We’re grateful for the knowledge, expertise and generosity of our 2022 “Minds” speakers. We’re still adding more, so check back!
🍎 = Returning Meeting of the Minds Faculty Member!
🍏 = First-Time Meeting of the Minds Faculty Member!
Bob Burdenski – Co-Chair 🍎
Bob Burdenski is an internationally-recognized annual and regular giving programs consultant for schools, colleges and universities. He is a prolific writer and published author, often appearing in CURRENTS Magazine, the member magazine of the Council for the Advancement and the Support of Education (CASE). Bob is the author of three CASE books: Innovations in Annual Giving: Ten Departures That Worked, which presents ten U.S. case histories of advanced annual giving strategies; More Innovations in Annual Giving, Ten Global Departures That Worked, which features case histories from institutions around the world; and a new CASE book, Online Innovations in Annual and Regular Giving, Ten Dozen Departures That Worked. In 2013, Innovations in Annual Giving was published by Fudan University in Shanghai, becoming the first CASE book translated into Chinese.
Bob is a recipient of the CASE Crystal Apple Award for Lifetime Teaching Excellence as ranked by his audiences. He has educated (and entertained) at presentations throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, including numerous CASE Europe Annual and Regular Giving Conferences and Masterclasses. He presented CASE’s first-ever annual giving training programs in India, Japan, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia, and he is also a frequent contributor to CASE’s Online Speaker Series on the subject of annual and regular giving. In 2019, Bob served for the third-straight year as Chair of the CASE Institute for Senior Annual Giving Professionals, and was named a CASE Laureate for his years of volunteer service to the profession.
Since 2002, Bob has served as the moderator of FundList, the largest fundraising e-mail discussion listserv in the world, with thousands of development professional subscribers.
John Taylor – Co-Chair 🍎
John Taylor is Principal of John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC. For nearly 5 years John served as Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement Services, as well as Interim Campaign Manager during his last 18 months, at North Carolina State University. He holds a B.A. in Mass Communications and Socio-Political Change from Vanderbilt University, and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University. John has also served as Vice President for Research and Data Services at CASE – a position he held from its inception in late 2002. Prior to that he was the Director of Alumni & Development Records at Duke University for nearly 15 years.
John formed one of the largest advancement-related listservs in the world, FundSvcs, now with over 3,600 subscribers. He has spoken at hundreds of conferences across the country and received the CASE Crystal Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching. He is the Founder and Former President of the Association of Advancement Services Professionals. John received the AASP Jonathan Lindsey Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. He resides in Durham, NC, with his wife and children.
Annamaria Ahern 🍎
Annamaria Ahern is the Assistant Vice President, Annual Philanthropy, CHOC Foundation.
Armik Allen 🍎
Armik Allen is the Executive Director of Advancement Services at California Lutheran University. She has more than two decades of advancement experience, a deep understanding of what organizations need to thrive, and the insight to tailor programs for the greatest effect. Armik specializes in the functional infrastructure of development systems, preserving the best of existing operations while implementing improvements that enhance the organization’s potential. Armik and her teams have maximized operational efficiencies in fundraising, gift processing, reporting and analytics, constituent tracking, relationship management, fund management, and donor relations. Prior to her current role, Armik served as the Senior Director of Advancement Services at California State University San Marcos and was the Associate Vice President of Advancement Services at the Kansas State University Foundation.
Kristen Andersen Daley 🍏
Kristen Andersen Daley is the Vice President, Development & External Relations at Claremont Graduate University. She leads CGU’s alumni engagement and development, including strategic partnerships. Andersen-Daley joined CGU in 2017 as assistant vice president of development for the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management. Prior to working with CGU, Andersen-Daley spent 15 years in development and external relations serving various organizations in the U.S. and the U.K., including California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Teach For America; and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Andersen-Daley holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and a Master of Public Administration from USC’s Sol Price School of Public Policy.
Gizel Avina 🍏
Gizel Avina is Associate Director of Alumni Relations & Development at Claremont Graduate University. Gizel Avina is associate director of alumni relations & development at Claremont Graduate University. She has over 6 years of experience working in nonprofit. In her current role, she works with the Office of Alumni Engagement in various alumni programs and events and the Office of Development & External Relations in engagement initiatives for all constituents and community members. Being a first-generation college student, Gizel is dedicated to working with donors in order to help students flourish.
Amanda Baca 🍏
Amanda Baca is Director of Development at the University of New Mexico Foundation.
Lily Barger 🍏
Lily Barger is Director of Constituent Management Technologies at University of California, Riverside.
Kristine Barker 🍏
Kristine Barker has helped raise millions of dollars for La Sierra University. She currently serves as the Annual Fund Director and has over 8 years of experience working in fundraising, communication and media. In her spare time, she enjoys ice cream, laughing out loud, and outdoor activities.
Kevin A. Barry 🍏
Kevin A. Barry is currently the Senior Director of Development at Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles, where he leads all efforts for individual giving to resource the institution. For the past 20+ years, Kevin has held fundraising roles with a focus on building cultures of philanthropy, engaging innovative strategies to increase donor bases nationally and internationally, and working to cultivate effective teams. He holds a BA in Communications from DeSales University, and a MA in communications and public relations from LaSalle University. He writes and speaks about various philanthropic issues.
Emily Berry 🍏
Emily Berry is the Assistant Vice President of Development, Individual and Annual Giving at Miami University.
David Birkinshaw
David Birkinshaw is Vice President Of Commercial Sales at BrightCrowd.
Jill Boline 🍎
Jill Boline is a founder of the Meeting of the Minds Conference, and served for 23 years as Director of Annual Giving at CSU Los Angeles before retiring in 2020. She has great taste in wine and her husband Don is a fabulous chef. You’d be retired, too.
Christina Brandel, CFRE 🍎
Christina Brandel has a passion for making the world a better place for all and loves a good “why.” After nearly two decades in non-profit and higher education fundraising, she has joined the team at Marketing Communication Resource, Inc. (MCR) to leverage her skills and experience on behalf of MCR clients. She was a first-generation college student who is fiercely committed to providing post-secondary education to those who choose it. She firmly believes that showcasing causes that are meaningful and connect with donors is important work.
Kerry Brooke Steere 🍎
Kerry Brooke Steere is the Director of Annual Giving at Claremont McKenna College. For nearly five years, she led the Annual Giving team at Colorado College (CC) to a record 41.4% growth in alumni donors. Prior to CC, Kerry was a member of the “dream team” at Wellesley College which celebrated 53.4% overall alumni participation. She is a proud alumna of Skidmore College, where she earned a dual B.S. in Business Economics/Management, and Theater. Like any good liberal arts grad, Kerry has a variety of interests including performing, hiking with her husband, Kevin, and their Bernese Mountain Dog, listening to podcasts at the gym, and refining the perfect ask amount algorithm. She is thrilled to be a part of Meeting of the Minds in 2022.
Terri Carlos 🍎
Terri Carlos is one of the founders of the Meeting of the Minds Conference and is the retired Director of Philanthropy for Student Affairs and interim director for the College of Natural Science at California State University, San Bernardino. In her role, she was the chief fundraiser for the university’s campus-wide priorities including the EOP Renaissance Scholars, the Veterans Success Center, the Obershaw DEN Food Pantry, Undocumented Student Success Center and other student success initiatives. Prior to her appointment, she served as the university’s Director of Annual Giving since April 1999, overseeing the entire annual giving program, including the annual Faculty Staff Campaign. During her tenure, Terri has raised more than $11.7 million in gifts and pledges, including $5.7 million in planned gifts and several scholarship endowments. She served as a Vice Chair for the 2020 CASE District VII Connect West conference, and she served CASE DVII as a board member from 2019-2020 and 2007-2011; notably as program co-chair for the 2009 conference held in San Francisco and as Conference Chair for 2011 in Los Angeles. She and her husband Jorge live in San Bernardino with their daughter, Elle.
Caroline Chang 🍏
Caroline Chang is Vice President, Product and Community Engagement at UC Innovation.
Rachel Cleary 🍎
Rachel Cleary is Sales Manager at GetThru, where she provides strategic support to GetThru’s education clients. Rachel’s background is in higher education fundraising, and she’s led annual giving programs at The New School and the Cal Alumni Association, UC Berkeley.
Colleen Cook 🍏
Colleen Cook is the Director of Operations at Vinyl Marketing, where she’s known for making things happen. A true rockstar at keeping the rest of the team on track, her incredible talents are on display every day—from directing operations to client relations, she brings an incredible work ethic and level of intelligence to every challenge that arises. With a professional background in non-profit leadership, fund development, and marketing, Colleen takes that experience and pairs it with inventive, modern digital marketing strategy to help clients achieve record-breaking results.
Jenny Cooke Smith 🍏
Jenny Cooke Smith is Senior Director for AMAtlas Services at CASE. AMAtlas is the global resource for educational advancement-related metrics, benchmarks and analytics. Jenny specializes in analyzing advancement trends, interpreting comparison benchmarks, and helping people understand the “stories behind the data.” Prior to joining CASE, Jenny spent 15 years in a variety of positions within Blackbaud’s Target Analytics, most recently leading donorCentrics™ benchmarking cohorts, which provide opportunities for institutions and organizations globally to review and discuss direct marketing and annual giving trends. During her time in this role, she built and expanded the Higher Education cohort groups, spurred development to analyze the impact of newer initiatives within fundraising, such as giving days, crowdfunding and mid-level giving analysis, and partnered with offices in Canada, the U.K., and Australia to deliver results specific to NGO’s in those fundraising markets. Jenny has also been a CASE volunteer and frequent speaker at CASE and other industry conferences.
Emilie Davis 🍏
Emilie Davis is Associate Director, Donor Communications at Miami University.
Kevin Decker, MS 🍏
Kevin Decker, MS, is the Director of Data Analytics at San Diego State University. He has worked in prospect development for 20 years. He previously worked in prospect research and management during the University’s successful $815M comprehensive fundraising campaign which was completed in 2017. Kevin has volunteered on the board of the California Advancement Researchers Association and on the curriculum planning committee for APRA Prospect Development. His passion for statistics and performance analytics can be traced back to his lifelong interest in baseball.
Rodger Devine, EdD 🍎
Rodger Devine is the AVP for Advancement Operations at Pomona College. He previously served as Senior Executive Director of Business Intelligence for USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, including USC Shoah Foundation, at the University of Southern California. Rodger oversees data analytics, information strategy, advancement operations, data administration, prospect development and leadership annual giving programs. Prior to joining USC, Rodger served as the Director of Information, Analytics and Annual Giving at the Michigan Ross School of Business, where he managed information, analysis, reporting and business processes related to development strategy, portfolio activity and goal attainment. Rodger brings over 15 years of experience in enterprise information systems, software engineering, IT operations, organizational development and cross-functional leadership. Rodger completed his graduate studies in information, analysis and retrieval at the University of Michigan, where he was a member of the Michigan Data Sciences team and co-founded the Student Organization for Information, Analysis, and Retrieval. In his spare time, Rodger speaks at various conferences, teaches machine learning workshops and volunteers in data projects that benefit non-profits such as the A2 Data Dive. Rodger is the author of Data Science for Fundraising: Build Data-Driven Solutions Using R.
Frank Dickerson, PhD 🍏
Frank Dickerson came to see that the effective use of language is the critical factor in crafting a successful marketing or fund-raising message. He fell into fund raising in 1969 as president of a student organization his freshman year at The Ohio State University. He felt he had been tricked, since the job description said nothing about having to raise funds. But as a communication major he enjoyed the process and ended up making a career of it. Eventually he helped lead development at an international NGO that now raises $700 million annually. He left that job to go into consulting. He earned his BA at Ohio State, an MA at The International School of Theology, an MBA at Pepperdine, and a PhD from Claremont Graduate University. In his career he has trained thousands both how to write fund-raising copy and how to ask individuals to support a cause in face-to-face visits.
Becky Frantz, PhD 🍎
Becky Frantz, PhD is the Executive Director of Customer Services at UC Davis Advancement Services. In this role she oversees the Business Relationship Manager team, who focus on user data and system needs, as well as the Service Desk and Training team, who support getting users onboarded to the division-supported systems. She finds joy in having users engaged with data and systems so they can do their jobs more seamlessly. Becky also supports the team in making decisions on gift policy and gift agreements. Becky holds a PhD in Education and Human Resources from Colorado State University and Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from Penn State University. She is also trained specifically in applied statistics and has been a National Data Policy Fellow sponsored by the NSF and Association for Institutional Research. Before UC Davis Becky spent time in the Development and Alumni shops at Stanford and Penn State.
Amanda Garvin-Adicoff 🍎
Amanda Garvin-Adicoff is an IT Architect Supervisor with Advancement Services at the University of California, Davis. Her team serves as part of Business Intelligence to support the Annual Fund and other UC Davis schools and units. With more than a decade of combined experience in programming and higher education, Amanda is dedicated to creating and improving processes that make all aspects of fundraising easier for her development colleagues at UC Davis. Amanda is a polyglot with a passion for language acquisition and holds a BA in Economics from Stanford University.
Natalie Graff 🍎
Natalie Graff serves as the Executive Director of Advancement Services for Cal Poly Pomona, overseeing their Prospect Research & Management, Donor Relations & Stewardship, and Gift Processing offices. With over 13 years of experience in higher education fundraising, as well as an MBA from Cal Poly Pomona, she and her team ensure that all members of the Bronco family have an exceptional philanthropic experience. In her free time, Natalie enjoys spending time with her husband, two cats, dog, and friends. She also enjoys thrift shopping and collecting vintage furniture.
Amy Hanson 🍏
Amy Hanson is the Director of Reporting and Business Analysis at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). In this role, she serves as a project manager, business analyst and manages the portfolio of projects for Advancement and Alumni Relations in collaboration with stakeholders, business analysts, and developers, and oversees the training program. Prior to joining Caltech, Amy was a project manager in the Office of Annual Giving at North Carolina State University, and served as counsel on capital campaigns for major institutions in her role as an associate director for Community Counseling Services. She has worked for a variety of nonprofit organizations, including the San Marino Schools Foundation and the John Muir Project at Earth Island Institute. Amy holds a MNA with from North Park University, a BA in liberal studies with an emphasis in elementary education from Point Loma University, a BA in fine art from the Design Institute of San Diego, is a Prosci® change management practitioner and a certified project manager professional.
Marina Tan Harper, PhD 🍎
Marina joined UC Davis in 2016 as Senior Director for International Development. She has customised giving platforms for alumni, parents, and friends of UC Davis to give from abroad: across Asia and more. Understanding local giving traditions, propensity to give, affinity, connectedness, and readiness of varied constituents on the ground, she knows this is not one-size-fits fundraising. Marina was also the Founding Director of the Development Office at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. During her tenure from 2005 to 2014, S$500 million of private support was raised, she made a deep and transformational impact on students, faculty and the university through private support with the naming of: Wee Kim Wee School, Rajaratnam School, Lee Kong Chian School, Lien Ying Chow Drive, Tan Chin Tuan Lecture Theatre, Toh Kian Chui Annex, Margaret Lien Centre for Professional Success, and Sembcorp Marine Lab. Marina Harper earned her PhD in philanthropic studies in 2019, from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University.
Elizabeth Hersh-Tucker 🍏
Elizabeth Hersh-Tucker is the Director, Philanthropy – Southwest Region for the National Park Foundation.
Spencer K. Izor, M.Ed., J.D. 🍏
Spencer Izor is Senior Director of Development at Miami University.
Karen Latora 🍏
Karen Latora is Customer and Partner Advocate with UC Innovation.
Ryan Lawrence 🍎
Ryan Lawrence is the Director of Digital Philanthropy at UC Berkeley. With more than 13 years of experience in Higher Ed fundraising, Ryan manages UC Berkeley’s Annual Programs Digital Team that focuses on crowdfunding, giving days, student philanthropy, texting, and more. East-coaster turned west-coaster, Ryan previously worked at the University of Delaware where he worked on online fundraising in Annual Giving.
Becca Lizarraga 🍏
Becca Lizarraga is the Assistant Director of Digital Philanthropy at UC Berkeley. From summer orientation leader to student caller to working on the first giving day at UC Santa Cruz, she has done a little bit of everything. A Jane of most trades, if you will. She is the program manager for Berkeley Crowdfunding and a key strategist on giving days and other digital giving campaigns.
Mark Longo 🍎
Mark Longo is the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Development Administrative Management at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). In this role, Mark collaborates with development stakeholders to plan, facilitate, and accomplish strategically identified, cross-functional projects and process improvements. Areas of focus include benchmarking, project management, development administrative management, and board meeting support. Previously, Mark was the deputy director of strategic development services at Georgetown University, and he led the development operations teams at the National Geographic Society and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Mark is a frequent presenter at AASP, CASE, APRA, Academic Impressions, and other industry conferences. Mark earned a bachelor’s degree in economics-finance from Bentley University and a master’s degree in leadership from Georgetown University. Mark has also received a certificate in project management from Caltech and is a certified Prosci® change management practitioner.
Shalonda F. Martin 🍎
Shalonda F. Martin, EdD is the Senior Director, Data Integrity at the University of Southern California. Shalonda is an advancement services professional and DEI strategist with over 19 years of experience. She has led teams at Pepperdine University, UCLA, and USC. She specializes in developing and curating DEI content, developing quality assurance programs, leading change efforts, and developing comprehensive strategies grounded in equity. Shalonda is the Sr. Director of Data Integrity at USC and is also the founder of SM Coaching and Consulting. She has a BS and MS from Pepperdine University and an EdD in Org Change and Leadership from USC where her dissertation examined the paucity of women of color in higher education.
Felicity Meu 🍎
Felicity Meu spent 9 years with Stanford’s Office of Development. As Stanford’s inaugural Director of Next Generation Giving, she worked closely with individual donors and volunteers but also helped craft the University’s vision for engaging its next great generation of philanthropists. Leaning into the needs of young donors, Felicity spent time consulting for Stanford’s Effective Philanthropy Lab, working on a project dedicated to taking a deep dive into better understanding the needs of millennial donors. She currently serves as Senior Director of Partner Success for GiveCampus where she continues to work toward her goal of helping more people be more generous more strategically.
Kalyn Rose Miller 🍏
Kalyn Rose Miller is the Associate Director of Alumni Relations for Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker School of Management. Over the past ten years, Kalyn Rose has worked in non-profit and higher education specializing in event planning, volunteer management and constituent engagement. In her current role, she leads alumni relations activities for alums of the Drucker School. Connecting people to their higher education institutions through volunteerism, philanthropy and fun is her biggest passion.
Dan Montplaisir 🍎
Dan Montplaisir serves as Chief Advancement Officer and member of the President’s Cabinet at Cal Poly Pomona. He also serves as the chief executive officer for the Cal Poly Pomona Philanthropic Foundation. His portfolio includes all units related to fundraising, strategic communications, alumni and parent programs, and campus events. Montplaisir came to Cal Poly Pomona with more than 25 years of higher education advancement experience at both public and private institutions. Throughout his career, Dan has focused on building accountability and transparent performance systems that allow campus leadership to recognize the impact of philanthropy. Prior to Cal Poly Pomona, Dan served the University of California Irvine, as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Development, overseeing the $1 billion “Shaping the Future” Campaign. Originally from Florida, Dan served as Vice President for Advancement at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he led the successful completion of their first comprehensive campaign and worked with the Board of Trustees to unveil a national media campaign. Montplaisir earned a BA from the University of Central Florida and a Master’s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. He holds the professional credential of CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive) and is active in professional organizations that include CASE (Council for Advancement of Secondary Education) and AFP (Association of Fund Raising Professionals).
Lucy Moore 🍏
Lucy Moore is Senior Development Manager at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and is joining her first Meeting of the Minds Conference live from Brisbane, Australia. Lucy is an experienced fundraiser who has also worked at The University of Queensland (UQ) and the University of Melbourne. She has significant experience in Donor Relations, Regular Giving and Campaigns. At QUT, Moore has strategic oversight for building the donor pipeline through Major Giving, Regular Giving, Donor Relations, Bequests and Prospect Development. Prior to QUT, Moore established and developed UQ’s Donor Relations programme during the “Not if, when” Campaign. From 2006-2010, Moore managed Annual Giving at the University of Melbourne, increasing the funds raised and donors by 60%.
Monika Moore 🍏
Monika Moore is Director, Donor Relations and Stewardship at Scripps College. As is the case for many advancement professionals, Monika Moore didn’t grow up dreaming of being a fundraiser. “My first advancement job was the result of a conversation between my parents and Faye, the longtime office manager in alumni engagement at my alma mater. She connected with my mother (also named Faye) and ended the discussion by saying I should call if I wanted a campus job.” Over 20 years later, Monika is a leader in the advancement profession. A graduate of both Pomona College and Claremont Graduate University, she has held key alumni relations positions at both of those institutions, and currently serves as the director of donor relations and stewardship at Scripps College. In addition to leading alumni and parent engagement efforts at the University of La Verne and Occidental College, Monika is an active advancement and engagement consultant, having conducted external program reviews for several institutions. She is the convener of the Southern California Independent College Alumni Professionals (SCICAP) since 2019 and is a CASE volunteer, co-chairing the Alumni Relations track of the most recent District VII Conference and serving on the CASE Commission on Alumni Relations from 2017-2020.
Julie Nguyen 🍏
Julie Nguyen is Director, Business Intelligence and Strategy at the University of Southern California.
Valerie Nguyen 🍎
Valerie is currently the Director of Advancement Services in University Advancement at California State University, Dominguez Hills. She has 18+ years of experience in higher education advancement services. She manages the daily operations of Advancement Services team including gift processing, database management, prospect management and tracking system (PMATS), online giving site development and maintenance for the university, financial accounting services, technological & training support, and other related functions. She serves on various campus-wide committees and partners with internal and external entities to anticipate needs and provide detailed targeted analytical needs that influence and support fundraising strategies and priorities. Valerie has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science with System Programming concentration from CSU Fullerton. She completed the Leadership Development Program at CSU Fullerton in 2010-2011. She also has a certificate in Healthcare Information Technology. She resides in Westminster, CA, with her husband and their 2 children. Her philosophy: ALWAYS REMAIN A STUDENT of industry, system, and people.
Simon Nim 🍏
Simon Nim is a Lead Business Relationship Manager at the University of California, Davis. He helps front-line fundraisers with their data needs, and supports vendor security risk assessments as well as other internal data security requirements. Before coming to UC Davis, Simon was a senior software developer working with Fortune 500 companies creating embedded software and also worked at Symantec and Google as a software engineer working on encryption. During his time off he enjoys outdoor activities such as snowboarding and racing cars. He also fabricates and modifies his vehicles and enjoys racing when he can. Simon graduated from the University of California, Davis with a degree in International Relations, focusing on developing regions.
Arah Parker 🍏
Arah Parker serves as the Budget Analyst for University Advancement at Cal Poly Pomona. While she has worked in this position since 2015, she has been in the CSU system for fifteen years. Currently, Arah is serving as the chair of the University Advancement Anti-Bias Taskforce, along with colleague Natalie Graff. The UA Anti-Bias Taskforce focuses on addressing issues and eliminating anti-bias with an advancement lens. A proud graduate of the CSU, Arah earned her B.S. in Business Administration and M.A. in Social Sciences from Cal State San Bernardino. Currently, Arah is working on her Doctorate in Leadership for Educational Justice at the University of Redlands.
Kristi Pease
Kristi Pease is the Senior Director of Annual Campaign Operations at the University of Nebraska Foundation. She has 20 years of annual giving experience and leads the development, production, and execution of integrated annual campaigns for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Kristi is always looking for new and exciting opportunities for donors to support UNL, and this has contributed to an increase in the number of donors to her program. This past fiscal year, UNL had a 14% growth in number of donors and a 25% increase in the number of new donors who made a gift. In her free time, Kristi enjoys hiking with her husband and spending time with their two dogs, Jax and Charlie. She is also an avid moviegoer of independent films.
Don Philabaum 🍏
Don Philabaum is CEO of TalentMarks, an online provider of career and professional development programming to career centers and alumni associations. TalentMarks’ Career Speaker Series provides alumni associations with a branded career solutions that feature 31 scheduled career lectures per year. Recently published authors provide tips on managing careers, changing jobs, dealing with workplace issues, soft skills needed for advancement, and even retirement strategies. The firm’s Grad Career Festival is a four-day online career conference that introduces grads to 72 of the world’s top career authors who share tips, skills, and strategies grads need to launch their careers. Philabaum has authored ½ a dozen books including, Alumni Online Engagement, Change It! Create a Net-Centered College Culture, and The Unemployed Grad, And What Parents Can Do About It, as well as a dozen whitepapers, including, The Alumni Career Shop, Moving Athletes from the Playing Field to the Corporate Team, and Engaging Boomers with Virtual Content.
Loni Rocchio 🍏
Loni Rocchio is Senior Director, Annual Giving at UCLA Health.
Robin Savoian 🍎
Robin is the Associate Director of Development at the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA) overseeing upper-level, annual giving. Previously, she worked with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum and Walt Disney World. She earned her BS degree in entomology from UC Davis.
Caroline Shine 🍏
Caroline Shine is an Enterprise Account Executive and has worked at EverTrue for close to 8 years. Starting in 2014 as a Customer Success Manager, Caroline has enjoyed building close relationships and partnering with EverTrue customers to ensure their success. She is able to apply this knowledge as an Enterprise Account Executive as she works with institutions to identify the best software, strategy, and data offerings to meet their specific needs. She is currently based in Chicago, but has plans to move to Houston in the Spring with her husband and 1 year old English bulldog.”
Rachel Spencer 🍎
Rachel is the Telefundraising Expert at VanillaSoft and works with 100+ universities on telephone-based campaigns. She is a true phonathon expert benefitting from a long and varied career in tele-fundraising. Over the last decade she has graduated from student caller, to professional tele-fundraiser, to phonathon manager and now phonathon advisor and consultant. In her present role at VanillaSoft she works closely with more than 80 universities around the world on a wide variety of telephone-based campaigns.
Brad Tsai 🍏
Brad Tsai is a Board Member with UC Innovation.
Jonathan Van Oss 🍎
Jon Van Oss brings over 30 years of in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience gained from various senior data analytics and market research positions for organizations, such as the American Medical Association and World Vision. Jon has also served for more than 15 years as Vice President of Data Analytics at several advertising agencies that served a wide range of national and international non-profit organizations. He is nationally recognized for his insightful marketing and fundraising database analytics, decision-tree modeling, segmentation, testing and attrition strategies and analyses.
Samantha Varner 🍏
Samantha Varner is Director, Alumni Relations and Engagement at CSU Northridge.
Ray Watts 🍎
Raymond W. Watts, CSPG, is Associate Vice President for Development at Claremont McKenna College. Ray manages the Development team at the College, and oversees all College philanthropic outreach efforts, working closely with Trustees, the President and the Vice President for Advancement to achieve organizational goals. Before assuming the role of AVP at CMC, Ray served for 12 years as Senior Associate Vice President for Advancement and Senior Philanthropic Advisor at the University of Redlands, and previously served for 5 years as the University’s Director of Development, overseeing the major gift fundraising for its historic Centennial Campaign. Prior to Redlands, Ray spent 7 years at his alma mater, Loyola Marymount University of Los Angeles, spending the last 4 years as Director of Annual and Special Campaigns. Prior to this role, Ray served as Director of University Relations Administration, overseeing special events, donor stewardship and worked closely with the Vice President of University Relations. Ray received a bachelor’s degree in English literature from LMU and a master’s degree in Business Administration from LMU with an emphasis in management. Ray received CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive) certification in 1999, CSPG (Certified Specialist in Planned Giving) certification in 2014 and has presented at multiple conferences on varying topics relating to development and management. He is also an adjunct faculty member in the School of Business at the University of Redlands, teaching classes on management, leadership and working with students on their capstone projects.
Laura Wensley 🍎
Laura is the Director of Leadership, Annual and Reunion Giving at Pomona College. Prior to joining Pitzer College, she served as Senior Director of Development and Alumni Relations at The Webb Schools, managing the development office and an alumni program serving eight decades of alumni. She supported the school’s last comprehensive campaign which raised $50.4 million and is now part of the team launching Webb’s most ambitious campaign for its Centennial in 2022. Laura has been a faculty member for the CASE Summer Institute for Independent Schools and a speaker for CASE-NAIS, CASE VII and the California Advancement Partnership of Schools conferences.
Mike Wallace 🍏
Mike Wallace is Assistant Vice President, Constituent Relations at Santa Clara University.
Anthony Williams 🍏
Anthony Williams is a Business Relationship Manager with Advancement Services at UC Davis, assisting customers and stakeholders with advancement data projects. Before joining UC Davis, he was a prospect researcher with Educational Media Foundation (K-Love Air1 Radio). A graduate of the Government and Peace and Conflict Resolution programs at Sacramento State, Anthony enjoys spending his free time with his daughter and cycling with family and friends.