Meet Your CGP Team
The National Association of Charitable Gift Planners is governed by an all-volunteer Board of Directors elected by the councils. Board members serve three-year terms and provide strategic vision and leadership for the organization. CGP operations are run by our professional team based in Indianapolis.
As president and CEO of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners, Michael strives to create an environment where CGP’s 8,000 members can come together to educate, learn, network and advocate for the distinguished profession of charitable gift planning. Working closely with the CGP board, Michael helps develop and champion the organization’s strategic vision, ensuring that CGP’s budget, staff and priorities are aligned with its mission to serve charitable gift planners and bring to life the art and science of charitable gift planning. It’s Michael’s job to navigate change, foster innovation and bring people together to build a healthy and successful organization.
Before joining CGP, Michael served as the executive director of the Percussive Arts Society. For 11 years, he led this international music service organization that serves 7,500+ members, 50 U.S. chapters and 28 international chapters. Among many successful initiatives, he led the organization through development of a new facility for the Rhythm! Discovery Center, a museum and educational space that USA Today named one of the top places in the United States for hands-on music making.
Michael holds B.M. and M.M. degrees from Arizona State University and began his professional life as a musician before transitioning into arts and nonprofit administration. He has worked with St. Martin’s Hospitality Center for the homeless, Celebrate Youth and the New Mexico Jazz Workshop.
Michael currently serves as vice-president for the Charitable IRA Initiative, is a member of the board of directors for the Percussive Arts Society and serves on the steering committee for Music Crossroads, a strategic initiative focused on advancing quality of life in Indianapolis through the performing arts.
Title of Presentation: Advocating for the Future of Gift Planning
General Topic: Advocacy
Title of Presentation: CGP - Your New Association
General Topic: Membership Benefits to CGP
Jessica Hall joined CGP in October 2022 as the new Director of Membership and Marketing. Jessica is responsible for the strategic management, marketing, and implementation of membership recruitment, programs, and services. She serves as liaison to council leaders to provide technical and governance support, articulate policy, resolve problems and build relationships to maintain existing councils and recruit the formation of new councils. She develops national marketing strategies that promote brand recognition across print and web platforms.
Jessica Hall comes to CGP from her previous role as Director, Global Marketing at World Bicycle Relief. Other careers experiences include marketing and digital engagement for Indiana University School of Medicine, program management at Salesforce, digital marketing for United Way of Central Indiana, and community marketing for Dick's Sporting Goods.
As the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners’ Meetings Manager, Mary Kate is responsible for the strategic, operational and logistical activities for any off-site meetings including the Council Leadership Summit and CGP Conference.
Mary Kate brings 27 years of meetings and event experience to the CGP team. She excels at logistics and operations, and her attention to detail means that events and meetings go smoothly from concept to completion.
Mary Kate holds a bachelor's degree from Indiana University. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, volunteering in the community and spending time with her family.
With 14 years of tenure at the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners, Carey has mastered the art of providing a helping hand to CGP members and potential members across the United States. Carey also assists CGP’s affiliated local councils with frontline services and reporting. It’s her job to ensure positive member experiences.
Members appreciate Carey’s quick responses to questions and concerns, and her focus on building strong relationships. She plays an important role in developing and implementing membership policies and procedures, and assists with preparing for important member events, including board and leadership meetings and the annual CGP Conference.
Carey, who received a B.A. in English at Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana, says she’s proud to have spent most of her career serving the CGP membership.
Andrea Skirvin is the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners’ Content and Communications Specialist. She engages the CGP community through social media, emails, and other e-communications.
Prior to joining CGP, she worked as a Marketing and Communications Specialist at ACES: The Society for Editing. Andrea is passionate about creating opportunities for gift planning professionals to network, engage with relevant content and participate in meaningful conversations.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Marian University. Andrea lives in Indianapolis with her partner, Brody, and two cats. In her free time, she enjoys painting, reading and experimenting with new recipes.
Donna Ward is the Administrative Support Specialist for the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners. In this role, Donna assists management in daily operations of CGP and provides additional support to the president and other staff. She also gives general membership support by email and telephone to our members. Donna assists in the development of reports, tracking effort and progress of special projects, managing fundraising records, assisting in the development of office guidelines and procedures. She serves as a liaison with the Board of Directors, Leadership Institute, Committees and Task Forces.
Donna joined CGP in January of 2017 with an experienced background in administration. She has previously served as an executive assistant/office manager at Harrison College, where she assisted the Regional Vice President of Nursing. Donna performed accounts payables and general administrative duties while also assisting students in understanding course requirements.
Donna is excited to bring her office management and administration expertise to help the CGP national office in it’s continued work in charitable gift planning.
Nathan Granitz is the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners' Member Success Specialist. Nathan works to understand the unique needs of our members more fully, but also to advocate on their behalf; ensuring a positive, beneficial and lasting partnership with CGP.
Nathan earned his BA in Psychology from Purdue University, and later in his career, received his MA and licensure in Mental Health Counseling, from Indiana Wesleyan University. His roles have revolved around listening and helping others; whether that’s as a counselor, risk management consultant or even in author acquisitions. He has always sought to create a safe space for others where they can bring their true, whole and authentic selves to the table.
When Nathan isn’t working, you can find him hiking (in the Fall and Winter, his favorite seasons), enjoying his favorite music (synthwave, IDM and more) and cooking up a delicious, yet tedious, gluten and nightshade free meal.
Nicole Engdahl is the Vice President of Individual Giving for the African Wildlife Foundation. With more than 25 years of fundraising experience, Nicole leads multiple departments at the foundation: direct response, midlevel giving, major gifts, and charitable gift planning. Before joining AWF, Nicole honed her nonprofit fundraising skills with national and international organizations including the National Park Foundation, Special Olympics International, and the National Geographic Society. She is an expert nonprofit fundraising executive who specializes in raising current and future gifts while also building and elevating programs to the next level.
Nicole is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® and currently lives in Washington, D.C.
Trina S. Olidge brings depth and understanding to a changing academic landscape with nearly 20 years of experience in both public and private institutions. In her current role as Executive Director, Gift Planning at Emory University, she provides strategic and managerial leadership to advance a robust and growing planned giving program. In consultation with leaders and peers, Olidge educates donors on taxwise giving strategies that align with their values and maximize charitable gifts. She continues to make her mark as a speaker and thought leader in the field. Having recently served at Georgia Tech, her career in higher education began at Tulane Law School as Assistant Dean of External Affairs & Diversity. Working previously in finance and law, her stints in industry include stops at G.E. Capital and Goldman Sachs before joining a boutique international consulting firm after law school.
A Georgia native, she lives in Atlanta with her husband and two teenage children. Olidge is an inactive member of the Louisiana State Bar and fellow in charitable estate planning (FCEP). She currently serves on the board of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners as a member of the executive committee and chair elect. She is a graduate of Howard University, and the University of Georgia School of Law. Inspired by the example of her parents, both of whom are retired college professors, she brings innovation, authentic leadership, and commitment to the pursuit of philanthropic excellence in higher education.
Mike Bell has held leadership positions in the field of philanthropy for more than thirty years. Currently, Mike is Executive Director of Davis Health System Foundation in Elkins, West Virginia. He also serves as health system director for volunteer services and pastoral care. Prior to joining DHS, Mike served as Executive Director of Suncoast Hospice Foundation in Clearwater, Florida, and Vice President for Community Development at Alive Hospice in Nashville, Tennessee. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, and a Master of Education in Institutional Advancement from Vanderbilt University. Mike also serves as an adjunct professor of nonprofit leadership at Davis & Elkins College and is the Board President of the Randolph County Housing Authority and immediate past President of Charitable Gift Planners of West Virginia.
Ericka L. Webb is the Executive Director of Gift Planning at Boston College. She oversees all aspects of the gift planning program and works closely with donors, their advisors, staff, and University leadership to increase philanthropic support to the University through planned gifts. She was Director of Gift Planning and Endowment for the WGBH Educational Foundation for more than four years. Prior to joining WGBH, Ericka worked in the planned giving offices at both Harvard University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Ericka earned her bachelor’s degree in international relations from American University and a master’s in education from Harvard University. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Chad, Africa, where she worked on community health education and other initiatives. She is on the board of both the Hibel Family Foundation Planned Giving Initiative and the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners. She is also a member and past president of the Planned Giving Group of New England (PGGNE).
Carlo Laurore is the VP & Executive Director of the National Boy Scouts of America Foundation, where he has worked for almost the past decade. Currently, he leads the national fundraising efforts for the BSA Office of Development. Carlo also provides leadership for grant administration, restricted funds management, and fundraising educational initiatives for the organization. Carlo is a current Executive Committee member of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners Board and a current board member of his local North Carolina Planned Giving Council Board. He is the chair of the CGP National Conference for 2024 hosted in Orlando, Florida.
Previously, Carlo worked in higher education fundraising at NC State University and NC A&T University. Of note, he is responsible for starting the gift planning program at NC A&T, where he helped close the largest gift from a non-alum individual at that time. Afterwards, at NC State he led a complete revamp and expansion of their gift planning marketing efforts. The outcome, a 150% increase in closed gifts from marketing-related leads.
Prior to his work in fundraising, Carlo worked for 8 years in the financial services industry for BB&T, where he held the title of Vice President and managed a $50+ million-dollar portfolio of business loan clients. He holds numerous financial planning and fundraising designations, including his CFP®, CFRE, and CAP®.
Carlo is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi® fraternity and a graduate of UNC-Wilmington with degrees in Economics and Leadership. He, his wife (Catherine), and his two teenage children (Trey and Tori) currently reside in Raleigh, NC. Most importantly, he has a heart for philanthropy, youth development, and helping non-profit organizations big and small maximize their fundraising efforts through soliciting gifts of non-cash assets and optimizing their gift planning program. He has been featured speaker at various local CGP Councils, FPA chapters, and at the 2022 National CGP Conference.
Matthew Treadwell is a Gift Planning Attorney at the Indiana University Foundation. His office is located on the IUPUI Campus where he assists all units at IUPUI, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, and IU Southeast. Along with his fundraising responsibilities, Matthew directs IU’s Planned Giving marketing efforts.
Prior to joining IU Foundation, Matthew was the Planned Giving Officer for the National FFA Foundation. As the Planned Giving Officer for National FFA, Matthew was tasked with restarting a planned giving program that had been dormant. He revitalized the planned giving legacy group, the Forever Blue Circle, implemented a new event during the National FFA Convention for planned giving donors and prospects, and oversaw a transition in marketing vendors. Along with the planned giving responsibilities, Matthew managed the Foundation’s endowments process and donors. Matthew acted as the liaison between the National FFA and each individual State FFA Foundation/Association to organize and coordinate fundraising goals and methods.
Before entering the nonprofit world, Matthew was a Deputy Attorney General in the Office of the Indiana Attorney General. He began his time in the Office working directly for then-Chief Deputy Gary Secrest. Matthew then made the transition to the Transportation Practice Group’s Litigation team handling eminent domain cases.
Matthew graduated from Indiana University with a major entitled Global Inequalities, through the Individualized Major Program. His senior thesis focused on Land Rights in Cambodia and the issues villagers and farmers have with proving ownership in the post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia.
Aquanetta Betts, J.D., CAP®, AEP®, CFRE joined George Mason University in September 2022, where she is the Director of Planned Giving. Prior to joining George Mason University, she served for nearly five years as the Senior Executive Director of Planned Giving for World Vision (eastern region of the U.S.).
Prior to her planned giving roles within organizations, Aquanetta worked for 11 years as an estate planning attorney. Her practice was focused on wills, trusts, and estates. She is a licensed attorney in the District of Columbia and Maryland.
Aquanetta has served as a pro bono attorney for several nonprofit organizations in the Baltimore, Maryland, area. She has served in leadership positions with the National Bar Association’s Real Property, Trusts, and Estates Section; Baltimore Estate Planning Council; and the Chesapeake Planned Giving Council, where she is currently president. She is a member of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners where she has served on their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce, Development Committee, and Mentor Program Committee.
Aquanetta holds the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) designation from The American College of Financial Services, and the Accredited Estate Planner® (AEP ®) designation from The National Association of Estate Planners and Councils. In 2021, she earned the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) certification. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law, and her Bachelor of Arts in English from Florida International University. Aquanetta’s interests include book clubs, traveling, and mentoring young professionals.
Patience Boudreaux, MBA, CSPG, CFRE is Philanthropy Executive and President of the Rideout Foundation at Adventist Health and Rideout in Marysville, CA, which serves the residents of Sutter and Yuba Counties. She leads their ambitious campaign to bring new technological advancements and renovations to the hospital to better serve the community. Her background is in planned giving with a focus on gifts of complex assets and bequests, as well as major and annual giving. She earned her BA at Johns Hopkins University and MBA at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. She has presented nationally on topics related to charitable gift planning and was honored to receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Southern California Council of Charitable Gift Planners in 2022. She currently serves on the board for the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners and the Southern California Council of Charitable Gift Planners.
Meredith Camp is a philanthropic services senior regional trust manager and senior vice president with Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management. She leads a team of experienced philanthropic advisors in the Central and Western Divisions in helping to grow and retain philanthropic business, while focusing on business economics and risk reduction.
Wells Fargo Philanthropic Services helps charitable individuals, families, and nonprofit organizations work toward their unique goals by providing specialized advisory services. Services to clients may include gift and tax planning, multi-generational planning, estate planning, and the creation and management of donor advised funds, private foundations, charitable trusts, and other charitable planning strategies. She also works extensively with nonprofit organizations, where she advises in the areas of gift planning, endowment management, and board governance.
Meredith has extensive experience in financial services, having held various relationship management and business development roles over her more than two-decade career with boutique investment advisory firms. She previously served as a senior philanthropic specialist in the Texas/Oklahoma/Arkansas market for six years. She also has experience working in the nonprofit sector. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Ms. Camp worked at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, where she was the Director of Legacy & Leadership Gifts.
Meredith earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and International Business from Baylor University. She holds the Certified Financial Planner™ designation and has been awarded the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® designation. She is a past President and Board member of the Dallas Council of Charitable Gift Planners. She is active in multi-generational philanthropy training through 21/64 and has recently been awarded the Investment Foundations certificate by the CFA Institute.
Meredith is also active in her community. She serves on the Board of Directors of Interfaith Family Services where she is a past Executive Board member and Governance Chair. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of TACA (The Arts Council Alliance) in Dallas where she is a past Executive Committee member and past Development Chair. Meredith enjoys spending time with her family and enjoys traveling, the performing arts and attending live sporting events.
In February 2020, Bobby Collier celebrates his twentieth anniversary at American Cancer Society. He began his career as a Director, Estate & Gift Planning in the New Orleans office, eventually covering the states of Louisiana, Mississippi & Arkansas. In 2002 he was named the Top Performer in the Planned Giving Business Unit.
In December 2003, Bobby became Vice President of Region 1 of PGBU. His responsibilities at that time were to manage the planned giving team covering the 12 states of Mid-South and South Atlantic Divisions. In the Spring of 2004, Bobby and his family relocated to Birmingham AL. Over the years, his territory has grown to cover 18 states. His 13 planned giving directors touch 5 of the 6 ACS Regions. His team has averaged documenting $30 million in New Expectant Planned Gifts per year, building the pipeline, that ultimately feeds the Probate/Legacy Income, now one of the leading sources of income annually at American Cancer Society.
In 2019, while still managing his team of planned giving directors, he also became the lead liaison between the Planned Giving Department and our Probate & Trust Management Department & Finance.
Bobby has over 26 years of Planned Giving / Development experience. He was President of the Greater New Orleans Council of the National Committee on Planned Giving, in 2004. And in 2018, served as President of the Alabama Association of Charitable Gift Planners, where he still serves on the board.
Bobby is extremely honored and excited to take on the role of Senior Vice President – Planned Giving. He wants to continue the legacy that started 20 years ago, with the creation of the Planned Giving Business Unit, which its’s revenue is now averaging 20 percent of the overall ACS Annual Revenue. He and his wife Leigh celebrated their thirtieth anniversary in August 2021. Their son, Cameron Bryant, is 17 years old and starting to look at colleges. In his free time, Bobby loves spending time with his 3 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and of course, you can always find him fulfilling his obsession, playing golf!
Liana Garcia has been the Director of Gift Planning at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven for more than four years. Previous to that she was a Senior Philanthropic Officer for the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. She is a bilingual/bicultural (First generation Cuban American) management professional with more than thirty-five years of organizational growth, professional staff management and hands-on program development experience. She has been recognized in the non-profit and dietetic industries for her work and presentations involving the issue of diversity in the workplace. Liana received her Bachelor of Science in Clinical Dietetics from The University of Connecticut. In addition to her M.S. in Health Care Management from New York Medical College, she has a PMP (Project Management Professional certification) through the Project Management Institute and is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) from the American College.
Liana attributes her success in part to her focus on listening. She finds it, “important to listen to donors first and foremost and then be authentic in my efforts to be a knowledgeable resource for their philanthropic planning.”
For more than 21 years, Brad Gornto has practiced law throughout Florida in the areas of complex estate & charitable planning, business law, probate and trust administration, and income tax planning. In addition to his law practice, Brad is the President and Founder of Effectual Giving, LLC, which is a consulting firm that assists charitable organizations (primarily in higher-education and faith-based philanthropic sectors), philanthropic families, and allied professionals across the country in the actual implementation of effective charitable giving strategies. Finally, Brad is also the President and Founder of iCLAT Solutions, LLC, which specializes in design, drafting and consulting services of “reversionary” charitable lead trusts for individuals, entities and recipient public charities, churches, ministries, private foundations, and donor advised fund sponsors.
Brad earned his undergraduate degree from Florida State University in 1995, his law degree (J.D.) from the University of Florida College of Law in 1998, and his LL.M In Taxation from the University Of Miami School Of Law in 2000.
Brad’s current volunteer service includes: (i) member of the Florida State University Foundation, Inc. Planned Giving Advisory Council in Tallahassee, Florida; (ii) Development Advisor to the Board of Directors for the C.S. Lewis Study Center based in Northfield, Massachusetts; and (iii) Immediate- Past President and Member of the Board of Directors for Charitable Gift Planners of Central Florida. Brad is a past President of the Estate Planning Council of the Fun Coast, Inc. (Volusia, Flagler and St. John’s Counties), and a past Board Member of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida.
Tamisha Keith, J.D., CAP® is an experienced development professional with over ten years of experience in program management, fundraising, community engagement, and strategic planning in the non-profit sector. As the Director of Gift Planning for North Carolina A&T State University, she is responsible for building and managing a comprehensive planned giving program for long-term revenue growth, raising over $2 million for the University in major and planned gifts in less than a year. Tamisha is also responsible for developing a robust stewardship plan for legacy donors while educating Major Gift Officers on planned giving vehicles to increase their donor engagement and dollars raised.
Tamisha wrote “Planned Giving in the African American Community,” which was published in the May 2023 issue of Planned Giving Today. Prior to working for North Carolina A&T State University, she served as the Donor Relations Officer for The Winston-Salem Foundation, a community foundation with more than $600 million dollars in assets. Tamisha managed a portfolio of 1250 Foundation donors for cultivation and stewardship and maintained knowledge of trends and legislation that impacted philanthropy.
Tamisha specializes in gift planning, strategic planning, and nonprofit management for developing nonprofit organizations, including higher education. She has a focus on helping nonprofits with effective marketing strategies, stewardship plans, and donor relations. Tamisha is involved with various professional associations and serves as President of the Board of Directors for The North Carolina Council of Charitable Gift Planners, HandsOn Northwest North Carolina Board of Directors, The Enrichment Center Board of Directors, and The Winston-Salem Transit Authority Trans-Aid Appeals Committee.
Tamisha earned her law degree from Indiana University School of Law, and she is a graduate of Florida A&M University, where she majored in Political Science. She also has received the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy designation.
Robert joined the Children’s Minnesota Foundation on August 28th, 2023.
Before entering a career in philanthropy, Robert was a senior trust officer for two financial institutions, leading trust and estate administration efforts and overseeing investment and personal financial planning programs. He began his non-profit career as a charitable gift planner for a nationally-recognized liberal arts college in the Midwest before serving as the lead charitable gift planner and senior director of development for the University of Houston during its successful $1 billion capital campaign. More recently, Robert served as the national director of gift planning for a top-rated humanitarian and poverty relief organization and as the lead fundraiser for the department of internal medicine at the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine. Robert brings 30 years of legal and financial planning experience to his work in helping donors create meaningful impact through their charitable giving.
He is a member of the Leadership Institute of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners (NACGP) and began his three-year term as a director of CGP in January 2024.
Nicola Lawrence, CFRE® currently serves as the Director of Planned Giving for Children’s Health. Born and raised in Northern England, Nicola attended Wigan College, the University of Leicester, York St Johns and Dundee University, specializing in business and finance and nonprofit leadership. She has made Texas home since the 1990s. Over the last two decades, Nicola has led sustainability and legacy-based giving at a variety of nonprofits, both in the US and internationally, that include community-based health care, higher education and social service organizations. Bringing digital and print mediums together, Nicola is an award-winning multi-channel planned giving marketer while never forgetting that this kind of philanthropy requires careful personal attention to each donor’s current financial wellbeing while assisting them in building their charitable legacy.
Stacey McKinley serves as Director of Gift Planning in the Cleveland Clinic’s Philanthropy Institute. In addition, she focuses her legal practice on counseling nonprofit organizations in securing tax-exempt status, board fiduciary duties, fundraising, planned giving, and basic legal matters. She is also an adjunct professor at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law where she teaches Non-Profit Corporations. Stacey has also held the positions of Director of Planned Giving at Cleveland State University and Associate Director of Gift Planning at the Cleveland Clinic. Prior to entering the development field, Stacey worked at three Cleveland law firms – Jones Day, Kahn Kleinman, and Ulmer & Berne - where her legal practice focused on finance, real estate, business and nonprofit law. Prior to law school, Stacey worked in broadcast journalism including five years as co-host of “Good Morning, Kentucky” in Lexington, Kentucky.
Greg Sharkey has served as Senior Philanthropy Advisor for The Nature Conservancy for the past 16 years. He assists donors with a broad range of planning issues, from how to best fund their charitable gifts to developing Philanthropy Mission Statements. He also helps teams and individual colleagues throughout TNC with strategy for their major and principal gift donors.
Greg is a past Board member and Chair of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners (2011-2015), and he currently serves as Chair of its Board Management Committee. Greg also serves on the Board of Otterbein Granville, a continuing care retirement community, and as a member of the Development Committee of the Granville Community Foundation. His past Board service includes the Licking Land Trust, the Granville Community Foundation, and the Central Ohio Planned Giving Council.
Greg is a graduate of Denison University (Phi Beta Kappa 1984) and the Villanova University School of Law. He is a former partner of the Philadelphia law firm Sweeney and Sheehan.
In his free time, Greg loves to run, swim, and golf. He and his wife Ginny are proud parents to four grown children, two grandchildren, and two enormous Great Danes. They reside on a small farm just outside the idyllic college town of Granville, Ohio.
Stacy B. Sulman, J.D., is the Chief Legal Officer and Managing Director, Planned Giving for the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science, where she has worked for 15 years. In that capacity, Stacy oversees planned giving and estate settlements, gift compliance and structuring, and general legal affairs. Stacy previously served as Associate Director and General Counsel for the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest, New Jersey.
Stacy teaches Planned Giving at New York University’s George H. Heyman, Jr., Program for Philanthropy and Fundraising. Stacy has also taught at the University of Arizona College of Law. Stacy is a Past President of the Philanthropic Planning Group of Greater New York and has also served on the boards of Goucher College Hillel and Daughters of Israel, a skilled nursing facility in New Jersey.
Stacy received her JD from the University of Arizona College of Law, and her bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College. She also spent a graduate year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as a Raoul Wallenberg Scholar.
Mark A. Vergenes is President of MIRUS Financial Partners. Having entered the financial services industry in 1995, Mark has built a clientele that consists of individuals, families, non-profits and business owners. His practice focuses on the advantages of asset management and “wrap fee” programs through Cetera Advisor Networks LLC. Knowledge and experience play key roles in helping Mark’s clients more effectively work toward their financial goals.
A longtime resident of Lancaster, PA, Mark is active in the community including serving on the Planned Giving Committees of the Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) Foundation and the Lancaster General Hospital Foundation – Penn Medicine. He also serves as President of the Pennsylvania Parking Association and on the board of the Lancaster City Revitalization & Improvement Zone. Mark is the Immediate Past President of Susquehanna Valley Council of Charitable Gift Planners.
During a 25-year career in New York and Michigan as a technology professional and executive focused on large systems implementation services for customers around the world, as well as building a project management practice, George also nurtured his passion for giving back to the community. Encouragement to engage beyond the workplace with organizations focused on disadvantaged communities, civic engagement, animal welfare, rights of and support for diverse populations, and children’s health, Westerman realized his passion for making the world better and longed for an opportunity to engage more deeply.
Following his first profession, George was encouraged by professional colleagues and nonprofit leaders to consider a second career in the nonprofit sector. George built on his volunteer service that included successfully leading a capital and endowment campaign for a community-based organization. He built his knowledge by attaining the Certification of Fund Raising Management offered by the Fund Raising School of the Lilly Family Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, his alma mater, and secured a position with the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation (now The Children’s Foundation) in 2014 as a development professional.
Working in the major gifts and planned giving area, George built a planned giving program nearly from scratch and leveraged the expertise and mentoring from new colleagues in the Planned Giving Roundtable for Southeast Michigan as well as expert professionals in the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners (previously Partnership for Philanthropic Planning).
Westerman continues to be inspired by those who have built the profession he now enjoys and sees a day when he will serve donors not solely by proposing structures for impactful gifts, but helping them learn creative ways to achieve their philanthropic goals and build a legacy that goes beyond the nonprofit causes they care about, but also is woven into their family DNA.
Through smart and strategic gift and estate planning, Simon works with donors (and their advisors) to help them explore and make outright, blended and deferred gifts in support of their personal values and financial goals and the charitable causes they care about.
As a member of the Conservancy’s Gift Planning team, Simon provides support in structuring lifetime, blended and deferred gift arrangements for conservation-minded individuals and families, including: gifts of non-cash and complex assets (stock, real estate, personal property, business interests, retirement plans, life insurance); gifts that pay fixed or variable income to one or more beneficiaries (annuities, remainder trusts); gifts that preserve wealth for future generations (lead trusts); and gifts that generate significant tax advantages (retained life estates, donor advised funds).
Simon is in his sixteenth year working at The Nature Conservancy and is in his fourth year in his current role. Previously, Simon directed a Conservancy-wide program that helped to engage hundreds of trustees to participate in
Gift Planning opportunities during the organization’s $8 Billion Our World campaign. Prior to that, he led fundraising efforts for the Conservancy’s Nevada Chapter. He has also held positions managing and developing the Conservancy’s marketing and communications for Gift Planning, and for three years also worked as a consultant for a number of national non-profits.
Simon graduated with a B.A. in American Studies from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. He is based in Reno, Nevada, where he lives with his wife, Danielle, daughter, Stella, and cat, Anderson. Simon is the immediate Past President of the Planned Giving Round Table of Northern Nevada— a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to advancing and promoting charitable gift planning. In his spare time, Simon enjoys hiking, paddle-boarding, photography, snorkeling and diving, and travel in general.