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| Jonathan D. Ackerman Attorney Law Office of Jonathan Ackerman LLC Jonathan represents donors and tax-exempt organizations on a national basis. His advice is often sought by charitable and other tax-exempt organizations in their creation, qualification, governance and operation. He also assists charities with respect to contributions and other funding opportunities, as well as assisting families who desire to integrate philanthropy into their financial and estate planning (and their advisors). For the past 25 years, Jonathan has developed considerable experience in the areas of charitable gift planning, tax-exempt organizations, estate planning and probate, real estate and business formations and transactions. He is a frequent speaker on these topics and has published articles in a variety of journals, including The Journal of Gift Planning, the Planned Giving Design Center, Planned Giving Today, and Charitable Gift Planning News. Jonathan was the 2002 President of PPP (formerly, the National Committee on Planned Giving) and was a member of its Board of Directors. He was Chair of the 2000 NCPG Conference Committee and served on its Government Relations Committee. Jonathan is a member of the PPP Leadership Institute. He is also a past President and Director of the Chesapeake Planned Giving Council. Jonathan is also a member of the American Bar Association and Maryland State Bar Association, Taxation and Real Property, Probate and Trust sections, and attended the University of Maryland, the University of Baltimore School of Law, and then obtained his Master of Laws in Taxation at Georgetown University Law Center. | |
| Gregory W. Baker Executive Vice President Renaissance Administration Most Advanced Degree: J.D. Current job responsibilities: Chief Legal Counsel for Renaissance; Manager of the Legal Department for the nation’s largest and oldest third-party administrator of charitable trusts; Mr. Baker works directly with clients’ attorneys and other advisors regarding Renaissance’s policies as well as interpretations of federal and state laws applicable to charitable accounts and the wide array of assets held by high net worth clients; Mr. Baker consults with a client’s advisors and Renaissance employees about matters regarding charitable gift, investment, retirement, estate, and tax planning. For the past 24 years, he has provided trust, tax and philanthropic financial planning advice to over 4,000 attorneys and 8,000 development officers and financial planners in all 50 states regarding more than 18,000 charitable remainder trusts, more than 800 charitable lead trusts, and numerous foundations, charitable gift annuities and donor-advised funds. Advisory Board Member for the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy designation at the American College. Immediate last position, company/organization: Charitable Fiduciary Risk Manager for Merrill Lynch Trust Company and the Merrill Lynch Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Management; Managed relationships with attorneys who represented donors and charities; Managed Day-to-Day Account Compliance for over 7,000 charitable accounts valued at over $4 Billion dollars including 6,000 Charitable Remainder Trusts, 300 Charitable Lead Trusts and 200 Private Foundations; On-call Compliance Manager for over 4,500 Private Foundations at Merrill Lynch. | |
| Nancy A. Baker Associate Director of Philanthropy The Nature Conservancy Nancy A. Baker, J.D. entered the not-for-profit world in 2000, after more than 20 years as a practicing estate and trust attorney in California. Since then she has worked with countless donors interested in making a difference through various types of legacy gifts. In 2006, having worked for the Alzheimer’s Association’s Northern California and Northern Nevada Region, the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, CA and the Hospice of Contra Costa Foundation in Concord, CA, Nancy joined The Nature Conservancy. As part of a team of Regional Gift Planners, she assists donors and trustees and supports philanthropy staff in states throughout the MidWest as well as in New Mexico where she is based. While working in the San Francisco Bay Area, Nancy was an active member of the Northern California Planned Giving Council and a co-presenter on Marketing Planned Gifts at the 2002, 2003 & 2004 Annual Conferences, in addition to serving on the Conference Committee for the 2006 Annual Conference. Nancy was co-author with Erik Dryburgh of the article When Good Gifts Go Bad, in The Journal of Gift Planning, Volume 10, Number 1, March 2006. Although there is no gift planning council in New Mexico, Nancy is a member of a Gift Planning Task Force for a local non-profit and is forming a Santa Fe-Albuquerque Gift Planning Roundtable. | |
| Alexandra Pia Brovey Senior Director, Gift Planning North Shore-LIJ Health System Foundation Alexandra P. Brovey is the Senior Director of Gift Planning at the North Shore-LIJ Health System Foundation in Great Neck, New York. Alex has worked in fundraising for 14 years, holding progressively senior positions at three institutions (The Pennsylvania State University, Pace University and Stony Brook University) with campaigns ranging from $100 million to $1.3 billion, before joining North Shore-LIJ in 2008. Alex has been a member of the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (formerly NCPG) since 1999, and has spoken at the national, regional and local levels for a variety of organizations. She is currently Past President, having just served a 2-year term as President, of the Philanthropic Planning Group of Greater New York in New York City. Alex is a member of the (Long Island, NY) Charitable Estate Planning Council and the Estate Planning Council of Nassau County (NY). Alex earned a B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University, a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and an LL.M. in Estate Planning from the University of Miami School of Law. She is a member of the Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York bars. In her spare time, Alex assists Georgetown Law with interviews, coaches junior soccer and baseball, and is a brown belt studying toward her black belt in shotokan karate. | |
| Ashley A Buderus Director of Gift Planning University of Denver Ashley Buderus, Director of Gift Planning for the University of Denver (DU), has served as a frontline fundraiser for more than 10 years. Ashley’s forte in raising several million dollars annually in outright and deferred gifts has been in building upon her major gift fundraising background by integrating “blended gift” solicitations with a more diverse major and deferred gift prospect pool. In addition, she shares the critical responsibility for training and mentoring development staff in prospect identification and development for blended gift planning techniques and strategies. She has served DU in a variety of fundraising roles, including as a central major gift officer and a unit-based development director. Ashley’s prior experience included the unique opportunity to serve on one of Colorado’s leading foundations, the El Pomar Foundation, as the Fellowship Alumni Trustee, after being invited through a highly competitive process to serve as an El Pomar Fellow. In that role she participated in a variety of outreach training programs for local charities, analyzed grant proposals, and directed nonprofit leadership training sessions across the state. She remains active with local nonprofit organizations and regularly speaks to organizations about enhancing their planned giving programs. Ashley graduated with honors from DU with a BSBA in international business, and earned her master’s degree in nonprofit management from Regis University. She is a Colorado native, an avid runner, hiker, and bike rider. | |
| Reynolds T. Cafferata Partner Rodriguez, Horii, Choi & Cafferata LLP Reynolds T. Cafferata is a partner with Rodriguez, Horii, Choi & Cafferata LLP, in Los Angeles, CA. His practice is concentrated in the area of charitable tax, trust and corporate law. He has experience advising charitable organizations and individuals regarding planning complex charitable gifts and charitable trusts; creating and operating donor advised funds, private foundations and support organizations; creating policies for gift acceptance and risk management, unrelated business income taxes, and self-dealing and intermediate sanctions excises taxes; and endowment management and state law compliance. He earned his JD from the University of Southern California. | |
| Wendy Chou Director of Planned Giving & Advisor Relations Silicon Valley Community Foundation Wendy joined Silicon Valley Community Foundation in 2011 as the director of planned giving. Her primary responsibilities are to establish mutually beneficial working relationships with professional advisors and to generate interest and provide education about creative ways to fulfill donors' philanthropic objectives, especially in the area of planned gifts. Prior to arriving at the community foundation, Wendy worked as a relationship manager for Kaspick & Company, a consulting and investment management company that specializes in working with charities and planned gift assets. While there, she provided planned giving program support to a number of non-profits. Before joining Kaspick, she worked at a number of universities, including Boston College, where she was the director of gift planning, and Santa Clara University, where she got her start in the planned giving field. Wendy serves on the Board of Directors of the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning. In 2010, she completed a four-year term as a member of the Board of Directors for the Planned Giving Group of New England, where she served in a number of different capacities. Wendy is a graduate of Tufts University and Santa Clara University School of Law. | |
| Bryan K. Clontz President Charitable Solutions, LLC Bryan is the founder and President of Charitable Solutions, LLC, specializing in non-cash asset receipt and liquidation, gift annuity reinsurance brokerage, gift annuity risk management consulting, emergency assistance funds and life insurance appraisals/audits. He also serves as a Senior Gift Planning Consultant to the National Philanthropic Trust’s Charitable Asset Trust and a Senior Consultant to Ekstrom & Associates – a community foundation consulting firm in New Haven, CT. In the decade prior to founding Charitable Solutions, LLC in 2003, he served as the director of planned giving for the United Way of Metropolitan Atanta, national director of planned giving for Boys & Girls Clubs of America and then as vice president of advancement at The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. He received a bachelor’s of science in business administration from the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC; a master’s degree in risk management and insurance from Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA; and a master’s degree in financial services from the American College in Bryn Mawr, PA. From 2000-2005, he served as a graduate adjunct professor for both personal financial planning and life insurance in the Department of Risk Management and Insurance at Georgia State University. He serves on the Editorial Board of the Planned Giving Design Center (2000-current), the Advisory Board for the American College’s Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy designation (2001-current), the American Council on Gift Annuities’ Rate Recommendation and Research Committee (2003-2010) and the National Committee on Planned Giving National Board for 2007-2009. | |
| Pamela J. Davidson Consultant & Charitable Gift Planner Davidson Gift Design Pamela Jones Davidson, J.D., has been a nationally recognized speaker in charitable gift planning for over 28 years. She is President of Davidson Gift Design, Bloomington, IN, a consulting firm specializing in all aspects of planned giving program design and implementation, and specializing in training and motivational presentations. She is also a Vice President for Thompson & Associates, Brentwood, TN offering estate planning services to nonprofits. From 1985 through 1996, she was with Indiana University Foundation, leaving as its Executive Director of Planned Giving and Associate Counsel; under her leadership, expectancies quadrupled. Ms. Davidson received her undergraduate degree from Indiana University, and graduated magna cum laude from the IU School of Law at Indianapolis in 1979. She has been an examiner in the Estate and Gift Tax Division of the Internal Revenue Service, and practiced law with an Indianapolis law firm. Ms. Davidson was the 1999 President (now, Chair) of the National Committee on Planned Giving (now, “PPP”) after serving on its board in various capacities for six years. She has served on the Editorial Board of the Planned Giving Design Center. Ms. Davidson is a past board member and treasurer of the Indiana Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives (now, “AFP”), and a past board member and president of her own Planned Giving Group of Indiana. She serves on the Community Advisory Boards of both her local public radio and television stations, and serves on several local nonprofit Boards, including her community’s nationally recognized women’s shelter. | |
| William Dolan Vice President US Bank Charitable Services Group Bill Dolan is a Trust Officer and Vice President with the US Bank Charitable Services Group. He works exclusively with nonprofit organizations, private foundations and high net worth individuals with philanthropic intent. Bill graduated from Lewis and Clark Law School, cum laude, and is a member of the Oregon State Bar. Prior to law school, he worked in management roles at several nonprofits including the Salvation Army in Clark County, Washington. He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Portland. He has been published in the Portland Business Journal and several legal journals and periodicals. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and two children. | |
| Erik D. Dryburgh Partner Adler & Colvin Erik Dryburgh is a principal in the law firm of Adler & Colvin, a law firm specializing in representing nonprofit organizations and their donors. He has an undergraduate business degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and earned his J.D. at the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (inactive). Erik’s areas of expertise include charitable gift planning, endowments, and not-for-profit organizations. Erik has authored the chapter “Charitable Remainder Trusts,” in California Estate Planning, Continuing Education of the Bar (2002) and published numerous articles on charitable gift planning. Erik is a past Board member of the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (formerly NCPG), the San Francisco Estate Planning Council, and the Northern California Planned Giving Council. He is a Co-Chair of the Charitable Planning Committee of the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Trust and Estate Section. Erik received the 2005 Phil Hoffmire Service Award from the Northern California Planned Giving Council, and is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). | |
| Renee Durnin Director, Fundraising Gabriel Group Renee Durnin leads the planned giving marketing team in Gabriel Group’s Fundraising Division. In this capacity she is responsible for developing customized planned giving marketing programs leveraging analytics and strategic development through final production and analysis. For the past eight years her team has been generating results for clients such as The Salvation Army, American Bible Society, World Vision, Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, Lutheran Hour Ministries and Big Brothers Big Sisters. In addition, Renee has more than fifteen years’ experience in managing national direct mail campaigns. She has assisted the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Golden Key International Honour Society, Smithsonian Contributing Membership, National Foundation for Transplants and Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. She graduated magna cum laude in May 1993 with a B.A. degree in Communications from Truman State University and acquired her CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) certification in 2009. She is an active member of AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals), St. Louis Planned Giving Council and Partnership for Philanthropic Planning and has had various speaking engagements at national and local nonprofit conferences. | |
| Elaine Eberhart Associate Chair, Office of Gift Planning Mayo Clinic Elaine Eberhart joined the staff of the Mayo Clinic Department of Development in January 2012 as Associate Chair for the Office of Gift Planning. A fundraising professional for more than 20 years, she worked most recently as Senior Director of Development for Planned Giving at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She also led the planned giving programs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Pennsylvania and began her career at Emory University. She is a graduate of the Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, Emory University, and the University of Tennessee, where she earned the J.D. degree. | |
| Abby Favro Trustee Legacy Ambassador Manager The Nature Conservancy Abby Favro has worked exclusively in the non-profit arena since graduating from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Museum Studies in 2003. While in Phoenix she worked for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and Desert Botanical Garden. She has experience in all aspects of fundraising including: managing large scale walk-a-thons, securing corporate sponsorships, soliciting and running silent auctions, supervising an annual fund, hosting high level donor events, managing a portfolio of major gift prospects, and supporting a capital campaign. At present, she manages The Nature Conservancy’s pioneering Trustee Legacy Ambassador program on a national level to support out the door fundraising staff in reaching their gift planning objectives while simultaneously working with individual volunteers. Abby is a current scholarship recipient for the Chicago Council on Planned Giving and PPP. | |
| Angela T. Fogt Attorney Gray Plant Mooty Angela helps individuals and families accomplish their personal, financial, and philanthropic goals through effective planning. This includes drafting wills and trusts, wealth planning, transfer tax strategies, business succession planning, and the creation of charitable trusts, private foundations, and supporting organizations. She also assists with estate administration, probate, and the preparation of estate tax returns. Angela also advises charitable organizations on the receipt and administration of planned and complex charitable gifts. This includes charitable trusts, charitable gift annuities, donor advised funds, endowments, and gifts of unusual assets. She also helps organizations develop gift acceptance policies and build planned giving programs. During law school, Angela served as chairperson of the Moot Court Executive Board and as a member of the University of Iowa’s National Moot Court Team. She was involved in the Iowa Student Bar Association and served as a member of the Iowa Law School Foundation’s Board of Directors. Angela also worked as a research assistant for Professor William Buss. | |
| Jackie W. Franey Sales Director, Planned Giving BNY Mellon Jackie W. Franey is the Sales Director, Planned Giving for BNY Mellon Wealth Management, which is one of the largest groups providing expertise in management and administration for endowments, foundations and planned giving programs. She is responsible for cultivating new clients and deepening relationships with existing clients on a range of planned giving, philanthropic and wealth planning issues. Prior to joining BNY Mellon, Ms. Franey was Donor Relations Director at Communities Foundation of Texas and directly responsible for all facets of working with high-net worth donors, their families and professional advisors and raised more than $45 million in major and planned gifts for the foundation. Previously, she managed the planned giving program at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas during its successful $150 million wePromise campaign. She also served as the national director of planned giving for the American Heart Association – National Center for ten years and was responsible for implementing a centralized marketing program that generated more than $100 million in annual income. In addition, she consulted with affiliates regarding pro-active estate administration. Ms. Franey is a graduate of LeTourneau University and has over 20 years experience in planned giving. She is on the editorial advisory board of Planned Giving Today, past president of the North Texas Chapter of PPP and a past national board member of the PPP. She serves on the board of the North Texas Chapter, the Steering Committee for the Leadership Institute of PPP and is a frequent speaker at national conferences and planned giving councils. | |
| Philip Golden Associate Director of Planned Giving Stanford University Phil Golden is an Associate Director of Planned Giving at Stanford University. Prior to his current position, Phil practiced trust and estates law from 1985 until 2011. He is certified in California as a specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. Phil has served on the estate planning subcommittee of the State Bar of California’s Trusts and Estates Section, and as a judge pro tem in the probate department of the Superior Court in Merced County, California. Phil’s voluntary service to non-profit organizations includes nine years as a director of Mercy Hospital Foundation in Merced, California. Phil occasionally writes and speaks on various topics in estate planning and charitable giving. Phil’s bachelor’s degree is from Stanford University; his law degree is from the Santa Clara University; and his LL.M. in Estate Planning is from the University of Miami. | |
| J. William Gray Partner Hunton & Williams LLP Bill Gray is a partner in the Richmond office of Hunton & Williams LLP, where his practice focuses on tax-exempt organizations, charitable giving, and estate planning and administration. He is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a founding director and former president of the Virginia Gift Planning Council. He is also a member of the Professional Advisory Council of the Bon Secours Richmond Health Care Foundation, the Richmond Estate Planning Council, the University of Virginia Gift Planning Council, the University of Richmond Estate Planning Advisory Council and the Exempt Organizations Committee of the ABA Section on Taxation. He is a frequent speaker on estate planning and charitable topics at programs such as previous National Committee on Planned Giving national seminars, the University of North Carolina’s J. Nelson Young Tax Institute, the Virginia Conference on Federal Taxation, the Southern Federal Tax Institute and seminars sponsored by PPP affiliates including the Blue Ridge, North Carolina, National Capital and Virginia Gift Planning Councils and the Planned Giving Group of New England. | |
| Donald Hale Director of Gift Planning University of Central Florida Foundation Inc. Donald Hale has twenty years of experience in fundraising. He currently serves as the director of gift planning for the University of Central Florida Foundation in Orlando, FL. UCF has the second largest student body in the country, with over 59,000 students. Founded in 1963, the university has 214,000 living alumni. In his current role Donald works with UCF alumni, parents, and friends who are funding a gift to the university through their estate plan. Prior to joining the staff at UCF, Donald served as the director of development and alumni relations for the Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL. He has also served as the director of development for The Florida Bar Foundation, the senior director of development and alumni affairs for the Fredric G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida and the associate director of development of development and alumni affairs for the College of Pharmacy in the Health Science Center at the University of Florida. Donald holds a Master of Arts degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. | |
| Johnine (Johni) R. Hays Vice President Thompson & Associates With 20 years experience as a practicing attorney in charitable and estate planning, Johni Hays is a national consultant in the field of charitable gift planning. Johni is the author of the book, Essentials of Annuities and co-author of the book, The Tools and Techniques of Charitable Planning. Johni serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for the books Tax Facts on Investments and Tax Facts on Insurance and Employee Benefits. Johni has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and has published articles in Estate Planning Magazine, Planned Giving Today, Fundraising Success, Life Insurance Selling and National Underwriter magazines. Prior to joining Thompson & Associates, Johni served as the Senior Gift Planning Consultant for The Stelter Company. Prior to that as the Executive Director of the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation Planned Giving Institute. In addition, Johni practiced estate planning with Myers Krause and Stevens, Chartered law firm in Naples Florida, where she specialized in estate planning. Johni graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctor degree from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1993. Johni serves on the national board of the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (PPP) formerly the National Committee on Planned Giving. Johni is also a charter member of PPP’s Leadership Institute. She is also a member of the Mid-Iowa Planned Giving Council and the Mid-Iowa Estate and Financial Planners Council (president 2007-2008). Johni has been a member of both the Iowa Bar and the Florida Bar since 1993. She and her husband live in Iowa. | |
| Meaghan R. Hogan Vice President and Senior Wealth Planner PNC Wealth Management As Vice President and Senior Wealth Planner at PNC Wealth Management, Meaghan provides advice on complex estate and financial planning issues. She works with a team of experts in investment management, trust, and private banking services to help PNC’s clients achieve their financial objectives. Meaghan serves as a resource for advisors and clients to help integrate clients’ philanthropic passions with their personal wealth planning. Before joining PNC, she worked as a gift planner in higher education for over 10 years after working as a trusts and estates attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. Meaghan graduated from Vassar College and Emory University School of Law and is completing her Masters in Tax at Temple University. | |
| Michael Hutney Director of Strategic Accounts & Emerging Media The Stelter Company With more than 15 years of sales, communications and marketing experience, Michael manages Stelter’s strategic client relationships and provides key counsel regarding their marketing needs. Michael currently works with national and international organizations such as the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Girl Scouts of the USA and the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. In addition, Michael is the lead on Stelter's social media consulting practice. Social by Stelter helps nonprofits nationwide maximize their connection with donors through the power of social networks. Before joining Stelter, Michael worked for the Hewlett-Packard Company where he was the sales director for strategic accounts in the Midwestern United States. Prior to that, Michael worked for the Vignette Corporation where, most recently, he served as strategic client executive for key accounts. Michael has worked with numerous enterprise-level organizations including American Express and Ameriprise Financial, JP Morgan Chase, The U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Nissan-Renault, The National Bank of Canada, AVIVA and The Principal Financial Group. Michael graduated from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history with minor concentrations in French and business management. | |
| Russell N. James Associate Professor-Charitable Planning Texas Tech University Russell James, J.D., Ph.D., CFP® is an associate professor and the director of the online graduate program in Charitable Financial Planning at Texas Tech University. He graduated, cum laude, from the University of Missouri School of Law where he was a member of the Missouri Law Review. While in law school he received the United Missouri Bank Award for Most Outstanding Work in Gift and Estate Taxation and Planning. He holds a Ph.D. in consumer economics from the University of Missouri, where his dissertation was on the topic of charitable giving. He worked as the Director of Planned Giving for Central Christian College, Moberly, Missouri for six years and later served as president of the college for more than five years, where he had direct and supervisory responsibility for all fundraising. During his presidency the college successfully completed two major capital campaigns, built several new debt-free buildings, and operated in the black every year after having operated in the red for 10 of the 11 previous years. Dr. James has over 100 publications in academic journals, conference proceedings, professional periodicals, and books. He has been quoted in a variety of news sources including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, ABC News, U.S. News & World Report, USA Today, the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. | |
| Scott R.P. Janney Chief Development Officer AtlantiCare Dr. Scott Janney, CFRE, RFC recently became the Chief Development Officer of AtlantiCare, the premier integrated healthcare system in South Jersey. Its 5,200 employees serve the healthcare needs of the community at over 60 locations, including the two-campus, 567-bed hospital with locations in Atlantic City and Galloway Township, NJ. In 2009 the US Department of Commerce named AtlantiCare a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner, America’s highest honor for innovation and performance excellence. During his career, he has helped over a dozen generous couples and individuals make gifts of $1,000,000 or more. While at Villanova University, his team of philanthropic planners increased their share of Villanova’s fundraising from the five-year annual average of $3,000,000 to the “new baseline” of $18,000,000. Scott's tenth presentation at the National Conference on Philanthropic Planning this October, "The Meaning of Money," will help participants explore the most important skill set they need to cultivate - expertise with donor motivation. This presentation is designed to improve the competencies of major and planned giving officers in helping donors explore their motivations to make significant philanthropic investments. He started his fundraising career in foundation relations, annual fund and major giving, and then became a chief development officer. Since specializing in major and planned giving twelve years ago, he has become the go-to person to close the largest and most complicated gifts. Scott holds a Doctorate in Education from Temple University, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Arts from Asbury University. He is a Certified Fund Raising Executive and a Registered Financial Consultant. | |
| Heidi B. Jark Managing Director and Vice President The Foundation Office Heidi B. Jark, Managing Director of the Foundation Office at Fifth Third Bank, oversees the administration of corporate and family foundations throughout the Bancorp. She has been with Fifth Third since 1999 and previously served as its Planned Giving Manager. Prior to joining Fifth Third Bank, Ms. Jark served as the Planned Giving Director for Valparaiso University, assisting donors in estate and charitable gift planning. Ms. Jark also practiced law in Valparaiso, Indiana with the firm of Hoeppner, Wagner & Evans concentrating her work in the areas of litigation and appellate brief writing. She has a B.A. in Political Science from Valparaiso University and a J.D. from its School of Law. Ms. Jark is very active in the community having served in the past as President of the Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council, the American Cancer Society Board of Directors for Hamilton County, the WAVE Foundation, and Ohio Grantmakers Forum. In addition, Ms. Jark volunteered to her alma mater for 10 years on the Valparaiso University Alumni Association and served as President. Ms. Jark has also served on the Board of the Greater Cincinnati YWCA as Treasurer and on the National Board of the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (formerly NCPG) where she was the 2007 Conference Chair and the 2010 Board Chair. Most recently Ms. Jark joined the Board of Cooperative for Education, promoting access to education, books, and computers in Guatemala. Ms. Jark grew up on a farm near Stratford, South Dakota and lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Steve Kenat, a partner at GBBN Architects and daughter, Catarina. She is a frequent speaker to not-for-profit organizations on the topics of philanthropy, ethics, grantmaking, and planned giving. | |
| Emanuel J Kallina Managing Member Kallina & Associates LLC Emanuel (“Emil”) J. Kallina, II is the managing member of Kallina & Associates, LLC, and focuses his practice on estate and charitable planning for high net worth individuals and representing charitable organizations in complex gifts. Emil works extensively with charitable lead and remainder trusts, supporting organizations, private foundations, and over the years has practiced in the related fields of business law, corporate tax law, partnerships, and real estate.Emil is the founder of CharitablePlanning.com, a website dedicated to professionals who need the tools to complete planned and major gifts. He is also a co-founder of the Planned Giving Design Center (www.pgdc.com), a former member of the Board of Directors of PPP (formerly NPCG), former Chairman (5 years) of the Government Relations Committee of the NCPG, a co-founder of the Chesapeake Planned Giving Council, Chairman of the Board and President of The James Foundation, a member of the Board of Directors of Search Ministries, Inc., and a present and former member of numerous other boards. Mr. Kallina has testified frequently before the IRS, is a nationally recognized speaker on estate planning and charitable giving, and is a frequent author on these topics. | |
| Michael Kateman Executive Director, Development, Alumni & Public Relations Columbia College Michael Kateman is executive director of development, alumni and public relations at Columbia College. He is responsible for a full range of fundraising activities such as planned giving, the annual fund, donor relations and capital campaigns. He also directs alumni relations and public relations and is responsible for affinity building and branding for the institution. He serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet. His diverse background includes healthcare, the arts, human services and higher education. He is past presenter for the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning, the NACUBO, AHP, AFP, and planned giving conferences coast to coast. He was elected to the PPP Board of Directors in 2007 and served as Chairman of the Board in 2012. During his tenure as chair, the Partnership successfully completed a national search for President and CEO. In 2009, he served as the National Conference Chair. Also, he served as education chair for two years and on the 2003 conference planning committee. His work has been published in Planned Giving Today, The Journal of Gift Planning and the Planned Giving Design Center’s Gift Planning Digest. In 2008, he was honored with the Outstanding Fundraising Executive Award from the Central Missouri Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He is a member of the Mid-America Planned Giving Council. Kateman is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, with an MA from the School of Journalism and a BS in Business Administration - Marketing. He attended the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. | |
| Darin Kater Director of Development for Planned Giving Wichita State University Foundation Serving in various development roles within nonprofit organizations for the past 24 years, Darin brings practical, hands-on experience in planned giving, alumni relations, event planning, media relations, annual fund, grant proposals, volunteer board facilitation, and teaching business courses at the college level. He understands the differences in organizational dynamics of small to large nonprofits. As the Director of Development for Planned Giving for the Wichita State University Foundation, Darin is responsible for the identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of planned giving prospects/donors. Additional duties include: Cultivation of relationships with professional advisors, partnering with development directors that have fundraising responsibilities to each of the colleges within the university to identify and cultivate planned giving prospects, and providing training on planned giving topics to the foundation staff. Darin has previous experience as the Director of Development for the Wichita Children’s Home, and as the Associate Vice President of University Relations at Friends University, Wichita, KS. | |
| Kevin Kling Kevin Kling, best known for his popular commentaries on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and his storytelling stage shows like Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log, delivers hilarious, often tender stories. Kling’s autobiographical tales are as enchanting as they are true to life: hopping freight trains, getting hit by lightning, performing his banned play in Czechoslovakia, growing up in Minnesota, and eating things before knowing what they are. | |
| Cynthia W Krause Vice President, Gift Planning Baylor Health Care System Foundation Cynthia Krause is vice president for gift planning at Baylor Health Care System Foundation, where she provides gift planning counsel to individuals and professionals. She has worked in the field of charitable gift planning with nonprofit organizations, individuals, families and family foundations for more than 20 years. She is the former president of Wilson & Krause, a philanthropic and family advisory services firm where she served or consulted with more than 50 nonprofits and foundations across the country. Her career began in Dallas, where she practiced law for two years before joining Baptist Foundation of Texas as associate trust counsel, working with more than 35 charitable organizations and their donors in structuring and establishing planned gifts. Cynthia has been a member of the board of directors of the National Committee on Planned Giving. She has spoken at the National Conference on Philanthropic Planning, and is a frequent speaker for planned giving councils and other nonprofit organizations across the country. She is a member of the North Texas Chapter of PPP. | |
| Mark F. Ladendorf Relationship Manager Kaspick & Company Mark Ladendorf, Relationship Manager, Kaspick & Company As a Relationship Manager, Mark works with clients to deliver consulting, problem-solving, and other assistance on policy, program analysis, gift planning, and investment issues. This senior position coordinates and leads the Kaspick & Company team responsible for delivering the firm's high quality comprehensive services to assigned clients. Prior to joining Kaspick & Company in 2008, Mr. Ladendorf was President and CEO of The Lutheran Hour Ministries Foundation and Director of Advancement for Lutheran Hour Ministries in St. Louis, MO. He has nearly 15 years of experience in gift planning and fundraising management. He has served on the national board of the Association of Lutheran Development Executives and as co-chair of the 2007 International Educational Conference. Mr. Ladendorf received a BA in Economics and International Studies from American University, Washington, DC and an MA from Washington University, St. Louis, MO. | |
| Michael Lamb Vice President-Planned Giving WSU Foundation Michael Lamb, EMBA, CFRE is Vice President for Planned and Annual Giving at the Wichita State University Foundation. After 33 years with nonprofit organizations, including more than 15 years as a professional fundraiser, Mike understands the critical financial impact of our work, but also the satisfaction charitable giving brings to donors. In addition to his direct work with donors, Mike has been involved with educating major gift fundraising staff, university administrators and board members of the WSU Foundation regarding the impact of planned giving. Mike has had direct or supervisory responsibility for 504 new planned gifts with a projected value of $116 million and $8.7 million in outright giving. He oversees a total portfolio of 567 documented planned gifts with a projected value of $132 million. Mike’s programs have been recognized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in both district and international awards programs. He has been a speaker at the Wichita Estate Planning Council, the Central Kansas Planned Giving Roundtable and the Wichita chapter of the Association of Fundraising professionals. In 2011, Mike was recognized as the Outstanding Fundraising Executive by the Wichita AFP chapter. Outside of the office, Mike is an avid runner having completed three marathons of 26.2 miles and one half-marathon of 13.1 miles. He sees similarities in the long-term investment required in distance running and planned giving. | |
| Greg Lassonde CFRE Legacy Giving Specialist Legacy Giving Consultant Greg Lassonde, CFRE, has been working as a legacy giving specialist since 1992. He launched a legacy giving professional services consulting practice in 2007 in which he launches, expands, implements and audits legacy giving programs for a wide variety of nonprofits. He has built a diverse client base of more than 30 organizations. His current clients are San Francisco Opera, Telluride Film Festival, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, Salem Lutheran Home, San Francisco Goodwill, Mercy Retirement & Care Center, Save the Redwoods League, San Francisco Performances, Reno Philharmonic, and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. His fund development experience since 1982 covers the full spectrum of programs, executed in a wide variety of nonprofits, from Pacifica Foundation / KPFA Radio to the San Francisco Symphony, his last staff position. Greg is a board member of the Oakland Zoo Foundation. He is a past board member and officer of the Northern California Planned Giving Council, Development Executives Roundtable, Association of Fundraising Professionals – Golden Gate Chapter, Development Exchange, and Youth Radio. He grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and attended college at St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota, and University of Phoenix in San Francisco where he obtained his BSBA. | |
| Elissa Leif CEO MiniMatters Elissa Leif is the CEO of MiniMatters, a video production and marketing business based in Montgomery County, Maryland. She combines expertise in video with over 15 years of nonprofit fund development and programmatic experience. She has generated millions of dollars in revenue for employers and clients by understanding how messaging, technology, and relationships contribute to successful marketing. In her most recent position at a nonprofit arts organization, Elissa set up a Salesforce database/CRM and email marketing system used for stakeholder communications. Her technological innovations and strategy resulted in significant increases in individual donations in the midst of the difficult economy. She has also recently worked as a fund-raising consultant for The MindFarm, successfully assisting top-tier nonprofit organizations with development strategy and donor communications. Elissa enhanced her skills in video as well as expertise in health and childhood obesity as the Research Director for a television pilot on cooking and nutrition by experienced producers fromSesame Street. She was also funded as a "Community Fellow" of the Open Society Institute-Baltimore to run a journalism and digital photography program in the low-income Cherry Hill neighborhood. Children in the program participated in a four-site international video conference that Elissa and a colleague edited into a half-hour program for Maryland cable stations. Elissa holds a Master's Degree in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she studied Administration, Planning and Public Policy, and a B.A. in history from Yale University. She speaks and reads Japanese, enjoys teaching about technology in a positive and user-friendly way, and manages multiple YouTube channels. | |
| Robert Lew President Planning & Financial Advisors Robert Lew, president and founder of Planning & Financial Advisors, has spent the last thirty two years as a financial consultant, specializing in the fields of business, estate, charitable, insurance and pension planning. His firm counsels business owners and families throughout California on wealth transfer strategies using a customized approach that balances clients’ goals, family relationships and sensitivities. Bob has made numerous charitable planned giving presentations to professional organizations and conferences throughout the nation and has spoken before estate planning councils throughout California on estate and charitable planning concepts. Bob has served on the boards of the National Committee on Planned Giving (pre-PPP) and the California State Bar Tax Specialization Committee. He is currently serving on the boards of the San Francisco Estate Planning Council (secretary) and the Northern California Planned Giving Council (treasurer). In 2007 he received the Phil Hoffmire Service Award from the Northern California Planned Giving Council in recognition of his lifetime contribution to the charitable planned giving community. Bob is a graduate of the University of California at Davis, a whitewater kayaker, an avid fly fisherman and loves to cook. | |
| Chase V. Magnuson Director of Planned Giving, Real Estate The George Washington University Chase Magnuson has over 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, with substantial experience across the spectrum of real estate transactions, including land development, commercial and residential sales, commercial leasing, and property management. He has an extensive background in facilitating donations of individual, corporate and commercial investment real estate. Chase developed marketing material of guidelines for donations of real estate for charities and donors and has conducted training sessions across the country to help others learn how to make gifts of real estate beneficial to each party. Chase is the Director for Planned Giving, Real Estate, at the George Washington University’s Division of Development. He is also President / CEO of Real Estate for Charities, an organization he founded in 2000 to facilitate donations of real estate to charities. He established and acted as President of the National Real Estate Foundation, a qualified 501(c)3, facilitating gifts of real estate and providing education to other non-profits on techniques used to complete the process. He has successfully guided the donations and liquidation of corporate surplus properties to fund various charities and his portfolio of completed transactions includes the exchange of real estate equities for Charitable Gift Annuities, Charitable Remainder Trusts, Bargain Sales and Donor Advised Funds. Mr. Magnuson earned a B.S. from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He holds the elite designation of CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member), he is a Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), a Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES), and a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Corporate Real Estate Network. His clients include AARP Foundation, the California State University Foundation, Easter Seals, San Diego State University, United Way America, Scripps Hospital Foundation. | |
| Stacey Lynn McKinley Director of Planned Giving Cleveland State University I have worked as Director of Planned Giving at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio, since August, 2010. My primary duties are to identify, cultivate, solicit and close planned gifts for the University and its various colleges. My job also includes marketing our planned giving program, coordinating the activities of our Planned Giving Advisory Council, and educating our development officers in planned giving techniques and tax laws that affect charitable giving. I also serve as an adjunct professor at CSU’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law where I teach Nonprofit Corporations. Prior to CSU, I worked as Associate Director of Planned Giving at the Cleveland Clinic where I had my own donor portfolio and also worked various development officers in closing planned gifts. Before joining the development world, I worked as an attorney for three large Cleveland law firms, where my practice focused on finance, real estate, mergers & acquisitions, and nonprofit law. My pre-legal career was in broadcast journalism where I worked at television stations in Cleveland, Ohio, Rockford, Illinois, and Lexington Kentucky, where I was co-host of “Good Morning, Kentucky.” I graduated with a B.A. in Journalism, magna cum laude, from Ohio Wesleyan in 1982. My J.D. is from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where I graduated in 1997, summa cum laude. I am Immediate Past President of the Northern Ohio Planned Giving Council. I also serve as a juvenile magistrate in the city of Westlake, Ohio. | |
| Anne T. Melvin Deputy Director, Gift Planning Harvard University Anne Melvin has worked as both a volunteer and a professional in the field of development for the past 18 years. For the past 13 years, Anne has specialized in planned giving, negotiating and closing gifts for various schools at Harvard. She has directed the planned giving marketing program for Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the past nine years, tripling its lead generation in that time and revamping entirely the way it does marketing. Anne is a member of the Planned Giving Group of New England and the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning. She speaks regularly about planned giving around the country to development professionals, specializing in marketing, development techniques, fundraiser training and negotiation. She oversees and leads all the internal fundraiser training programs at Harvard College. She is a member of the Partners in Philanthropic Planning Leadership Institute. Prior to joining Harvard, Anne practiced real estate law in the Boston area. She is a cum laude graduate of Williams College and holds a J.D. from the Boston University School of Law. | |
| Melissa Mencotti Director of Gift Planning Allegheny College Melissa Mencotti manages a national portfolio of donors and prospects and has directed the planned giving program at Allegheny College since 2008. She joined the college in 2000 as the director of research and prospect management following 12 years as the assistant director of a domestic violence and rape crisis program where she was responsible for grant proposals and special events fundraising. She has served on Allegheny’s facilities and finance committee; previously staffed the Board of Trustees’ trusteeship committee; and was a key member of the college’s campaign steering committee (2000-2006). Melissa earned an MA from Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy in 2010. She was a co-founder and is now a director emerita of the Crawford Heritage Community Foundation in her adopted northwestern Pennsylvania community. She has held leadership positions on many local boards including the YWCA, Unitarian Universalist Church of Meadville and the county’s Democratic Party. Melissa is parent to a stepdaughter and stepson-in-law who are residing in Edinburgh, Scotland. She and her husband, Larry, share their Meadville home with four cats and an English Setter, all rescued. Melissa enjoys cooking, house projects, and life in rural America. | |
| David Wheeler Newman Chair, Charitable Sector Practice Group Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp LLP David Wheeler Newman chairs the Charitable Sector Practice Group at the Los Angeles law firm of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP. For what seems to him like forever he has advised families and individuals concerning their foundations and other philanthropy, as well as charitable organizations and their donors on the legal and tax aspects of planned giving. David is a former member of the board of the National Committee on Planned Giving (Partnership for Philanthropic Plannng), where he served as an officer and member of its executive committee, and is currently on the board of directors of the American Council on Gift Annuities. He is a founder and president emeritus of New Roads School in Santa Monica, and a member of the professional advisors council of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. | |
| Glenn Pittsford Vice President for Gift Planning Texas A&M Foundation Glenn Pittsford is Vice President for Gift Planning at the Texas A&M Foundation and serves donors in the Austin area and the Texas Hill Country. On a national basis, he serves donors in all the western states. He assists people as they and their advisors plan the ultimate disposition of their estates to people and causes they love and desire to support. He received his BS in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M in 1972. After nearly eighteen years in the savings and loan industry in Austin, Georgetown and San Antonio, he served as executive director of a church foundation for nearly ten years. He has served donors in gift planning at the Texas A&M Foundation since February 1, 2000. Glenn is a member of the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning and holds the Certified Fund Raising Executive and Certified Gift Planning Associate designations. | |
| Timothy J. Prosser Relationship Manager / Sr. Consultant, Gift Planning Kaspick & Company Timothy Prosser, JD, Relationship Manager/Senior Technical Consultant. Mr. Prosser joined KASPICK & COMPANY in 2009 with nearly 20 years’ experience in legal practice and financial services. Prior to joining TIAA-CREF Trust Company in 2000, Mr. Prosser practiced law in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, charitable giving, and business succession planning with the firms of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and Armstrong Teasdale Schlafly & Davis in St. Louis, MO. Mr. Prosser has served on the board of the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning and as Chair of its National Conference. He is a board member and past president of the Saint Louis Planned Giving Council and is a recipient of the Council’s “Founders Award.” Mr. Prosser received his JD degree and MA degree in Public Administration from St. Louis University in December 1990 and his BA in Russian Area Studies in 1987 from Loyola University, New Orleans. | |
| Philip M. Purcell Vice President for Planned Giving & Endowment Stewardship Ball State University Foundation Phil Purcell currently serves as Vice-President for Planned Giving and Endowment Stewardship at the Ball State University Foundation where he recently assisted with the successful completion of a $200 million campaign, of which $65 million in planned gifts was raised. He has over twenty years of gift planning experience. He teaches courses on Law and Philanthropy, Nonprofit Organization Law and Planned Giving as adjunct faculty for the Indiana University School of Law (Bloomington) and Indiana University Center on Philanthropy and Fundraising School (Indianapolis). Phil serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for Planned Giving Today, Stelter Company Technical Advisory Board and Senior Consultant for Heaton Smith Group. Phil serves as a member of the Tax Exempt Advisory Council for the Internal Revenue Service (Great Lakes states) and has served on the board of directors for the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning, Planned Giving Group of Indiana (past president) and Association of Fundraising Professionals – Indiana (past president). He is an attorney and member of the American and Indiana State Bar Associations. Phil received his B.A. degree from Wabash College (magna cum laude) and his J.D. and M.P.A. degrees (with honors) from Indiana University. | |
| Erin Read Director, Strategic Planning Creating Results Erin Read is the Director of Strategic Planning at Creating Results, a full-service strategic marketing, public relations and advertising agency with more than 15 years of experience. Their expertise is motivating mature 40+ consumers, including Baby Boomers, Silent (Ike) Generation, and Gen X. Since joining Creating Results, Erin has focused intently on Baby Boomers and seniors. She is the “Dean” of the agency’s in-house training program, the Mature Marketing Academy (featured in the Christian Science Monitor). Erin has addressed regional, national and international audiences about generational marketing. Research she codirected with 40+ consumers has been featured in Selling to Seniors, the Journal on Active Aging, BrandWeek and other industry publications. She’s a regular contributor to www.MatureMarketingMatters.com. In addition, Erin counsels clients on Internet and social media marketing and is the agency’s chief Twit (twitter-er). At Creating Results, Erin has managed award-winning brand and strategic marketing programs, community relations, and award-winning web development projects. Most recently, she spearheaded an initiative for Tufts University Gift Planning Office, offering strategic recommendations for measuring (and increasing) their marketing effectiveness. | |
| Michael P Romero Vice President and Trust Counsel Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma Michael P. Romero is vice president, trust counsel for The Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma. He came to the Foundation in 2001 from the tax and estate planning practice group of the Oklahoma City law firm of McAfee & Taft. For the Foundation, Mike counsels donors on planned giving and estate planning and advises the Foundation in the areas of trust administration, probate, governance and other legal matters. Mike received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1992, with a dual emphasis in management and banking & finance. He is also a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Law and was admitted to the Oklahoma Bar in September 1998. Mike is currently the Vice President of the Oklahoma Planned Giving Council. | |
| Brian M. Sagrestano JD, CFRE President & CEO Gift Planning Development, LLC Brian M. Sagrestano, JD, CFRE, is a sought-after author, public speaker and thought leader in the gift planning world. As the President and founder of Gift Planning Development, a full-service gift planning consulting firm, Brian provides gift planning services to a wide range of charitable clients from national organizations focused on high end gift plans to local charities seeking to start new gift planning programs. His Gift Planning Essentials and Planned Giving in a Box® (developed with Viken Mikaelian of PlannedGiving.Com) programs have made gift planning accessible to the full-range of charities for the first time. Some of his clients include the University of Notre Dame, Temple University, Create a Jewish Legacy, Harmony Foundation, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Le Moyne College, the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties and Delaware Art Museum. Prior to starting GPD, he spent twelve years as a charitable gift planner, directing the gift planning programs for the University of Pennsylvania, Middlebury College and Meridian Health Affiliated Foundations. In 2012, Brian released his first book, with co-author Robert E. Wahlers, CFRE, The Philanthropic Planning Companion: The Fundraisers’ and Professional Advisors’ Guide to Charitable Gift Planning (Wiley 2012). Brian has been a contributor to Planned Giving Today, Planned Giving Mentor, PlannedGiving.com and Planned Giving Tomorrow and been cited in numerous publications, including CASE Currents and the Chronicle of Philanthropy, among others. Brian is a regular speaker on gift planning topics, having presented multiple times at the AFP International Conference on Fundraising, the National Conference on Philanthropic Planning, the American Council on Gift Annuities Conference and the Practical Planning Giving Conference, among others. He is a past board member of the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (PPP), the Gift Planning Council of New Jersey and PPP of Greater Philadelphia, as well as a past member of the editorial board of the Journal of Gift Planning. An honors graduate of Cornell University and Notre Dame Law School, Brian lives with his wife and four children in New Hartford, New York, the scenic gateway to the Adirondack Mountains. | |
| Gregory A. Schupra Vice President & Group Manager Comerica Charitable Services Group Gregory A. Schupra brings an uncommon, if not unique, combination of experience, capabilities and values to his role as Vice President of Comerica Bank and Group Manager of the expanding Comerica Charitable Services Group.What may be most extraordinary about Mr. Schupra’s leadership is that he has been able to set in place a standard within the Comerica Charitable Services Group for providing proven charitable gift planning expertise for all Comerica clients. Mr. Schupra has developed within the Group a marketing and service perspective for the creation of philanthropic products which reflect a focus on the needs of clients, by designing the services and charitable gift planning in ways which help clients achieve their personal, family and philanthropic objectives. Before joining Comerica in 1999, Mr. Schupra served as vice president, donor relations for one of the top community foundations in the country. During his eight year tenure, the foundation’s assets increased by more than $210 million. In addition, while at the community foundation he orchestrated a fund raising academy to help 39 charitable organizations raise more than $50 million through an endowment challenge program initiated by The Kresge Foundation. Prior to his work at the community foundation, Mr. Schupra held positions as director of development and director of planned giving at three colleges and universities. In addition to his 32 years of experience as a charitable gift planning professional, Mr. Schupra has served as a governing board member of several for-profit corporations and national and regional nonprofit organizations. He is Chairman of the Management Oversight Committee of the Comerica Charitable Trust; Chief Executive Officer of the Comerica Legacy Foundation; Immediate-Past Chairman of the Spring Arbor University Board of Trustees, Spring Arbor, Michigan; and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning [formerly NCPG], based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mr. Schupra is also a founding member of the Planned Giving Roundtable of Southeast Michigan. He is a member of the Council of Michigan Foundations; a former member of the Board of Directors of the Canton Community Foundation, Canton, Michigan and a former officer of the Council on Foundations Community Foundation Advancement Network (ADNET). | |
| J. Ann Selzer President Selzer & Company Selzer & Company specializes in strategic public opinion research helping clients connect with their audiences—be they readers, viewers, customers, voters, or lawmakers. J. Ann Selzer, Ph.D. has run her research firm since 1989. She gained national exposure for her work for Iowa Poll, with her surprise prediction ahead of the Iowa caucuses in 2008, earning the Gallup Award for Outstanding Poll reporting for The Des Moines Register. She also conducts the Bloomberg Global Poll and the Bloomberg National Poll for Bloomberg News. Her accuracy resulted in her firm named the best of 32 polling firms ranked by the influential polling website, FiveThirtyEight.com. In 2004, she received the Research Award of Merit from the Newspaper Association of America and is the youngest to win this lifetime achievement award. Ms. Selzer has appeared on most of the major news organizations, including CBS Evening News, MSNBC, Fox News, The NewsHour on PBS, CNN, the BBC, and National Public Radio. | |
| Robert F. Sharpe Jr. President The Sharpe Group Robert F. Sharpe, Jr. is President of The Sharpe Group. He is an honors graduate of Vanderbilt University and Cornell Law School. In past years, he practiced law with a major law firm specializing in income, estate, and gift taxation and corporate planning. Prior to his legal experience, he served as a development officer for a liberal arts college. He has authored many articles and other publications covering numerous estate and gift planning topics. His remarks on this subject have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Newsweek, Forbes, and other national publications. Mr. Sharpe is chairman of the philanthropy editorial board of Trusts & Estates magazine. He is a co-author of the PPP Model Standards of Gift Valuation and served on the PPP Strategic Directions Task Force. He is a recipient of the CASE Crystal Apple Teaching Award and the Donaldson Distinguished Service Award from the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning of New England. The Sharpe Group consults nationwide with a number of leading educational, health, social service, and religious organizations and institutions in implementing their major and planned gift development efforts. The Sharpe Group has worked with over 10,000 nonprofits nationwide during its 50-year history. Mr. Sharpe is a frequent speaker for professional gatherings including Partnership for Philanthropic Planning, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) National Conference, the International Fundraising Congress, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Advanced Planned Giving Institute, Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) National Conference, CASE Advanced Planned Giving Conference, the O.M.I. Non-Profit Tax Conference, and others. | |
| Dan Shephard Director of Development NKU Chase College of Law Dan Shephard, a veteran of the not-for-profit sector since 1986, knows from personal experience the value to the fundraiser of being equipped with both the competence and the confidence to engage a prospective donor in a discussion that will result in a significant gift commitment. Dan speaks from experience, having served as Planned Giving Director for the Florida State University Foundation, Director of Development for the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech, and Director of Gift Planning for The Citadel Foundation, where he revived a dormant gift planning program, initiated a marketing program that included an award winning website, and helped design a class reunion giving program that saw dramatic results in its first year. Dan is currently Director of Development for the Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University. He is responsible for all fundraising and stewardship activities but focuses on major gift planning. He has secured more endowment gifts and testamentary commitments in three years than predecessors did during the prior ten years. He has designed a comprehensive marketing program and a class reunion giving program. Dan is the founder and Principal of The Shephard Group, through which he provides training and consulting services focusing on frontline fundraisers. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Management from Virginia Tech. | |
| Gordon P. Smith Assistant Vice President Campaign, Principal & Planned Gifts National Jewish Health Gordon P. Smith, MBA, CFRE Gordon was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. He received his Bachelors of Arts in Economics and Psychology from Colgate University in 1983. He went on to complete a Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance in 1989 from the University of Colorado. Before going into planned giving, Gordon worked as a financial consultant, where he obtained experience in estate planning, business succession planning, insurance, and investment management. This provided a wonderful springboard to planned giving and the work he does for National Jewish Health where he has worked since September of 1995. As the Assistant Vice President, Campaign, Principal and Planned Gifts, Gordon has national responsibilities for planned and major gifts. His specialty is cultivating donors interested in gifts of charitable trusts, gift annuities, bequests and outright gifts of cash, stock or real estate. In addition, it is his goal to educate people interested in the many benefits of charitable giving and interested in learning about National Jewish, a little known gem located in Denver. Gordon is a frequent speaker to audiences interested in learning about gift planning and donor cultivation. This includes the Colorado Planned Giving Roundtable, AFP, several local boards, and PPP. | |
| Winton C. Smith Jr. Attorney at Law Law Offices of Winton C. Smith, Jr. Planned Giving Consultant with comprehensive services to charitable organizations whose goal is either to initiate or in some cases to improve their planned giving program to provide the best possible service to people who believe in their organization and who want to help them accomplish their important charitable mission. Planned Giving Services include the design and also the implementation of a comprehensive planned giving program, Comprehensive Charitable Gift Planning Training for Major Gift and Planned Giving Professionals, Charitable Gift Planning visits with capital campaign prospects and other donors who are interesting in planning their charitable gifts to provide the best possible plan both for the people they love and also for their charitable interests. Planned Giving Services also include Charitable Gift Planning Seminars for Donors and also for Professional Advisers, and also Estate Planning Seminars for Donors and for Professional Advisers. | |
| Jay Steenhuysen Steenhuysen Associates Jay Steenhuysen serves on the current board for the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning and is the founder of Steenhuysen Associates and co-founder of Covenant Calls, which have assisted numerous charitable organizations in soliciting hundreds of thousands of donors for bequest commitments. He has consulted with a variety of national charitable organizations, including The Nature Conservancy and the American Cancer Society, refining and refocusing their gift planning, major gift and marketing programs to meet the needs of donors at all wealth levels. Jay developed Brown University’s philanthropic planning program within the principal gifts department. He served World Vision as private giving counsel, facilitating the philanthropic planning needs of its most significant donors. Prior to that role, he directed World Vision’s Gift Planning Program, including all aspects of marketing and solicitation of planned gifts. He also served as director of philanthropic services for myCFO, a wealth management firm. Jay holds a BA from Seattle Pacific University, an MA in theological studies from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and an MBA from Pepperdine. | |
| Nathan Stelter Vice President The Stelter Company Nathan’s responsibilities include product development, strategic partnerships, marketing consultation, client services and corporate marketing. His primary concentration is on overseeing Stelter's consulting and client relations teams and using his expertise and experience to strategize with all of Stelter's regional consultants and key accounts to develop distinct marketing solutions that meet each nonprofit's unique planned giving needs. | |
| Conrad Teitell Principal Cummings & Lockwood LLC CONRAD TEITELL, A.B., LL.B., LL.M., 98.6 Conrad Teitell has lectured throughout the country and on PBS television on taxes, estate planning and philanthropy. He is a principal in the Connecticut and Florida law firm of Cummings & Lockwood, based in the firm's Stamford office and chairs the firm’s National Charitable Planning Group. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law. In addition to lecturing on taxes and estate planning, he writes extensively on those topics. Among his tax articles are columns in Trusts & Estates magazine and the New York Law Journal. He is the author of the five-volume treatise, Philanthropy and Taxation and writes the monthly newsletter Taxwise Giving. His column, Speaking and Writing, has appeared in The American Bar Association’s Journal and in TRIAL, the magazine of The American Association for Justice. He was one of four invited witnesses, along with Warren Buffett, to testify before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on estate tax revision. He is known throughout the country for his ability to translate complicated laws into understandable English. His dry wit and light touch have made him a sought-after lecturer, keynote and after-dinner speaker. Among his awards: the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning’s Distinguished Service to Philanthropy Award; American Council on Gift Annuities' Lifetime Achievement Award; American Law Institute/American Bar Association's Harrison Tweed Award for Special Merit in Continuing Legal Education; and Connecticut Bar Association — Federal Tax Institute of New England’s Outstanding Achievement Award. | |
| Allen F. Thomas Vice President of Advancement The American College Mr. Thomas has enjoyed a twenty-five year career serving the not-for-profit community, and in the last decade has focused on a variety of charitable planned gifts. He is Vice President of Advancement at The American College in Bryn Mawr, PA, where he is responsible for major and planned gifts. He is currently stewarding a $50 million comprehensive campaign authorized by the Board of Trustees in June 2010. To date, he has personally achieved pledges and commitments to the campaign of $10.3 million. Mr. Thomas joined The Devereux Foundation in 1985 as Vice President of Real Estate and President of Devereux Properties, Inc. He was elected Vice President and General Counsel, and Secretary in 1995. He was elected Vice President of Planned Giving and Real Estate in 2002. He served in that position until 2009. Mr. Thomas served as the Planned Giving Officer responsible for all trusts and estates-related gifts and all real estate gifts. During his tenure with Devereux, Devereux accepted numerous, complex planned gifts. Mr. Thomas was directly responsible for gifts and expectancies donated or committed to Devereux in excess of $27 million. He sold in excess of $74 million of surplus Devereux property between 1985 and 2009. Prior to joining Devereux, he worked in the real estate finance groups of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Aetna Life and Casualty Company. Mr. Thomas received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from American International College in Springfield, MA and his Juris Doctor from Western New England College, School of Law, also in Springfield, MA. | |
| Ronald Varney Principal Ronald Varney Fine Art Agents Ronald Varney began the firm of Ronald Varney Fine Art Agents in 2002 after a career at Sotheby's in New York, having served as a Senior Vice President in the Trusts and Estates Department while also writing for numerous Sotheby's publications and founding Sotheby's Books in New York and London. In the last decade he has represented many distinguished families, private collectors and foundations in various sales here and abroad. He has written widely on the arts for such publications as Esquire, the Smithsonian, House & Garden and The Harvard Business Review. Mr. Varney is a cum laude graduate of Amherst College, where he was an Independent Scholar in English. He resides in Bedford, New York. | |
