified inbound marketer, Steven is a contributor to NTEN, Nonprofit Hub, Ragan, Social Media Today, Search Engine Journal, The Build Network, Technorati, Content Marketing Institute, Conductor and Business2Community. He is a frequent conference speaker and webinar presenter.

Steven leads the session An Introduction to Donor Data Segmentation

Workforce thought leader Cara Silletto, MBA, works with organizations of all sizes to reduce unnecessary employee turnover by bridging generational gaps and making managers more effective in their roles. As a Millennial herself, she knows first-hand what it is like to have a heightened sense of entitlement, very little employee loyalty and a dependency upon her smart phone. However, unlike many Millennials, Cara has figured out exactly how these attributes were cultivated during her formative years, and she now shares that story with leaders across the country, including teams at Toyota, UPS, Cintas and Humana.

Cara learned early in her career, from her Baby Boomer and GenX mentors, what “professionalism” meant to them, and absorbed critical information about management expectations during her first 12 years in the business world. She then went on to earn her Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the top-ranked University of Louisville Entrepreneurship program, lived overseas teaching German executives about business practices in the U.S., and then started her consulting firm, Crescendo Strategies, in 2012.

Today, she’s a highly-sought-after national speaker having conducted more than 100 engagements in 2016. Workforce Magazine in Chicago named Cara a “Game Changer” for her innovative approach to solving generational issues in the workplace and Recruiter.com listed her in their 2016 “Top 10 Company Culture Experts to Watch,” list. She is also the co-author of the book, What’s Next in HR.

Cara leads the sessions They Drive Me Crazy! Bridging the Generational Divide and Leading The New Workforce: Retaining Talent as Employee Expectations Evolve.

As principal of special events company Masquerade Events, A.J. Steinberg has been creating outstanding successful events for nonprofit and social clients since 1999. With a background in marketing and fundraising, it was natural for her event planning company to become specialists in nonprofit events. Working as a nonprofit consultant and liaison, A.J. became known for her success guiding volunteer committees in their production of nonprofit galas, fashion shows, concerts and street festivals. Working with a broad spectrum of nonprofits including The Jane Goodall Institute, Cystic Fibrosis, BreatheLA and Union Rescue Mission, A.J. became the leader in the field of committee-based fundraising. With a keen understanding of the benefits of engaging volunteer committees to create fundraising events, A.J. also studied the risks involved with having non-trained volunteers representing a nonprofit in their fundraising efforts.

In 2015 A.J. created Queen Bee Fundraising which focuses on the art of nonprofit special event management. A.J. teaches volunteers and nonprofit professionals the strategies for producing successful fundraising events along with guidance on how to successfully lead volunteer committees to achieve their goals. Her workbook series, Successful Nonprofit Events, will be published by the Charity Channel Press in 2017. A.J. Steinberg leads webinars, workshops and appears at speaking engagements that teach the art of committee-based nonprofit special event management.

A.J. leads the session Special Events 101

Maeve is a passionate fundraising professional, focused on inspiring donors to make an impact on the causes they love through philanthropy. Maeve works as a Fundraising Strategist with Blakely Inc., providing strategy for charities on integrated direct response campaigns. Previously, she developed the mid-level giving program at Wilfrid Laurier University, and built a young alumni giving program at Trinity College School. In her spare time, Maeve likes to work out, watch TV and movies, read, tweet, cook vegetarian food, and write for her fundraising and philanthropy-focused blog, www.whatgivesphilanthropy.com.

Maeve leads the session The Neglected Middle Child -- The Key to Inspiring & Engaging Your Mid-Level Donors.

Kent helps nonprofit organizations get the resources they need: money and people. He is a published author, popular speaker and successful fundraising consultant whose purpose in life is to Equip, Inspire and Encourage. Stroman’s book, Asking About Asking, is dramatically transforming the fundraising results of countless charities. His 10 Step Staircase provides a proven method used to engage staff and volunteers in Conversational Fundraising™. Kent’s expertise in fundraising, board governance, strategic planning and leadership development comes from 36 years of serving numerous philanthropic organizations. He is a BoardSource-trained governance consultant, Sarkeys Foundation-approved retreat facilitator, and has earned AFP’s Master Teacher designation. Kent has earned numerous awards and is a frequent speaker and presenter to regional and national audiences. http://www.stromanconsulting.com/

Kent leads the sessions Overcoming Obstacles & Getting to Success in Major Gifts and Asking Your Way to a Gift.

For nearly two decades, Michael Thorson has been helping nonprofit organizations to more effectively raise funds. His experience includes directing multi-million dollar capital campaigns, developing annual funds, social media marketing, planned giving programs, corporate partnerships and large-scale special events, and recruiting, training and directing the efforts of board members and volunteers. Some of the organizations he has worked or consulted for include: Archdiocese of Kansas City KS, Community Counseling Services, American Cancer Society, Meeting Planners International Foundation, British American Chamber of Commerce, Arthritis Foundation and more. In addition to his fundraising career, Michael has been instrumental in helping businesses to increase their visibility and profits through more effective marketing, partnership development and social media. PhilanthroPros provides an opportunity for him to share his experience and knowledge to help nonprofits increase revenue through more effective fundraising, modern marketing and by developing partnerships with businesses that share their vision.

Along with Paul Keefe, Michael leads the NPA session Harvest Time: 10 Ways to Increase Revenue through Low Hanging Fruit.

Mazarine Treyz is the author of The Wild Woman’s Guide to Fundraising, and founder of WildWomanFundraising.com, a popular fundraising resource with 50,000 monthly readers. She also wrote The Wild Woman’s Guide to Social Media, given a 5 star rating by Nonprofit.About.com. Her latest book, Get the Job! Your Fundraising Career Empowerment Guide, was also given a 5 star review by Nonprofit.About.com. Ms. Treyz has co-founded a nonprofit and worked in fundraising roles for 10 years. She's raised millions for small, national and international charities via grants, events, sponsorships, crowdfunding, appeals. She's trained over 10,000 people from 2011-2015 and helped nonprofits raise millions more.

Mazarine leads the sessions Your First 90 Days in Your Fundraising Job and Next Level Fundraising

Erin is a puzzle solver. With each client engagement, she merges her extensive fundraising experience with a true grasp of each client’s unique story to find solutions to complex problems. Her ability to listen and quickly prioritize, has allowed her to significantly impact fundraising growth across organizations, breakdown and revitalize data solutions, and exceed annual revenue goals.

Throughout her eighteen years of nonprofit management experience she has brought creativity, energy and analytical skills to those organizations she has had the opportunity to serve. Erin’s professional experience includes Chief Development Officer of a national sorority, Director of Development within a regional healthcare system, and Vice President of Analytics for a fundraising consulting firm. She has played almost every internal role and approaches her client work with not only a broad best practice view, but from the viewpoint of having been in the “chair.”

Erin received a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University in 1998 and a Masters Degree in Higher Education Administration from the College of William and Mary in 2001.

Erin leads the sessions Data. Curiosity. Creativity. Building the Bridge and Taking the Plunge: Data Analysis Deep Dive

Dr. Theo Tsaousides is a neuropsychologist, entrepreneur, and author of the book Brainblocks: Overcoming the 7 hidden barriers to success. He is a brain-training expert, with extensive research and clinical experience on traumatic brain injuries, and a faculty member at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

Dr. Theo helps his clients use their brains more efficiently for the pursuit of their goals. He provides training to individuals, groups, and organizations, nationally and internationally. He has one of the most difficult to pronounce last names in the industry, surpassed only by Mihaly Csikszentimhalyi, author of Flow.

Theo leads the session The 7 Habits of Highly Ineffective People and How to Beat Them

Andrea is the co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies and was the Community Manager for Social Media Examiner, for over 2 years. She also uses her Improv comedy skills to blog as a slightly cranky character, Grandma Mary – Social Media Edutainer on her site at www.AndreaVahl.com.

Andrea leads the session called Facebook Advertising Secrets for Nonprofits.

Katrina VanHuss has been driving fundraising with communications and recognition programs for organizations like the American Cancer Society, Special Olympics, and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society since founding her company, TurnKey, in 1989. Katrina's expertise lies in increasing peer to peer event participants' fundraising income levels with analysis of past fundraiser behavior, understanding the mechanisms of human decision-making, and making full use of human desire for personal recognition. Her programs consistently produce ROI’s in excess of 500%.

Katrina is a member of the Virginia Council of CEOs and is a fundraising volunteer for Special Olympics, Relay For Life, and the ARC, for which she also lobbies. She graduated from Virginia Tech with degrees in communications (BA) and biology (BS).

Katrina leads the session The Social Science Behind Donor Recognition

Erica Waasdorp, President of A Direct Solution (www.adirectsolution.com), lives and breathes direct response and fundraising and can be considered a Philanthropyholic. Building partnerships and trying to find the best solution for members and donors and thus clients’ needs are what Erica does best. Her multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural experience are of added value to those clients interested in raising money internationally and her experience in monthly giving has given her an edge for those clients who are ready to embark on this way of giving.

Erica Waasdorp started A Direct Solution in December of 2003 with more than twenty years of experience in direct marketing, from both sides of the desk, on the client side and the agency side. She has since worked with numerous non-profit clients on and off-Cape. She has helped several organizations with their annual fund campaigns, monthly giving, grant writing, events and public relations. Erica contributes to various industry publications, both in the US and abroad, and she has spoken at numerous nonprofit conferences, ranging from fundamentals of fundraising, to international fundraising, to monthly giving. She is also the US Ambassador for the International Fundraising Congress (IFC) (www.resource-alliance.org) Erica is the author of Monthly Giving. The Sleeping Giant. She can be reached @ericawaasdorp.

Erica leads the session called How to Turn Small Donors into Monthly Donors to Generate Ongoing Revenue for your Nonprofit.

Andrea Waltz is the co-author of the best-selling book, Go for No! Yes is the Destination, No is How You Get There. Along with her partner Richard Fenton, they teach businesses, entrepreneurs, and organizations of all types how to overcome fears of failure, rejection, and how to "LOVE" the word No! It's a bit counter-intuitive and it works. Their philosophies have been embraced by people in a wide variety of industries and businesses to rave reviews and amazing results. Their book, Go for No! hit #1 on Amazon’s “Selling” list and has since remained in the top 20 of ‘Sales’ books for the last 3 years.

Andrea leads the session on dealing with rejection called Go For No For Fundraising Success.

Jay Wilkinson has been actively involved in the nonprofit community his entire life. He sits on the board of several nonprofits and is an avid supporter of programs that provide leadership and enrichment programs for America’s youth. As a philanthropist, Jay has raised millions of dollars for nonprofit organizations. As an educator, he has trained thousands of fundraisers, marketers and nonprofit executives and has appeared on CNN and other national news outlets discussing the important role nonprofits play in the U.S. economy.

Jay is the founder and CEO of Firespring—a company that provides beautiful websites and essential tools to nonprofit organizations. Firespring helps nonprofits raise money, manage donors, organize volunteers and conduct events while presenting a powerful and professional online presence. Firespring is proud to be the first B-Corporation in Nebraska and is on a quest to transform the business landscape by encouraging all companies to leverage their people and profit as a force for good.

Jay leads the session How to Avoid Fundraising's Quiet Killer: Donor Attrition

Tycely Williams has raised and managed more than $69 million dollars for nonprofit organizations. Currently, Tycely serves as a Regional Chief Development Officer for the American Red Cross. Prior to this position, she was the Association Director of Major Gifts for the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington. Over the past 18 years, she founded and led a consulting company, served as a Director of Development for two health and human services organizations, the Artistic Director of two community-based dance studios, and the Executive Director for a nonprofit organization founded by a Fortune 500 Company.

Tycely holds an Executive Masters in Leadership from The McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. A cum laude graduate of Wake Forest University, Tycely possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications with distinguished departmental honors and a minor in Journalism. In addition, she has earned a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University and a Certificate in Professional Fundraising from Boston University. Tycely is a Certified Fund Raising Executive and Immediate Past President of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Washington Metro Chapter.

Tycely leads the An Introduction to Creating Sustainable Systems for Your Nonprofit session.