We’re grateful for the knowledge, expertise and generosity of our 2024 “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.
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.
Susana Barbosa 🍏
Susana Barbosa is the Director of Annual Giving at CSU San Bernardino.
Nicole Forrest Boggs 🍎
Nicole Forrest Boggs, MBA & CSPG, is the Assistant Vice President for University Relations & Development Division Operations at California State University Long Beach. She is excited to take her passion as a seasoned major gifts fundraiser and blend it with her grassroots background in Advancement Services. Like so many of us, Nicole joined the profession as a student assistant, smiling and dialing to thank donors. After graduating with a BS degree in Economics, she became the gift processor for her alma mater, The University of La Verne. From there, amazing mentors helped propel her into the development profession as the Director of Annual Giving. Her major gifts experience at Cal Poly Pomona and California State University, Long Beach spans from the College of Engineering, College of Letters, Arts & Social Sciences, College of Education, University Library, Student Affairs and Presidential Priorities.
Jeff Callaghan 🍏
Jeff Callaghan is Manager, Data Management at UC Berkeley. He leads the team that maintains over 2 million constituent records in the university’s central database. Since joining Berkeley in April 2024, he has focused on data stewardship, process improvement, and maximizing hybrid work efficiency. He previously served in various Advancement Services roles over 12 years at Loyola Marymount University, ranging from Gift Processor to the Director of Data Analytics, Systems and Reporting. Jeff holds a BA in Theater from the University of California Los Angeles and is dedicated to highlighting the professional versatility of theater majors. He earned a Master’s in Educational Studies from LMU, where he was named “Outstanding Graduate Student”. He lives in San Francisco.
Christine Camacho 🍏
Christine Camacho is the Leadership Annual Giving Officer at Scripps College. She has over 4 years of fundraising experience. In her current role, she facilitates programming around current parent philanthropy, reunion giving, and leadership annual giving. As a first-generation college student, Christine understands the importance of using her role as a fundraiser to address essential donor-funded areas that contribute to student success and retention.
Colleen Carroll 🍏
Colleen Carroll is Community & Events Lead with Double the Donation. Colleen’s background is in nonprofit fundraising, mission-driven marketing, and community engagement. In her role at Double the Donation she facilitates educational opportunities for institutions of higher education, nonprofits, and K-12 schools to discuss workplace giving, an often overlooked fundraising channel.
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.
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.
Leslie Fitzpatrick 🍏
Leslie Fitzpatrick is Assistant Director of Development, Digital Engagement at the University of California, Davis. Leslie is a people-oriented person with a drive to positively impact those around her. She is passionate about the student experience and the innovative strides the University takes to create meaningful change in the world. In her role, Leslie works to build strong relationships with friends, parents, and alumni of the University, connecting them to the many programs and research opportunities that the University offers. Leslie previously worked at the Gardens of Golden Gate Park as their Philanthropy Manager, supporting the Japanese Tea Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers, and the San Francisco Botanical Garden. It was in this role that Leslie developed a passion for connecting people to the causes they most care about and fostering relationships that allowed others to give back to their community.
Clark Gafke 🍎
Clark Gafke is the President and CEO of LEAD Philanthropy.
Crystal Gammon 🍏
Crystal Gammon is Assistant Vice President, Advancement Communications at Pomona College. She has led teams in higher ed communications for 10 years, and her work has been recognized in the CASE Circle of Excellence. Prior to joining Pomona College, Crystal served as the director of marketing and communications for the School of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) and as the senior communications manager in institutional advancement at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. Before building her communications career in higher ed, she was a scientist and science journalist. Crystal holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in earth science from WashU and the California Institute of Technology, respectively, and a master’s in journalism from New York University.
Holman Gao 🍏
Holman Gao is the Founder and CEO of Boost My School.
Elina Gorelik 🍏
Elina Gorelik is the Associate Vice President of Advancement Information Services at Loyola Marymount University.
Natalie Greenhouse 🍏
Natalie Greenhouse is the Senior Director of Advancement Services at Occidental College.
Tessa Haden 🍏
Tessa Haden is the Associate Director of Development, Parent Giving at the University of California, Davis. Tessa is a dedicated advocate for higher education, and strongly believes in UC Davis’ research and academic mission to make a difference in the world. As the Associate Director of Development, Parent Giving, she serves as a vital link between the university and its parent community, fostering meaningful connections and sharing opportunities to engage in UC Davis’ vibrant campus life through philanthropy and involvement. Drawing on more than a decade of experience in higher education, Tessa brings a wealth of knowledge and creativity to her work. In her previous role, Tessa was instrumental in launching UC Davis’ in-house Digital Engagement Program, leveraging innovative strategies to deepen connections with university supporters. The opportunity to contribute to student success and help shape a brighter future drives her work every day.
Dresden Joswig 🍏
Dresden Joswig is Senior Director, Content and Digital at the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health.
Vidya Kagan 🍏
Vidya Kagan is the Director of Development Services at Menlo School. She has worked in development for 20 years, specifically in higher education and independent schools. She started her career in Harvard Law School’s development office, where she was responsible for annual giving, reunion fundraising, volunteer management, donor relations, and events. At Noble & Greenough School, she served as the Director of Annual Giving for 3 years and as the Director of Major Gifts & Campaigns for 2 years. Her responsibilities included leadership solicitations, campaign planning, and volunteer management. Vidya joined Menlo School’s development team in 2013 and is currently responsible for all aspects of advancement services, specifically database management (Salesforce), reporting and data analysis, gift administration, prospect research, and direct fundraising. Her combination of front-line fundraising and advancement services skills makes her well-suited to building relationships, driving strategy, and using technology to result in fundraising success. Vidya has volunteered for and presented at many industry conferences and webinars, and has written articles related to data, databases, and research. She has collaborated with CASE, apra, iWave, Salesforce, Cloud for Good, aasp, and MOTM.
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.
Eddie Padilla 🍎
Eddie Padilla is Associate Director of Prospect Management, Research and Analytics at California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA). His start in University Advancement began at California State University, Channel Islands (CSUCI) as a student assistant, where he fell in love with the world of fundraising. After working on the academic side of the University for a few years after graduating, Eddie took an opportunity at Cal State LA, working in prospect research and gift processing. His focus shifted to prospect research and database management and, more recently, to analytics. He served on the California Advancement Researchers Association (CARA) and has presented at Blackbaud’s annual conference, bbcon. Eddie holds a bachelor’s degree in performing arts from CSUCI and a Master of Public Administration from Cal State LA.
Hannah Palpant 🍏
Hannah Palpant is Senior Director of Advancement Strategies & Services at the University of La Verne.
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.
Sarah Pond 🍎
Sarah 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.
Jessica Pfahler 🍎
Jessica Pfahler is the Director of Annual Giving at the University of Redlands.
Grant Potter 🍎
Grant Potter is a Lead Business Relationship Manager for Advancement Services at UC Davis. Grant has been with Advancement Services for five years and UC Davis for ten years total. Grant assists the Campus Annual Fund and Health Annual Fund teams with all their data/reporting needs so he’s an expert on all things annual giving data. Grant has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from American University and in his spare time enjoys doing improv comedy and playing tennis!
Stacy Rauch 🍏
Stacy Rauch is Senior Executive Director, Annual and Individual Giving at UCLA.
Danielle Roane 🍏
Danielle Roane is the Director of Annual Giving at MLK Community Health.
Robin Savoian 🍎
Robin Savoian is Associate Director of Leadership Annual Giving at Caltech.
Rachel Spencer 🍎
Rachel is the founding member of VanillaSoft’s fundraising arm. Rachel is a true “Phonathon” and Engagement Center expert (benefitting from some 15 years of telefundraising experience). Long-time student of the “School of Bob”, she graduated from student caller, to call-room supervisor, fundraiser-for-hire and, eventually, Engagement Center manager. In her role at VanillaSoft, Rachel works with more than 100 universities in relation to their Engagement Center, DXO and Leadership Gift programs. She has a unique ability to imbue others with her signature blend of enthusiasm and “joie-de-fundraising” (so, consider yourself warned!!!)
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.
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.
Antonio Valero 🍏
With over seven years of experience in fundraising and student services, Antonio Valero has developed knowledge across first-generation programs, student orientation, career counseling, and previously came from working in alumni relations. Currently serving as an Associate Director of Annual Giving at the University of Redlands, he is pursuing an EdD in Educational Justice with a dissertation exploring “Digital Identities and their Effect on Philanthropy within Higher Education.” Antonio is passionate about fostering equitable engagement practices that enhance philanthropic strategies and support diverse communities.
Emily VanderLinden 🍏
Emily VanderLinden is the Director of Annual Giving at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Emily joined LMU in April 2024 after serving as the Director of Annual Giving at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. Emily got her start at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire as a Telefund student development representative and quickly fell in love with annual giving. Working her way up through the ranks, she ran the Phonathon at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for 3.5 years. Now on the west coast, Emily is focused on growing the team at LMU and hasn’t lost her love for annual giving. Emily has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from UW-Eau Claire.
Lisa Vandergriff 🍏
Lisa Vandergriff is Director of Development at Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena.
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.