We’re grateful for the knowledge, expertise and generosity of our 2026 “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 in 2019 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.
Karen Latora – Co-Chair 🍎
An experienced Advancement Services industry advisor, connector, planner, advocate, and volunteer, Karen Latora brings deep expertise in fostering customer and community engagement. With practitioner experience at the University of California, Karen has led Advancement Services teams, managed system implementations, and drove business process improvement initiatives at UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. Most recently, Karen contributed to retention and advocacy strategies as Head of Community & Customer Marketing at Kindsight and UC Innovation, where she oversaw the strong and steady growth of the ascend customer community and achieved notable marketing success. As a volunteer, Karen has been recognized for building strong communities, and successfully planning event and conference programming and content from the ground up. Karen currently serves on the aasp Board of Directors as the Director of Membership Engagement.
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.
Ally Blasy 🍏
Ally Blasy is the Assistant Vice President of Advancement Operations at Loma Linda University Health, where she oversees data integrity, gift processing, donor records, Donor Engagement, Philanthropy Communications, and Prospect Development. With over a decade of experience in nonprofit advancement, Ally focuses on building systems that support strategic fundraising, donor stewardship, and operational efficiency. She began her philanthropy career in the alumni office at Walla Walla University. Since then, she has led multiple data migrations and automation initiatives to improve transparency, compliance, and donor trust. Her work supports a mission-driven culture of philanthropy rooted in accountability and service. Ally holds a Master’s in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University. She enjoys developing strong teams and mentoring future leaders in the nonprofit sector.
Laurel Brenner 🍏
Laurel Brenner (they/them) is the Director of Change Management & Business Process Strategies for University Advancement & Alumni Relations at UC Irvine. With more than 25 years of experience in higher education fundraising operations/services, and Prosci® change management certification, Laurel helps teams navigate change with clarity, compassion, purpose, and a healthy sense of humor (let’s be honest, it might be a bit beyond what’s healthy). They are a seasoned factotum for University Advancement (ChatGPT tells me the word “versatilist” could also be used), who blends a big-picture perspective with on-the-ground practicality and empathy. Laurel also leads initiatives that foster inclusion, strengthen engagement, and build a connected, resilient community within the crazy, madcap world of University Advancement & Alumni Relations. Laurel focuses on seeing both the forest and the trees – and helping everyone else see them, too.
Greg Carlson 🍎
Greg Carlson is the Director of Annual Giving Programs at the University of Southern California (USC). He brings over a decade of experience in fundraising and specializing in university advancement, digital engagement, and strategic communications. He has worked across a diverse range of institutions, from small private colleges to large public and private universities. At USC, Greg has played a pivotal role in annual giving campaigns, crowdfunding initiatives, and innovative approaches like text-to-give, all while crafting impactful and inclusive storytelling. His expertise includes managing marketing materials, leading successful giving day campaigns, and fostering collaboration across teams with varying leadership styles. Beyond higher education, Greg is passionate about leveraging technology and creative content to engage donors, including A.I. development, empower volunteer fundraisers, and support causes he deeply values.
Grace Casian 🍎
Grace Casian is Executive Director of Philanthropy at Casa Colina Hospital & Centers for Healthcare in Pomona, CA. A seasoned fundraising professional with more than 18 years of experience in the non-profit, higher education, and healthcare sectors, Grace has been instrumental in supporting the furtherance of strategic objectives for two local institutions; Providence St. Jude Medical Center and the University of La Verne. As a skilled strategist, Grace not only led frontline fundraising teams and departments but also developed and implemented strategic fundraising approaches creating opportunities to continuously secure multi-figure gifts. During her time at both institutions, Grace secured many first-time industry accolades and recognitions, including acquiring the first-ever CASE District 7 Annual Giving Grand Gold award, a medical Endowed Chair in neuroscience, and assisting with securing an eight-figure transformational gift. Grace’s passion and experience in both annual and major giving across multiple sectors has afforded her the opportunity to join various strategy task force groups and presentation panels. In 2023, Grace joined a few team members in leading a session on building a pipeline of major gifts prospects (to include annual giving practices) at the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy’s International Conference. In 2024, Grace joined Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare as their Executive Director of Philanthropy.
Justina Cerra 🍏
Justina Cerra is the Assistant Director of Student and Affinity Giving at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where she leads strategies that introduce students and recent graduates to philanthropy. She is passionate about reframing giving as an experience of belonging and shared ownership of institutional impact. Her work builds a lasting, inclusive culture of philanthropy that is rooted in participation and purpose, extending beyond the student experience and into the alumni journey. Prior to her work at Anderson, Justina served as the Interim President of the Board of Directors for the Rising Tide Society, leading the transition of more than 76,000 global members from a multi-million dollar software company to a nonprofit organization structure. She spearheaded the development and execution of Rising Tide’s strategic plan in collaboration with more than 40 key partners ranging from legal to IT, maintaining the organization’s core mission throughout the transition. In addition to her work at UCLA Anderson, Justina also serves as an executive member of the Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Alumni Association Board of Directors, where she advocates for the engagement of alumni who aren’t local to the university through regional and virtual events.
Caroline Chang 🍎
Caroline has been working for Kindsight / UC Innovation since November 2018. Her role sits at the intersection of sales and product, ensuring that ascend, the leading fundraising CRM based on the Salesforce platform, is meeting the needs of clients while remaining an innovative application. Prior to Kindsight / UC Innovation, she was a consultant with a boutique firm based in Chicago, IL working with higher education clients. Her highly successful career as an advancement professional encompassed several roles. As associate vice president for advancement services at Santa Clara University, Caroline oversaw gift processing, records, reporting and technical services, training, research and prospect management, and analytics. She also managed the division’s human resources, budgeting and facilities areas. Previously, she was the director of operations for Stanford University’s Office of Development, with responsibility for gift processing, biographic records and central files (imaging), and also training and reporting, the help desk, technical support and campaign operations. She began her career in development as a fundraiser in the annual fund and as director of annual giving for the Stanford University Medical Center. Chang holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Stanford University, and a master’s degree in business administration from Santa Clara University. Currently she is a member of CASE Industry Advisory Council, and a board member of aasp (Association of Advancement Services Professionals). She is a CASE Laureate, CASE Crystal Apple Award recipient for excellence in teaching and a CASE Global Standards Scholar. She also serves as an advisory board member of the Management and Entrepreneurship department at the Leavey School of Business (Santa Clara University).
Karina Chappell 🍎
Karina Chappell directs the annual giving program at Scripps College, providing leadership on reunion giving, giving days, leadership annual giving, current and past parent giving, annual giving appeals, and cause-based campaigns. Prior to that Karina was the Associate Director of Advancement at California Botanic Garden. At the Garden, she assisted in designing, implementing and evaluating the Garden’s comprehensive fundraising efforts including the annual giving, planned giving, major giving, prospect qualification and research and membership programs as well as capital campaigns.
Wayne Combs, EdD 🍎
Dr. Wayne Combs serves as Associate Vice President of Operations and Administrative Services for CHOC Children’s Foundation. He is a leader in campaign and advancement management with over 25 years of experience supporting higher education and healthcare. At USC Rossier School of Education, Dr. Combs teaches courses in Creativity and Innovation, Strategic Communications and Change Management, and Economics and Finance in the Organizational Change and Leadership doctoral program. In support of philanthropy, Dr. Combs delivers presentations on emerging trends while serving as Past President of the Association of Advancement Services Professionals, Faculty for AHP Madison Institute, and Chair/Faculty for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education as well as the Meeting of the Minds.
Lauren Daley 🍏
Lauren Daley is a Senior Account Executive at Almabase, where she partners with advancement teams to solve real-world challenges across engagement and fundraising.
She lives in the suburb of Chicago with her husband and son. Outside of spending time with her family, she enjoys trying new recipes, reading, and a good bourbon cocktail.
Donna Daly 🍎
Donna Daly is a Senior Consultant with C.I. Partners Direct, Inc., partnering with healthcare and higher education organizations to build fundraising programs that unite compelling storytelling with strategic, data-driven approaches. Her work advances philanthropy through integrated, multi-channel programs designed to strengthen donor engagement and deliver measurable, sustainable results. With more than two decades of experience spanning both agency and in-house roles, Donna brings a nuanced understanding of the operational, financial, and organizational realities facing advancement teams today. She works closely with organizations to design and refine fundraising strategies grounded in performance analytics, best practices, and disciplined planning—helping teams align goals, resources, and outcomes. Known for her collaborative approach and strategic acuity, Donna serves as a trusted advisor and extension of her clients’ teams, supporting annual giving, improving donor retention, and building fundraising programs that sustain long-term philanthropic growth.
Rodger Devine 🍎
Rodger Devine, EdD 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.
Lauren Eckerdt 🍎
Lauren Eckerdt is the Assistant Director of the Advancement Call Center at the University of Southern California (USC), bringing over six years of experience in fundraising and donor engagement. In her current role, Lauren leads a multi-channel strategy that integrates student fundraisers, digital ambassadors, and personalized outreach initiatives to inspire philanthropic support and strengthen connections between alumni, parents, and the university. Lauren is a graduate from Loyola Marymount University where she received her bachelor’s degree and began her fundraising career. Currently, she is completing her master’s degree in public relations innovation, strategy, and management at USC.
Romney Ellis 🍏
Romney Ellis supports the development of Cal Poly Pomona’s Donor Relations and Stewardship program. With more than 25 years of experience in higher education and mission-driven organizations, Romney brings a thoughtful blend of strategic insight, creativity and practical know-how, helping organizations maximize their impact even with modest means. She is an accomplished writer, strategist and project manager with hands-on experience developing recognition programs that deepen donor trust and inspire lasting support. Throughout her career, she has been honored to lend her talents to nonprofits who are committed to cultivating gratitude, strengthening connections and creating meaningful impact.
Emily Etzkorn 🍎
Emily Etzkorn is Customer Success & Loyalty Manager with Vanillasoft. After spending over a decade in the higher education fundraising space, Emily Etzkorn joined Vanillasoft, bringing with her a background in annual giving, engagement centers, and phonathons. In her role at Vanillasoft, Emily is working closely with clients – promoting Vanillasoft within the fundraising world and beyond.
Derrick Fang 🍎
Derrick Fang is Associate Vice President, Advancement Operations and COO, Cal Poly Pomona Philanthropic Foundation.
Megan Fesolovich 🍏
Megan Fesolovich is Senior Associate Director of Annual Giving, Marketing Strategy and Analytics at Claremont McKenna College.
Brooke Fessler Owens 🍏
Brooke Fessler Owens is the Executive Director of Annual Giving & Stewardship at Cal Poly Pomona, where she leads a team shaping the university’s multi-channel fundraising, donor engagement and recognition strategy. A self-described “scrappy public school kid,” Brooke is a proud CSU graduate with 20 years of nonprofit and higher education experience. Brooke brings deep expertise in annual giving, donor relations, events and data-informed strategy. She is known for doing a lot with moderate resources, building collaborative partnerships and creating meaningful donor experiences that strengthen the pipeline and connect supporters to the heart of the university. Before joining Cal Poly Pomona, Brooke spent 17 years at Cal State Fullerton, where she and her team strengthened stewardship practices, built thriving giving day and crowdfunding programs, and expanded leadership and faculty/staff giving. She is passionate about thoughtful fundraising, team-driven innovation and helping colleagues engage donors in authentic, impactful ways.
Alexa Finn 🍏
Alexa Finn is Assistant Director of Annual Giving, Annual Fund Officer at Claremont McKenna College.
Ian Foster 🍏
Ian Foster is Director, Stewardship & Donor Relations at UC Riverside.
Ryan Frank 🍏
Ryan is the Associate Director of Prospect Development at UC Irvine, where he focuses his work on Relationship Management within Health Advancement. As an embedded strategist at UC Irvine, Ryan specializes in working closely with senior Development staff and leadership, as well as front-line fundraisers on donor strategy, portfolio optimization, pipeline development, and providing actionable prospect insight. Before UC Irvine, Ryan held director-level positions at NPR and City of Hope. He was also a Senior Researcher at UC San Diego, where he created, implemented, and managed the daily functions of UCSD’s Grateful Patient Program. Ryan has been in the Prospect Development profession for 20 years. He holds an MLIS degree from San Jose State University and a BA degree in History from UC Santa Barbara. Ryan has served as a board member and is a past President of the California Advancement Researchers Association (CARA).
Aimee Furrie 🍏
Aimee Furrie is Customer Success Lead with FundMiner. Aimee is thrilled to join FundMiner as the new Customer Success Lead, bringing more than a decade of experience in higher education advancement and a deep love for mission-driven work. She’s spent her career supporting people and organizations that drive meaningful change — first through roles in donor relations, communications, and annual giving at four different institutions, and later in the SaaS world, where she built a radically personalized donor outreach program and led Customer Success at a fast-growing startup. When she’s not working, you can find her reading a good book, planning her next travel adventure, or spending time at home with her cat, Rose, and her puppy, Alice. She’s also recently taken up bread baking — a fun and delicious new hobby
Clark Gafke 🍎
Clark Gafke is the Chief Executive Officer of LEAD Philanthropy. Clark Gafke enables nonprofit institutions to attract and motivate donors to achieve the organization’s strategic goals. He helps the organization’s senior leadership evaluate and design strategic fundraising plans in the context of contemporary giving trends. He also assists the organization’s development staff to implement the plan through the design and conduct of specific communication initiatives for Capital and Annual Fund programs. Clark’s experience enables him to provide guidance on using appropriate channels to reach prospects and donors in ways they want to communicate – face-to-face, special events, peer-to-peer texting, calling programs, direct mail efforts, email campaigns, crowdfunding & giving days, online technologies, digital communications, text-to-give, text-to-pledge and a host of other mobile channels. In his 30+ years providing fundraising counsel, Clark has served more than 300 organizations in the US and Canada representing education, healthcare, arts, museums, zoos, aquariums, public broadcasting and membership organizations. In the process, he’s trained and coached more than 11,000 communicators. Beyond this direct service to organizations, he is a frequent speaker at fundraising conferences including NCDC, CASE, AFP, PSI, GEAC, and on many college campuses. He is Past President of the Las Vegas AFP Chapter, a former national delegate, and Past Chair of the chapter’s Education Committee and Every Member Campaign. Clark is also Cialdini Certified Professional and Ethical Influence Practitioner with the Cialdini Institute. Clark began his fundraising work as a student caller in the alumni annual fund program at the University of Missouri. After graduation, he worked at the National 4-H Council in Washington, DC. Clark has served as Vice President and Senior Consultant for a variety of consulting firms. He created the first online caller training program for colleges and universities and served as Dean for 21 PHONE/MAIL 101 workshops. He is an avid supporter and volunteer for 4-H. Both Clark and his wife were named to the University of Missouri Extension Leaders Honor Roll for their long-term commitment and support. Clark resides near St. Louis, MO and enjoys fishing and traveling with his wife and their two daughters.
Laura Gallardo 🍏
Laura Gallardo is Director of Advancement at Pilgrim Place.
Kim Greenhall 🍏
Kim Greenhall is Associate Vice President of Development Operations and Services at Wittier College.
Natalie Greenhouse 🍎
Natalie Greenhouse is the Senior Director of Advancement Services at Occidental College. She is an innovative leader with over a decade of experience in the philanthropy sector, spanning non-profits, K-12, and higher education. She specializes in aligning strategy with systems, driving digital transformations, and implementing CRM solutions to enhance fundraising operations and organizational goals. As a presenter and design partner for Salesforce’s Education Cloud, Natalie brings deep expertise in data management, strategic planning, and program development. Passionate about leveraging technology to amplify impact, Natalie is committed to creating sustainable solutions that empower organizations to achieve operational excellence and advance their missions. Natalie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Occidental College and a Master of Arts in Education Policy from Teachers’ College, Columbia University.
Amy Hanson 🍎
Amy Hanson is the Senior 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.
Megan Hast 🍏
Megan Hast is Director of Leadership Annual Giving and The Scripps Fund at Scripps College.
Joe Lanasa 🍏
Joseph Lanasa is the Higher Education Director at Advance Data Strategy. He has over 15 years of management consulting experience at the executive level, working with large organizations to provide enterprise-level strategy, planning, and program implementation and management. This includes implementing large-scale systems and infrastructure for Higher Education, Healthcare, Financial Services, Pharma, Insurance, and Retail industries.
Ryan Lawrence 🍎
Ryan Lawrence is the Director of Digital Philanthropy at UC Berkeley, where he’s been for the last ten years. He manages the Digital Team that is focused on giving days (yes, multiple), including the 24-hour fundraising blitz, Big Give, as well as a robust crowdfunding program, texting, and student philanthropy. As the team that is focused on the beginning of the donor pipeline, Digital Philanthropy at Cal is focused on donor acquisition and retention through cause-based fundraising campaigns.
Mark Longo 🍎
Mark is the Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives and Development Administrative Management at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Mark was recently awarded the 2025 Distinguished Service Award from CASE District VII. Mark has presented at more than 30 conferences (including AASP, CASE, Meeting of the Minds, ADRP, and Academic Impressions) on topics as diverse as benchmarking, metrics, administrative professionals, dashboards, project management, internal communications, change management, campaigns, board management, stewardship, and prospect management. His accomplishments since joining Caltech in 2013 include: developing Caltech’s first board-approved gift policies; creating and maintaining a best-in-class staff intranet; and developing an executive summary dashboard suite for leadership. The latter project received the 2023 CASE Grand Gold Award and the 2023 AASP Aspire Sapphire Award. Previously, Mark worked at Georgetown University, where he focused his efforts on providing fundraisers with the tools that they needed to be successful in achieving their goals, including: launching a new prospect management system; developing new fundraiser metrics; creating and managing Georgetown’s first centralized donor agreement office; and establishing the university’s U.K. Foundation. Mark began his career in advancement as the first development services director for both the National Geographic Society and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Mark earned a bachelor’s degree in economics-finance from Bentley University (where he currently serves on the Global Alumni Board) and a master’s degree in leadership from Georgetown University. Mark has also received a project management certificate from Caltech and is a certified Prosci® change management practitioner.
Gwyn Martin 🍎
Gwyn Martin is the Assistant Director of Affinity Programs at the University of Southern California (USC). Returning to her Alma Mater after a career in Real Estate, Gwyn brings her passion for all things USC and the understanding that the “why” people give enriches our storytelling and teaches us how to build more unique, personalized connections to the University. In her role with the USC Annual Giving team, she collaborates closely with campus partners in alumni relations, athletics, reunion giving, parent program initiatives, and the senior class student advisory board to strengthen partnerships and develop strategies to enhance their philanthropic impact.
Felicity Meu 🍎
Felicity 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. Currently she serves as Director of Partner Success for GiveCampus where she continues to work against her goal of helping more people be more generous more strategically.
Kalyn Rose Miller 🍎
Kalyn Rose Miller is the Associate Director of Alumni and Family Engagement for Pomona College. Over the past ten years, Kalyn Rose has worked for non-profit and higher education organizations specializing in event planning, volunteer management and community engagement. In her current role, she leads the family engagement efforts for Pomona College. Connecting people to their higher education institutions through volunteerism, philanthropy and fun is her biggest passion.
Lia Miller 🍏
Lia Miller is a Senior Consultant with C.I. Partners Direct, Inc., bringing more than two decades of experience advancing philanthropy in higher education and healthcare. A seasoned leader in annual giving, stewardship, and donor communications, Lia joins C.I. Partners with a passion for helping mission-driven organizations build strong, sustainable giving programs. Lia’s expertise includes designing integrated, multi-channel direct response programs; developing robust donor relations strategies; and advancing culture of philanthropy initiatives. Her work has helped organizations increase revenue, improve donor retention, and strengthen pipeline growth in support of annual, major, and capital campaign efforts. Lia’s fundraising roots trace back to her time as a student phonathon caller—an experience that shaped her belief in the power of personal connection. Today, she brings that same donor-centered approach to every client partnership.
Adam Montague 🍎
Adam Montague is a Digital Marketing Specialist at the University of Southern California (USC). He has over five years of experience producing short form content and utilizes those skills to assist his team in marketing to current and potential donors.
Chelsey Morrison 🍏
Chelsey Morrison is the Associate Director of Advancement Services at Harvey Mudd College, part of The Claremont Colleges consortium. With over a decade of experience in nonprofit and higher education advancement, Chelsey specializes in strategic data management, reporting, process improvement, procedure development, and project management. She holds a Master of Public Administration with a focus on nonprofit, public, and organizational management and was recognized with a CASE District Award for her leadership in CRM implementation and training. Passionate about professional development and operational excellence, Chelsey enjoys sharing practical tools and insights that help advancement teams work more efficiently and create lasting impact.
Akhil Nambiar 🍏
Akhil Dilip Kumar Nambiar is the Senior Director of Demand Generation at Almabase, working at the intersection of advancement and revenue strategy. He has led initiatives across GTM strategy, pipeline intelligence, automation, and applied AI, with a focus on building practical, outcomes-driven systems for higher education teams. His work helps advancement teams move faster, personalize at scale, and make better decisions using the data they already have. Outside of work, Akhil enjoys playing basketball and is a devoted cat parent.
Juli Nguyen 🍎
Juli Nguyen, EdD is the Senior Director of Prospect Operations and Data Strategy at Pomona College, where she leads prospect research, portfolio strategy, business intelligence, and data administration. She previously served as Executive Director of Strategy and Administration at the Dornsife College at the University of Southern California (USC). She earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from USC, with dissertation research focused on how higher education philanthropy can operationalize diversity, equity, and inclusion in sustainable and measurable ways. Juli currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (Apra) and previously co-chaired Apra’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, Justice, and Access and Data Science Now Committees. She has presented nationally on data science, DEI in fundraising, and innovation in advancement strategy and technology.
Jennifer Pizzolo 🍏
Jennifer Pizzolo is currently the Prospect Development Manager at Scripps College and is a former frontline fundraiser. With over 15 years in nonprofit advancement, Jennifer blends strategic analysis with a relationship-focused mindset. She specializes in turning data into insight that helps fundraisers build authentic, mission-driven donor partnerships.
Michelle Poesy 🍎
Michelle Poesy is the Managing Executive Director, Annual and Special Gifts Program at UC Davis. Michelle joined Development and Alumni Relations at UC Davis in September 2014. In her ten-year tenure at UC Davis, she has been instrumental in centralizing annual giving efforts. Her team has developed new annual giving programming that includes Give Day, Crowdfund UC Davis, employee giving, a student foundation, parent programs such as the Family Fellows, and a digital engagement program. She also oversees the Davis Chancellor’s Club. In addition, Poesy was an instructor with UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education teaching the class Annual Campaigns: Fundraising and Development Professional Concentration and the class continues to be offered on Coursera. Prior to UC Davis, she was Director of Development, Annual and Special Gifts at the Washington State University Foundation. She also has fifteen years of event management experience, including presidential-level university events and large-scale community events. Poesy received her degree in Communication-Advertising from the University of Idaho.
Sara Pond 🍎
Sara Pond is Vice President, Client Development at MCR, Inc. She is a philanthropic leader with a 20-year career serving educational and non-profit sectors with special focus on pipeline development. Her experience details leading teams, targeted marketing and communications, technical strategy, artful storytelling, and qualitative analysis to build the donor pipeline and raise revenue. She is passionate about helping organizations provide economic mobility, access to educational pathways and healthcare.
Catherine Quirk-Hanneke 🍎
Catherine (Cat) Quirk-Hanneke, CFRE, is the Senior Director of Annual Giving and Direct Marketing at the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, where she leads multichannel fundraising strategy in support of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and Stanford Children’s Health. She thrives at the intersection of data and creativity, bringing analytics, storytelling, and strategy together to build thoughtful campaigns and meaningful donor experiences. With 10+ years of experience across nonprofit sectors — including higher education, human services, and the arts, she specializes in campaign fundraising, digital philanthropy, peer-to-peer, and communications. Cat is a Certified Fundraising Executive and is passionate about fundraising that feels human, intentional, and impactful.
Iyoni Rice 🍎
Iyoni Rice is the Executive Director of University Annual Giving at the University of Southern California (USC), where she has worked since 1999 in various leadership capacities. She leads the strategic execution and management of a comprehensive annual fundraising program focused on donor growth and pipeline development. Prior to joining USC, she also worked collaboratively with campus leadership at UC Davis, UC Irvine, and the California Institute of Technology. Her career experience and knowledge spans alumni relations, annual giving, major gift fundraising, event planning, and direct marketing consulting.
Trina Richardson 🍏
Trina Richardson is the Executive Director of Advancement Services at Harvey Mudd College, where she leads data strategy, gift administration, and operational excellence across advancement services. With over a decade of experience transforming nonprofit data systems into mission-driven engines of impact, Trina is known for her collaborative leadership, cross-campus partnerships, and commitment to equity and precision in data stewardship. She brings real-world insights into gift processing challenges, data governance, and donor-centric solutions. Trina is passionate about building sustainable systems, sharing best practices, and equipping teams to thrive in the ever-evolving world of advancement operations.
Quamrun Salam 🍏
Quamrun Salam is the Associate Director of Gift Services at Pomona College, bringing over 12 years of experience in advancement operations and gift administration. She oversees all aspects of gift processing, compliance, and reporting, leading efforts to strengthen accuracy, efficiency, and donor stewardship. Known for her strategic and collaborative leadership, Quamrun has played a key role in guiding Pomona’s Gift Services through major CRM conversions and process improvements that elevate operational excellence across Advancement Services. She holds an MBA from Pepperdine University Graziadio Business School, where she specialized in Leadership and Managing Organizational Change. She is passionate about leveraging technology and creative problem-solving to advance the mission of higher education philanthropy.
Zac Spurlin 🍎
Zac Spurlin is the Executive Director of Advancement Services at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. Zac has served in this capacity since April 2023, after rejoining the university in May 2022. Before returning to the University of the Pacific, Zac worked in finance as an Assistant Vice President for Products and Services. For 13 years before that, he served in various data analytic positions at the University, supporting business and finance operations and finally as the Project Manager for Planning and Institutional Research. He holds a Master of Science in Law from the McGeorge School of Law, an MBA from California State University Stanislaus, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from California State University Stanislaus. He focuses on data visualization, integration, and providing on-demand access to support decision-making at all levels. Zac resides with his better half and their children in Lodi, CA.
Kerry Brooke Steere 🍎
Kerry Brooke Steere is Executive Director of Annual Giving at Claremont McKenna College.
Matt Sulzer 🍎
Matt Sulzer is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for MCR, Inc. For the past 20 years, Matt has served more than 600 college, university and healthcare teams with their direct mail needs. He prides himself on providing clients with excellent customer service, while partnering with them to help achieve and exceed their organizational fundraising goals. In Matt’s tenure, he has achieved Sales Person of the Year eight times and regularly speaks at conferences on different annual giving and direct mail topics.
Luz Takahaski 🍏
Luz Takahashi is Executive Director of Leadership, Culture and Organizational Development at Pomona College.
Jeremy Taylor 🍏
Jeremy Taylor is Director of CRM Strategy at Pomona College.
Savannah Thomas 🍏
Savannah Thomas is the Annual Giving Officer at Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare. New to the Annual Giving role, Savannah brings her strong background working in marketing and communication to establish more engaging methods of connecting with donors. A strong communicator, Savannah’s time as an Annual Giving Officer has shown the importance of effective, strategic storytelling. She attended her first Meeting of the Minds conference in 2025, and is thrilled to be back presenting and sharing about what key insights she has carried with her during her first year at Casa Colina.
Sylvia Vandever 🍏
Sylvia Vandever is Enterprise Customer Success Manager at Gravyty. Sylvia has spent more than 20 years supporting higher education fundraising and advancement teams. She began her career as a phonathon caller, quickly discovered a passion for annual giving, and never looked back. Over the course of her career, Sylvia has partnered with hundreds of institutions, working closely with advancement professionals to strategize, problem-solve, and drive meaningful results. She’s energized by the impact her customers make every day and embraces the evolving challenges—and opportunities—that each new fundraising year brings.
Elisabeth Walker, MBA 🍏
Elisabeth M. Walker is a mission-driven Account Executive at EverTrue (formally DonorSearch), where she partners with nonprofit organizations to strengthen their fundraising strategies through actionable insights, prospect research, and AI-driven analytics. With more than 20 years of experience across hospitality, marketing, and philanthropy—and as an Adjunct Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications at Ramapo College—she brings a people-centered and education-driven approach to every client relationship. Her work in the classroom, where she emphasizes strategic communication and donor-centric storytelling, has directly enhanced her ability to help organizations articulate their value and secure meaningful donor engagement. Since joining DonorSearch, Elisabeth has supported more than 120 nonprofits—each representing a community, a story, and a mission she is honored to help advance. Guided by the belief that fundraising thrives at the intersection of empathy, strategy, and communication, she is dedicated to expanding organizations’ capacity to raise more money and deepen donor relationships. Outside of her professional mission, she is a devoted mother and an advocate for initiatives addressing human trafficking and exploitation.
Haven Watts 🍏
Haven Watts is Assistant Director of Annual Giving, Student Based Outreach at Claremont McKenna College.
Ray Watts 🍎
Raymond W. Watts, CSPG, is Associate Vice President for Philanthropic Giving at Cal State San Bernardino, and is a regular presenter at the Meeting of the Minds Conference. He most recently served as the associate vice president for development at Claremont McKenna College. During his tenure, he led a team of fundraising professionals, collaborating closely with senior leadership. Notably, he spearheaded a comprehensive campaign that concluded with a remarkable $1.076 billion raised, surpassing the original goal of $800 million. He also managed a portfolio of approximately 200 alumni, parents and friends, ensuring sustained engagement and philanthropic investment. 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.
Erika White 🍏
Erika White is the Associate Director of Advancement Services at Occidental College. She has spent 7 years in Advancement Services, leveraging her expertise in gift processing and database operations to improve operational efficiency and follow best practices. Her experience with platforms like Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge, Ellucian Advance CRM, and Salesforce has given her a deep understanding of how to consolidate toolkits and empower users to improve their workflow. Erika’s work focuses on data integrity and moving critical tasks—from gift operations to constituent record management—directly into the database, creating a clear, trackable record of the gift cycle. Her passion for process improvement and integrated database solutions has led her to share her expertise.
Ryan Woroniecki 🍏
Ryan Woroniecki is Senior Partnership Manager with Feathr. For 15 years Ryan has helped grow generosity at scale working at the crossroads of fundraising professionals, nonprofit tech, and service providers. At DonorSearch Ryan helped thousands of orgs operationalize analytics in their CRMs. As Chair of Resource Development at The Giving USA Foundation, Ryan led the annual fund to new heights, oversaw the selection and implementation of their first CRM, and helped craft first gift acceptance policy in the organization’s history. In his current role Ryan is developing Feathr’s partner ecosystem.
Jennifer Yuan 🍏
Jennifer Yuan is Senior Director, Institutional Communications at the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. She is a strategic communications leader who has spent more than 20 years helping mission-driven organizations tell powerful stories and advance philanthropy. At the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, she’s grown from the organization’s sole proposal writer to a senior communications leader. She recently launched a timely new Institutional Communications function to strengthen high-stakes communications, uphold the organization’s brand, and improve internal alignment with organizational partners.