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Speaker Bios
Keynote Speakers
Nancy Lyons, co-founder of the Geek Girls Guide, works at the intersection of technology, community, and people. As a leader and technologist, she creates solutions that further community and business goals by meeting the needs of individuals. Aside from her work with the Geek Girls Guide, Nancy is president/CEO of Clockwork Active Media, a leading digital agency specializing in designing and developing business solutions for web and mobile. She speaks extensively about work culture, social media, technology, and leadership. She’s been locally and nationally recognized for her role as owner and CEO of Clockwork and serves on the national board of directors at The Family Equality Council.
As co-founder of the Geek Girls Guide, Meghan Wilker specializes in using strategy, technology, and process to bring people and products together. Her public speaking, writing and outreach guides individuals and businesses to develop smart digital products. Whether she’s managing a team or mentoring students, she believes that technology creates endless opportunities to make life easier and to produce meaningful connections. Meghan also serves as the VP, managing director at Clockwork Active Media, a digital agency specializing in designing and developing business solutions for web and mobile. She’s a contributing writer at GTDtimes.com, and was named as a “Woman to Watch” by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
Breakout Session Speakers
Jeff Achen serves as digital strategist for GiveMN producing multimedia content, writing and editing for the GiveMN blog, serving as a marketing/communication strategist and managing GiveMN's social media properties. Jeff frequently represents GiveMN as a public speaker and panelist at conferences and leads training on social media and multimedia production. Jeff also handles GiveMN’s graphic design projects. Prior to joining GiveMN, Jeff was a multimedia journalist and news producer for six years.
Abram Anders is an assistant professor of business communications in the Labovitz School of Business and Economics at the University of Minnesota – Duluth. He studied rhetoric and composition and earned his Ph. D. in English at Pennsylvania State University. His current research interests include business communications, new media, open source, rhetoric, professional communications technologies, and technology enhanced learning. His research has appeared in Business Communications Quarterly, Configurations, and the KB Journal.
Lynnea Atlas-Ingebretson joined the Charities Review Council in March of 2012, after 15 years of working in higher education, nonprofits and public administration. As nonprofit and outreach specialist, she is accountable for community collaborations, nonprofit outreach, the Council’s cultural competence initiative, and new business development. Lynnea also conducts nonprofit reviews and provides technical assistance, delivering workshops on nonprofit management practices related to the Council’s Accountability Standards. She currently serves on the Headwaters Fund Social Justice committee, Active Living Hennepin County steering committee, and The MN Legacy advisory committee for Parks and Trails.
Prejudice (Elen Bahr) is a former-technology marketer turned digital strategist. She advises clients on how to use the Internet as an effective communications tool and tries to steer them away from being lured to each glamourous shiny new thing. Prejudice has advised such well-known organizations as the University of Minnesota, 3M, GMAC and Target on how to get their messages to the right people in the right way via the magic of the Internet. She was early to the use of social media for business use and is often invited to counsel executives and their teams on the topic. Prejudice spends her spare time bickering with Pride at @prideprejtech.
Joel Barker is president of Backpack Tactics, a Minnesota-based IT support firm. He has over 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. His experience includes fund development (major gifts, grant writing, online giving), nonprofit management, board development, marketing consulting, and nonprofit technology solutions focused on cost-reducing technology improvements. He is passionate about using technology to help nonprofits achieve their mission and grow their constituency. Over the past five years his technology enhancement strategies have helped organizations to collectively reduce operation costs by over $200,000 annually. Joel stays directly connected with the nonprofit sector as the assistant director of development at the nonprofit Fraser (the largest autism provider in the midwest) and he serves on a few local nonprofit boards.
Bob Basques, the technical director at SharedGeo, is a self-taught individual, expert in civil design and GIS data interchange formats and processes with a well rounded understanding of the application of open source software packages to online GIS and desktop business processes. Bob has 25 years experience in civil engineering support applications design and management with an emphasis on business automation and large dataset processing and distribution in high performance online systems for desktop, online and mobile users.
Annette Bauer is the PR director for The Salvation Army Northern Division, covering Minnesota and North Dakota. She leads a dedicated and talented team of five to promote the mission, message and brand of The Salvation Army across various platforms including social media, traditional media, online communications, publications and events. Annette has been with The Salvation Army for 15 years, starting her association with the organization as a volunteer in the 500-year-flood of the Red River Valley in 1997.
Pride (Steve Boland) is the early adopter, bleeding-edge, technophile half of Pride & Prejudice. Pride’s professional background includes serving as the founding manager of the eBusiness Institute, a program of Minnesota Technology designed to bring then-emerging Internet business practices to small- to mid-sized organizations. A nonprofit and public sector professional for more than twenty years, Pride holds a master of nonprofit management from Hamline University and is a regular contributor to Nonprofit Quarterly on the topic of technology in nonprofits. The best way to find Pride when he’s not gleefully sifting through hardware upgrades at MicroCenter is at @prideprejtech.
Corrine Bruning is the outreach manager for E-Democracy. Corrine grew up exposed to many different cultures moving around the world with her military family, which helps to inform her work in community organizing. She is a trained community organizer through the Midwest Academy – Chicago. Three years ago, she helped found the Southside Youth Worker Engagement Group, and is helping launch a localized youth worker community of practice, the Minneapolis Youth Workers Forum with E-Democracy.org. She develops strategy and implements E-Democracy’s outreach and online engagement work which is successfully helping them reach their goal of bringing in 10,000 St. Paulites to become members of their neighbors forums with a focus on inclusivity. She earned her B.A. in urban studies from Hamline University and her A.A. from Minneapolis Community and Technical College.
Rudy Brynolfson is an independent consultant assisting nonprofit organizations with Excel training and analysis, accounting software conversions, and financial management and reporting. From 1993 to 2007 he was vice president, Finance and Administration of Lifetrack Resources, a diversified social services agency. Prior to that, he held a similar position for 13 years at District Energy St Paul, a nonprofit utility company. His earlier experience included several positions in the private and government sectors involving administration, research, and computer programming. He has a B.A. from Macalester College and an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota.
Tracy Carlson is an award-winning media relations and crisis communications specialist at Padilla Speer Beardsley, with a highly successful record of managing clients’ external communications. She has gained coverage for clients in major media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, USA Today, NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “Good Morning America,” and CBS’s “The Early Show.” Before joining Padilla Speer Beardsley, Tracy worked in the communications divisions of the Boys & Girls Club of Central Minnesota, and the Little Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau. Tracy is the Minnesota Public Relations Society of America president. In addition, Tracy serves on the board of Helping Paws. She received a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from St. Cloud State University in mass communications, with an emphasis in public relations.
Traci Chur began her career at HSI Crisis Connection 5 years ago as the research assistant on the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration Follow Up study, working directly with suicidal clients. Her current role is as text coordinator, and she is responsible for the development and implementation of the Txt4LIFE program. Traci earned her master’s degree from St. Mary’s University in marriage and family therapy in 2008. Her previous experience includes; in-home, preschool mental health, juvenile correction working with sex offenders, and pre-marriage counseling.
Steven Clift is the E-Democracy co-founder & executive director. A world-leading expert on e-democracy, Steven has presented hundreds of times across 30 countries. He was named among “The 25 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics” by Politics Online and in 2006 he received an Ashoka fellowship. In 2012, E-Democracy launched BeNeighbors.org, a pioneering project to recruit 10,000+ participants to neighborhood forums in St. Paul with a deep focus on inclusion. Steven launched the State of Minnesota's government portal and served as executive director of the Minnesota Government Information Access council. He is a graduate of Winona State University and attended the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs where he also taught a social media course in the fall of 2011. You can follow Steve on Twitter @democracy.
Michael Cohen is a principal at the law firm Gray Plant Mooty where he represents a variety of businesses and organizations in the acquisition, development, manufacture, marketing, licensing, and distribution of products and services. Michael is a frequent lecturer and author on topics related to information technology, e-commerce, data privacy, intellectual property, contracts, and licensing. He is the author of Computer Contracts published by Thomson/West and The Legal Guide to Technology Transactions.
Carlo Cuesta is the managing partner for Creation In Common, which helps nonprofits enhance their power to engage the public through the creation of communication, fundraising and organizational development strategies. Carlo has led engagements for Greater Twin Cities United Way, Pillsbury United Communities, Care Providers of Minnesota, KERA Public Radio and Television, Resources for Child Caring, Plains Art Museum, Sabes JCC, The Saint Paul Foundation, Sidney Health Center, Vail Place and Work Incentives Connection. He is the author of several articles on nonprofit branding as well as presents trainings on the topic with Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Julie Dappen is the director of marketing and business development at MAP for Nonprofits. She supports MAP’s marketing, business development and communications needs, including fundraising communications. Previously, Julie has worked with nonprofit organizations throughout the Twin Cities on marketing and communications planning and initiatives. Her experience ranges from marketing research to creative campaigns. Julie serves on the Nonprofit Technology and Communications Conference planning committee, is a member of the GiveMN advisory council, and currently chairs the Ten Thousand Villages – St. Paul board of directors.
Jennifer Davis has worked in Minneapolis Community Education for three years. Starting as an AmeriCorps VISTA in volunteer training, she is now working as a technology development specialist in the department. As the technology committee chair, her specialties are in e-Learning, iPad training, and online conferencing.
Brian Dejewski has been engaged in the building and managing of community collaborations for over 14 years. He has a variety of vocational experience including corporate management, creating and running nonprofits, pastoring in community, and executive positions at a foundation. These positions have given him an understanding of the varied cultures of the marketplace, faith-based, and the nonprofit sectors. In each of these roles, Brian has served to bring community nonprofits together in a coordinated approach toward effective human service delivery. Brian currently serves as the regional director for SupplyCore Technology Group, specializing in collaborative technology tools. Over half of his time is spent with Northside Achievement Zone in North Minneapolis. He has a B.A. in psychology from Cortland University in New York and a M.Div from Bethel Seminary.
Sarah Duniway is an attorney at Gray Plant Mooty, specializing in working with nonprofit organizations and health care providers. She regularly advises clients on tax-exemption issues, IRS audits, governance, contracting, unrelated business taxation, lobbying and political activity, campaign finance and election law, and other business operations issues unique to nonprofit organizations. In health law, she focuses on reproductive health services, community health clinics, mental health services and programs for people with disabilities. She is a principal at Gray Plant Mooty and chairs the firm's Nonprofit Organizations team and the Gray Plant Mooty Foundation. Sarah is a graduate of Carleton College, with a B.A. in mathematics and concentration in women's studies, and a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School.
Josh Dye has a bachelor’s degree in housing from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in public and nonprofit administration from Metropolitan State. He has worked at the Minnesota Multi Housing Association, National Association of the Remodeling Industry - MN Chapter, and currently serves as the marketing & outreach coordinator for HousingLink. While working for the MHA he helped double its membership in Greater MN in less than 18 months, and launched the organization’s education programing statewide. At NARI of MN, Josh helped set association records in member recruitment, event attendance, and awards program participation. During his tenure at HousingLink the organization has reached all-time highs in website traffic and individual donations. He also spearheaded the recent launch of HousingLink’s first earned income venture Twin Cities Rental Revue.
Carrie Ellis is the vice president of development and marketing at Children's HeartLink where she determines the strategy and vision needed to assure adequate financial support for the organization and its international programs while broadening awareness and visibility among multiple stakeholder audiences. As part of the organization’s senior leadership team, she helps set the strategic direction and vision of Children’s HeartLink and its efforts to build capacity of pediatric cardiac programs in developing countries. Carrie has more than 15 years of business development and marketing experience at nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Carrie has an M.B.A. from Stanford University and a B.S. in industrial engineering from Northwestern University.
Katie Eukel, the president and CEO of Fourth Sector Consulting, specializes in using strategy, design and communications to connect the big ideas and many partners whose collaboration is necessary to create lasting change. Katie works with clients from the public, private, nonprofit, and in-between sectors, using communications as a catalyst for organizational and program success. She often works in cross-disciplinary teams, believing that radical collaboration unearths intelligent, people-focused solutions. In addition to her work with Fourth Sector Consulting, Katie serves on the executive committee of the Sierra Club North Star Chapter and acts as a class fundraising agent for Macalester College (from which she graduated with a B.A. in communications and media studies).
Jennifer Forbes is a lawyer and partner with the law firm of Felhaber, Larson, Fenlon & Vogt, P.A. She has over 25 years of experience representing nonprofits on a local and national basis with respect to their business, intellectual property and regulatory matters. Jennifer has special expertise in health care regulatory matters including HIPAA and HITECH compliance. She is skilled in condensing complex legal and regulatory issues into straightforward, practical legal advice. Jennifer is a frequent lecturer on HIPAA, HITECH and healthcare reform. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School with honors.
Jay Gabler is associate editor of the Twin Cities Daily Planet. He is also a co-founder of The Tangential and a visiting faculty member at Macalester College.
Karen Graham leads the Technology Consulting team at MAP for Nonprofits, unleashing the power of nonprofits to achieve their mission through technology, from big picture technology strategy, to nuts and bolts technical assistance. Her main consulting areas are database selection, strategic IT alignment, and custom training. Before joining MAP, Karen was director of business development at thedatabank, a provider of nonprofit CRM/database software, where she helped the company triple in size. Her broad experience includes seven years in human resources and runs the gamut from human services to aerospace, and even a brief stint offering food samples in a grocery store. Karen has an M.B.A. in nonprofit management from the University of St. Thomas. Her volunteer experiences include serving on a nonprofit board and various leadership roles in her congregation.
Roger Hagedorn is a network administrator and information security professional who's worked with mission-based organizations for his entire professional life. He currently works as a technology consultant at MAP for Nonprofits. Most recently, Roger was the network security coordinator for Seward Community Co-op. Previously, he was the IT director at DARTS and he was an independent consultant.
Holly Harrison is the communications and accounts manager at Lake Street Council where she oversees four social media profiles and two websites. Through this work she is able to regularly utilize and explore new media platforms like Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram. Beyond her work promoting the businesses of Lake Street, she volunteers with Paper Darts, a local art and literary magazine, as the organization's marketing director and chief copy editor. Her love for words and attention to details also fills up her nights and weekends with fun freelance writing and copyediting projects.
Keely Hendrickson joined the Charities Review Council as the fund development intern in 2011. She now serves as the marketing and development specialist, where she is responsible for grant writing, donor relations, social media, content creation and volunteer coordination. Since graduating from the College of St. Benedict in 2007, Keely has spent time teaching in South America, working for a catering company in Chicago, and coordinating charitable events around the Twin Cities to benefit families in Ecuador.
Tina Homstad, program officer, joined the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) staff in 2006. During the first two years of her tenure, Tina worked with LISC's national office, coordinating the management of the Sustainable Communities strategic direction, managing a quantitative assessment of local LISC office performance, and implementing the Success Measures evaluation tool with the Twin Cities office. In her current role on the Twin Cities LISC staff, Tina supports LISC's external affairs work including external communications and fundraising. She holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Minnesota.
Kris Kewitsch is the executive director of Charities Review Council, helping to ensure the Council delivers on its mission to be an independent resource so people are empowered to make informed and thoughtful giving decisions so they can be more effective in helping charities advance their important work. Before joining the Council, Kris worked in corporate philanthropy with Target Corporation, U.S. Bank, and Piper Jaffray. During the past five years at Target, she helped direct more than $50 million in grantmaking support in the Twin Cities and across the country. Kris attended Gustavus Adolphus College, receiving a B.A. in sociology and anthropology. She has served on numerous boards, including the Corporate Volunteerism Council, National Council on Workplace Volunteerism, and the Volunteer Resource Center (now HandsOn Twin Cities).
Grace Kintzinger’s work is guided by the idea that technology innovations can empower the missions of nonprofit organizations. Her experience includes devising best methods for enhancing programs and operations through the use of new technologies, ranging from simple online tools to custom developed applications. Currently, Grace provides technology and program support for Eager-to-Learn, an online professional development program serving child care providers. She strives to continually improve the experience of students and instructors by incorporating the latest tech tools in their online learning environment.
Marcos Lopez-Carlson is a Minneapolis-based new media educator. With a background in online community building, he focuses on helping mission-based organizations use social media to connect their stakeholders, funders and values.
Jamie Millard, client relationship manager for Fast Horse, specializes in understanding audiences and digital media strategies. Jamie brings a strong perspective of nonprofit communities having worked for organizations like Charities Review Council and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. She is the co-founder and volunteer executive director of Paper Darts, a literary arts organization, and currently serves as vice chair of the board for the Twin Cities chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network. Well-known for building the strategies behind successful social media accounts, Jamie relishes the opportunity to share the tips and tricks she’s learned over the years—especially around social media ROI and evaluation. While she’s led over a dozen panels and workshops, there’s still nothing she enjoys more than converting her friends and co-workers into social media enthusiasts.
Erich Mische was appointed executive director of Spare Key in February of 2012. Prior to accepting the position, he had served as a member of the Spare Key board of directors for nearly two years. With a public and private sector background that spans more than thirty years, Erich has local, state and national experience as both a former elected official, and having served many of Minnesota's leading public officials throughout his career. A passionate believer in public service, Erich accepted the position of executive director at Spare Key after having spent the last decade working in Washington, D.C. as a U.S. Senate chief of staff and a registered federal lobbyist.
Joe Moses is senior lecturer in the Department of Writing Studies at the University of Minnesota. His research includes study of nonprofit language practices that maintain integrity among mission, direct service, training, program replication and publications. Precepts from that study have informed his college writing instruction ever since. Current projects explore the impact of social networking tools on improving student writing in academic settings and on professional writing in organizations. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.
Dan Moshe is the founder and CEO of Tech Guru, a Minneapolis technology solutions provider serving businesses and nonprofits with 10-100 employees. Back in 2004, Dan noticed a demand for technologists that cared about their clients, paid attention to the details, and established themselves as trusted advisors. He founded Tech Guru on those principles and today helps clients get a greater return on their technology investments utilizing best practices and the cloud. Aside from his work at Tech Guru, Dan is actively involved with Entrepreneurs Organization’s Accelerator Program. Ask Dan about entrepreneurship, Google Apps, the cloud, and just about any other tech topic.
Bruce Murray is a seasoned community worker with over seven years experience working in nonprofit agencies. His passion, commitment, humility and integrity help him grow trust with challenged families. Bruce was born in Chicago, Illinois and lived in low income neighborhoods that were faced with crime, violence, gangs, drugs and families learning survival skills. Bruce and his family moved to North Minneapolis in 1985 where he was faced with the same issues he faced in Chicago, including the loss of three friends to violence. Bruce Murray joined the North side Achievement Zone in 2009 as a coordinator. Bruce has since become a connector, lead connector and now program manager. Bruce works with families to ensure all youth 0-18 will graduate from college.
Jeff Narabrook joined the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits in January 2009. He provides leadership to the Minnesota Participation Project, MCN’s program that builds capacity among nonprofit organizations for engaging their constituencies and communities in civic participation. Jeff led MCN’s 2009-2010 outreach and education efforts on the 2010 Census and participates in MCN’s work on redistricting and election reform efforts. He also manages public policy web communications, writes and distributes e-newsletters, creates GIS maps and provides support to MCN's public policy events and workshops.
Darla Nemec is vice president of finance & administration at CaringBridge. Darla provides overall leadership, vision and direction for finance, human resources, customer service, administrative and facility services. After working as a volunteer and consultant beginning in 2002, Darla joined the CaringBridge staff as a full-time employee in 2008. She brings more than 20 years of experience in the accounting field, working for many high growth companies. In 2011, Darla was named CFO of the Year by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal in the nonprofit category.
Emily Northey, Minnesota Main Street program coordinator, joined the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota in 2010 when the new statewide program was launched. Emily grew up in Duluth and received her bachelor of arts degree in urban studies and political science from Macalester College. She has worked for organizations such as the Wilder Research Center, the City of Blaine Planning Department and the Brainerd Lakes Chamber, where she managed their Main Street program for its first three years. Emily is an active volunteer with the Minnesota Design Team.
Chris Oien is the web communications associate for the Minnesota Council on Foundations, where he is responsible for digital communications and outreach. In his time at MCF, he has expanded readership of the Philanthropy Potluck blog by over 50 percent and has led in developing data-driven reports on the results of the organization’s various revenue and mission-related goals. In life before MCF, one of his proudest moments was winning Minnesota Monthly’s award for Best Twitter Feed for his work at the Lake Street Council. He also sits on the board of the Twin Cities chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, where he currently serves as national liaison.
Will O’Keefe, communication & programs coordinator, joined the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota in 2010, and has played a significant role in leading the communications and special events programs for the organization. Will has spoken at a number of conferences including the National Preservation Conference in Buffalo, New York and the Preserve Minnesota Conference in Faribault. Topics included social media strategy and using web 2.0 tools to more effectively engage preservationists. Will graduated from Kenyon College in 2007 with degrees in history and religious studies. He serves on the board of directors of Preserve Minneapolis; he is also a former board and zoning committee member of the CARAG neighborhood in Minneapolis.
Julia Nekessa Opoti is the producer and host of "Reflections of New Minnesotans" on AM950 where she interviews immigrants from all over the world who have made Minnesota their home, temporary and permanent. As a writer, Julia has reported extensively on Somali, Liberian and other immigrant issues for the Twin Cities Daily Planet. She served as editor of Mshale, an immigrant African newspaper from 2006 to 2009. In 2010-11, Julia made significant contributions to E-Democracy's 2010-11 Inclusive Social Media pilot project funded by the Ford Foundation, serving as the E-Democracy community outreach team leader for East African community engagement in the Minneapolis Cedar-Riverside, Phillips and Seward neighborhoods.
Shawn Phillips has been in the IT industry for more than 20 years, with experience in strategy, software development, Internet applications and network infrastructure. He has spent his career helping small and medium sized businesses. Shawn has also been a long time board member with the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership organization in Minnesota. He is currently is the sales engineer for eFrame responsible for serving Minnesota and Iowa.
In 2010, Megan Powers joined the staff of Grassroots Solutions where she supports groups in connecting their vision to their civic or community engagement strategies. She also designs and facilitates training workshops, manages evaluation projects, develops organizing plans and delivers ongoing technical assistance to help maximize the success of philanthropic, nonprofit, advocacy and corporate organizations. Previously, Megan worked for Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy to build the capacity of Asian American community organizations. She also provided training on global and local issues as director of education at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights and managed a children’s literacy initiative for the Saint Paul Public Library. Megan holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of St. Thomas and a master’s degree in conflict resolution from the Universidad del Salvador.
Jason Samuels is technology manager for the National Council on Family Relations. He is an accidental techie, a social media enthusiast, an aspiring software trainer, a harried network administrator, and occasionally tries writing a little bit of code. Jason believes that IT management is most effective when you find the points where technological innovations and staff skills meet to improve business processes. He enjoys analyzing every aspect of an implementation project to get the best possible value out of every dollar spent.
Elissa Schloesser, owner and principal graphic designer at Visual Voice, specializes in translating complex data and information through the use of sophisticated visual tools and contemporary design. She works exclusively with organizations in the social sector, helping them sort out and identify the critical pieces of information and key messages to create visuals that powerfully inform decisions, enable better collaboration, and tell their story. Prior to starting Visual Voice in 2009, she worked for a nonprofit organization tracking, trending and visually reporting data. Elissa holds a master’s degree in urban planning with an emphasis in community development and a B.S. in design.
Kim Sheagren is the communications manager for Aeon, a nonprofit developer, owner and manager of quality affordable housing in the Twin Cities. Her responsibilities are tremendously broad, from digital communications, special events management, content creation, public relations, and social media engagement (yet in its infancy). Having been at Aeon just over a year, she has 15 years of experience in the areas of nonprofit communications, design and photography. Trained as a fine artist, she fell into communications by doing graphic design for some awesome nonprofits and by being driven to motivate others for social good.
Considering herself an experienced nonprofit generalist, Amy Sinykin has spent her 20+ year career exclusively in the nonprofit sector. Beginning as a member of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps in Washington D.C., she developed a passion for volunteerism and volunteer management. She’s held such positions as volunteer manager with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society – MN Chapter, and associate director of the Volunteer Resource Center (now Hands on Twin Cities). In 2004, she began working as associate director of the Charities Review Council, where she manages the Council’s core operations including human resources, finances, technology implementation and new initiatives. Amy graduated with honors from St. Olaf College and has served on numerous boards and committees including Articulture, the Corporate Volunteerism Council and the Mentoring Partnerships Quality Advisory Committee.
Yesenia Sotelo loves nonprofits and digital, and is happiest snuggled right in between the two. For over 11 years, she has helped nonprofits use digital tools for fundraising, communications, advocacy and operations. Yesenia has provided digital strategy and implementation support to small and large nonprofits, universities, hospitals, legislative campaigns and social enterprises. She is the founder of SmartCause Digital where she builds websites and runs online campaigns for nonprofits. Find her on twitter as @silverbell.
Denise Stahura is senior director of planning & community engagement for Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties. She oversees strategic planning, marketing, self-sufficiency programs, civic engagement programs and works with the board of directors. Previously, she was director of marketing for Greater Twin Cities United Way where she oversaw branding, built a public relations program and guided strategic communications for the third largest United Way in the nation. She also worked for ten years in the for-profit sector at U.S. Bank. She holds a B.A. in English literature from Carleton College and a M.B.A. in marketing and finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Josh Tomashek started volunteering with the PrideAlive program at Minnesota AIDS Project in 2009. His interest in the program led him to two internships in 2010 and a full-time position in 2012. Though Minnesota born, he moved around a bit before settling in St. Paul to attend Macalester College. At Macalester, Josh majored in sociology with a concentration in legal studies. Also while at Macalester, he participated in the Chuck Green Fellowship, which allowed him to partner with PrideAlive in creating AskMe, an online HIV prevention program. Josh hopes to combine his passions for social scientific research and queer health to better serve the MSM community in the Twin Cities.
Tom Trow has served as executive in charge of over 100 broadcast productions created by Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) in partnership with local nonprofits, public agencies and educational institutions, of which fourteen were Emmy® nominees and three are Emmy® recipients. Prior to joining TPT, Tom spent two decades as the director of community and cultural affairs in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota, forming partnerships among area organizations and institutions. He has served on the board of a dozen nonprofits, and was a founding director of four of them. Currently, Tom is also an adjunct professor at the University, co-teaching a graduate course on nonprofit arts and cultural leadership. Previously, he was an archaeologist at the Minnesota Historical Society, and a consultant to nonprofits.
Alex Tsatsoulis is a professional fundraiser based in Minneapolis. He has a passion for helping nonprofits of all sizes grow their capacity to achieve their missions. Currently, Alex works as the associate advancement director - chapter fundraising for the Sierra Club.
Mary Turck is the editor of the Twin Cities Daily Planet and past editor of Connection to the Americas. She is the author of numerous books and teaches courses as an adjunct faculty member at Metro State University and Macalester College.
Jennifer Valley has been a trainer and facilitator for over 13 years. Currently working with Minneapolis Community Education, she chairs the Professional Development committee and the Social Media committee. Her passion and experience are around technology, social media, and marketing. She also has a wicked sense of humor. You can stalk her on Twitter at @jkvalley if you are so inclined.
Cary Walski is the MAP TechWorks coordinator at MAP for Nonprofits and owner of the Social Good, LLC. Cary is a social media sane-maker and web go-to girl. With a degree in psychology and years of experience coding and designing, Cary has been helping nonprofits and businesses create online experiences that amplify mission for the past eight years. She also is membership chair at the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of the Twin Cities, and enjoys impromptu cubicle dance parties, and working on the next big idea.
Amanda Welliver is communications coordinator for Community Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS), a St. Paul-based nonprofit that works to build stronger communities through homeownership, foreclosure prevention, and home improvement. She is passionate about building community - online and offline - and telling the stories of the clients Community NHS serves. Amanda came to the nonprofit sector after a decade of volunteering and at-home parenting, after previously working for the Minnesota Senate and Minnesota Association of REALTORS. Working as a nonprofit outreach volunteer with GiveMN in 2011 inspired her to continue exploring the ways technology is shaping the future of nonprofit service. Community NHS was one of 18 nonprofits selected for The Nerdery’s Overnight Website Challenge in 2012.
As the online community and web content manager for the National Council on Family Relations, Allison Wickler is involved with maintaining and updating the organization’s web content and social media strategies, managing daily website and social media operations, and assisting with web development plans. Her professional experiences prior to coming to NCFR were in the journalism field, specifically in reporting and editing for newspapers and online community journalism ventures in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Cory Woosley is the professional development director at Child Care Aware of Minnesota and manages an online learning program dedicated to providing quality distance education for early childhood professionals. She played a pioneering role in the development of the program and developing best practices for distance education. In 2008 Cory received an online instructional degree from Concordia University. Cory has received two Academic Excellence Awards from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities for her work in developing online curriculum. In addition she has presented both nationally and internationally on the best practices of distance education. Cory believes by deploying effective practices for distance education good teaching is possible anytime, anyplace.
Ber Yang is a senior technology consultant with MAP for Nonprofits, bringing computer management skills and help to nonprofit organizations throughout the Twin Cities. Ber has more than 17 years experience working in the nonprofit sector. He enjoys helping his clients with providing technology solutions and his clients enjoy his regular visits to their sites. Prior to joining MAP, Ber served as manager of information systems at Reuben Lindh Family Services. He attended the University of Wisconsin – River Falls majoring in business administration. Ber has worked in such agencies as the YMCA of Metropolitan Minneapolis and Women of Nations. His volunteer experiences include serving as dean of the Building Bridges Multi-Cultural Camp with Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and member of MSNET steering committee with Minneapolis Foundation.
