Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington - 2008 - 2009 Future Executive Directors

2008 - 2009 Future Executive Directors

Amanda Andere has just been appointed Executive Director of Fairfax Area Christian Emergency & Transitional Services, Inc. (FACETS) . Amanda formerly served as the Vice President of External Affairs and Community Resources at Reston Interfaith. Her previous experience includes working for Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney and her alma mater James Madison Universities fundraising and development. She has a B.A. in Political Science from James Madison University and M.PA .in Nonprofit Management from George Mason University. Amanda is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and serves on their Volunteer Task Force, is the former Chair of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce Community Services Committee, is a mentor for teens in the Fairfax County Youth JUMP program.

Brenda Barron is the Regional Field Director for USAction. Brenda joined USAction in February 2009 after serving as the National Assembly on School Based Health Care (NASBHC)’s Director of Field Operations. In her position Brenda supports the organizing, advocacy and organizational development needs of SBHC statewide associations. Brenda has a breadth of experiences in community organizing, campaign management, youth activism and organizational development. Prior to joining NASBHC, Brenda worked with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) as the Southern Field Organizer and State Campaign Coordinator and with the State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG) as a Canvass and Campus Director.

B.A. Cockburn has eight years of experience in human services and nonprofit and grants management. Ms. Cockburn is currently the Director of Administrative Operations at Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area. She is also an active board member for Make Piece. Ms. Cockburn holds a Doctor of Medicine from the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama and a Bachelor of Arts from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.

Maureen Dwyer is Deputy Director of Sitar Arts Center and has been with the Center since its founding in 1998. In her original role as grants manager, Maureen developed the Center’s institutional giving program. Throughout Sitar’s capital campaign and move into a new facility, rapid growth in programs and scope and an executive transition, she maintained a focus on the Center’s mission, its essence and its students. Maureen has a B.A. in drama from Catholic University of America and enjoys teaching a weekly music theater workshop at Sitar Arts Center.

Kenny Emson is a native of England and came to the United States to attend the George Washington University on a full soccer scholarship. He earned his bachelor of Accountancy and worked in public accounting before joining the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region in 1990. Kenny has been instrumental in assisting the Foundation's asset growth from $10 million in 1990 to over $390 million today. He is the Foundation's main point of contact for financial consultants, estate planners, tax attorneys and CPA's. Kenny has developed the Foundation's planned giving vehicles and consults non profit organizations on gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts and endowment investments.

Jennifer Freedman has served as CASA de Maryland’s Development Director since January 2004. As Development Director, she is responsible for CASA’s $33 million fundraising campaign to increase its programmatic capacity, strengthen its administration, and secure a permanent home for the organization. A Washington-area native, Ms. Freedman is a graduate of Northwestern University, and she serves on the Montgomery County Executive’s Committee for Ethnic Affairs. She is a member of the Leadership Montgomery Class of 2008.

Angela G. Garcia is the Director of School Partnerships at the Center for Inspired Teaching. For four years, Angela was the Director of Lower School at St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Virginia and taught elementary school for 10 years in public and independent schools in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. In 2004, she was selected to participate in the Washington Post Principals Leadership Institute.Angela earned a BA in Political Science from Brown University and a MA in Elementary Education from the University of Pennsylvania.

Nicole Gilbert is Deputy Director for the Healthy Families/Thriving Communities Collaborative Council. She is responsible for program operations, data management, quality assurance, and training. Mrs. Gilbert has over 13 years of child welfare experience and is a licensed clinical social worker in the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland.

Nadine Duplessy Kearns leads student recruitment and community outreach at the Washington Latin Public Charter School. Nadine moved to Washington, DC eight years ago to manage economic development projects in Africa for International Business Initiatives. After working to promote social and economic development in Africa, particularly for women, she made a career change to focus on increasing educational opportunities for low income students in Washington DC area by joining Capital Partners for Education (CPE). Nadine holds a BA in East Asian Studies from Harvard College and an MA in Development Economics and International Trade from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Susan Kincaid is the Senior Director of Programs for the Capital Area Food Bank. Since 1999 she has also served as a grant writer and program director at the food bank. Susan is a results-oriented professional with nonprofit and business experience including, seven years owning and managing a small business. This past May she earned her Masters of Science degree in Nonprofit Management from Eastern University. When she isn’t working she loves to spend time with family, read and cook.

James McSpadden has served as the Director of Christian Communities Group Homes (CCGH), a service of Episcopal Senior Ministries, since 2006 and served as the Assistant Director from 2004-06. Prior to CCGH, James has led community organization efforts, directed home repair programs, and taught in various capacities. James has a background in religious studies and holds degrees from Oklahoma City University, Duke Divinity School, and Princeton Theological Seminary.

Joe Meyer has been the Deputy Director at Shelter House, Inc for one year after being promoted from Shelter Director in 2007. Joe led the charge in applying for and acquiring the new Katherine K. Hanley Family Shelter in Centreville, VA in 2007. He started his Social Work career as a case manager for homeless families and individuals with Reston Interfaith in early 2001. Not long after his second year with Reston Interfaith, he was promoted to the Assistant Director position at the Embry Rucker Community Shelter. He currently serves on the Fairfax County Community Forum on Homelessness’s Education & Advocacy Committee and has been selected to participate on the Transitional Housing Conversion Task Force along with the Department of Family Services and other community leaders. He is a graduate of Leadership Fairfax’s Emerging Leadership, Institute class of 2006. Joe’s passion has always revolved around giving people an opportunity and resources to reach their full potential. Joe aspires to be the executive director of a human service organization while focusing on the development of future leaders.

Karen Minatelli is the Director, Work and Family Programs at National Partnership for Women & Families. She formerly worked as a bilingual staff attorney and Deputy Director of the D.C. Employment Justice Center, a regional non-profit whose mission is to secure, protect, and promote workplace justice. Karen also serves as Director of Policy, developing and overseeing the EJC's policy plan of action on legislative efforts that improve the wages, benefits, and working conditions for low-wage workers. Recently, Karen led a coalition of individuals and organizations to successful passage of the Paid Sick and Safe Days Act of 2007. Prior to that, she was a member of the Mayor's Task Force on the Way to Work Act, as well as a core member of the D.C. Living Wage Coalition.

Clarissa Mitchell, Director of Quality Assurance for Ardmore Enterprises. She is responsible for the overhaul and revamping of the QA department at Ardmore that has resulted in the company being viewed for having a top notch quality assurance program. Clarissa’s recent positions have been related to compliance and systems monitoring, statistical reporting, investigations, policy and procedure development, audits, database development and maintenance, and training over 3000 staff.

Elizabeth Morgan is Director of youth programs at the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation where she oversees the development and management of grants to other organizations as well as the foundation's Young Scholars Program. Before joining the foundation, Ms. Morgan was a Grant Officer for the Michigan State Bar Foundation, which awards more than $8 million annually to provide civil legal assistance to the poor. Ms. Morgan also has experience in communications, including three years as a reporter and editor at the Bureau of National Affairs. She holds a J.D. from the Washington College of Law at American University and an A.B. in history from Duke University.

Donna V.S. Ortega is the Associate Director of Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB). Prior to joining CAAB, she worked for the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation and the Council on Foundations, building a background in philanthropy, nonprofit service, and inclusiveness and diversity issues. Donna is a former co-chair and current Steering Committee member of the Metro DC/Baltimore Chapter of Asian Americans/ Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP)—a philanthropic advocacy organization dedicated to bridging philanthropy and Asian Pacific American (APA) communities. She serves on the Open Door Capacity Fund Review Committee of the Washington Area Women’s Foundation and volunteers as a tax preparer with Community Tax Aid and the DC Earned Income Tax Credit (DC EITC) Campaign.

Lisa Ott, of PHILLIPS Programs for Children & Families, has empowered young people with special needs for 20+ years, developing and leading child welfare, special education and mental health programs in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C. and Ohio. PHILLIPS Programs provides special education through its U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools in the Washington metropolitan region. Lisa’s concern for global social justice and cross-cultural understanding has also led her to work in transitional democracies of Central and Eastern Europe, training professionals and parents of children with special needs and building service capacity within national systems of care.

Shana Payne, Program Director, College Summit-National Capital Region is a graduate of Yale University (B.A., 1999) and University of Delaware (M.A., 2002). Beginning as an associate at College Summit she was focused on revamping the organization's volunteer recruitment model, then taking the lead on designing and implementing training for volunteers. As more regional offices opened, Shana was asked to take a leading role in designing and implementing the training for many of the new hires as they opened their offices and learned the program model.

Charles Phaneuf is a four-year veteran of Shakespeare Theatre Company at the Harman Center for the Arts where he is currently Assistant General Manager. In his time at STC he’s coordinated the finances and business planning of the $89 million capital project that led to the opening of Sidney Harman Hall in October 2007, in addition to supporting the work of the entire organization during the transition from a $12 million to a $19 million annual operating budget. He’s also a Founding Member of the Capital Fringe Festival, now in its third year, and is a producing team member of eXtreme eXchange, a political theatre collective. He just finished his second term on the board of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Washington, DC.

Cindy Provenzano was born and raised in southern California. She has a Masters in Administrative Social Work and is currently the Director of Social Services at SERVE. Cindy oversees the Emergency Assistance, Food Warehouse and Transitional Housing departments as well as grants management and operational duties. She was an artist in a former life, is married with two children and resides in Manassas, VA.

Frances Reed is currently the Chief Operating Officer at DC Central Kitchen and has been there since 2003. She held the positions of Partner Relations Director and General Manager prior to her appointment to COO. Her current position focuses on strategic program development for Culinary Job Training, First Helping Street Outreach, and Food Recycling & Meal Distribution. Prior to DCCK, she was at Foodshare Inc. in Hartford, CT, where she established a mobile food program organizing residents of public housing to bring fresh foods into their communities. Frances is a graduate of Smith College where she received a BA in Urban Studies specializing in issues surrounding urban poverty.

Michael Rhein has worked in public health and philanthropy for over 15 years. Currently, Michael serves as the Director of Program and Resource Development with the National AIDS Fund. Michael leads a team of nine program staff, manages the organization’s major foundation relationships and oversees more than $5 million in grants to hundreds of community-based organizations. Previously, he managed a 41-site community health systems development initiative for a public health association and coordinated regional mental health and substance abuse planning at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Michael holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from George Washington University.

Jennifer Shewmake has recently returned to the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) to serve as the Director of Strategic Initiatives & Grants Manager. The LAYC Family of Organizations is a network of youth centers, schools and social enterprises with a shared commitment to helping youth become successful and happy young adults, with the skills they need to succeed educationally, professionally, and personally. Prior to returning to the LAYC, Jennifer served as the Community Programs & Communications Manager for Ben & Jerry’s in South Burlington, VT. In this role, she managed a variety of social mission, communications, and marketing programs for the global retail franchise system. From 2000-2004, Jennifer served as the Social Enterprise Director for the LAYC. A native of Overland Park, KS, Jennifer earned her B.A. in Latin American Studies and Community Development from the University of Kansas in 1997.

Kimi Wetterauer is the U.S. program director for Atlas Service Corps, an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop international cooperation through one-year fellowships. Atlas Corps Fellows are rising nonprofit leaders from the global south who are matched with nonprofit organizations in Washington, DC for a mutual exchange of knowledge, skills and ideas. Kimi directs the operations of the fellowship program which includes recruitment and selection, organization of orientation and training seminars, and resource development. From 2004-07, she was the program manager for the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships (AFPF), a journalism training program for print journalists from developing countries to come to the United States for six months of practical training at American newspapers. Kimi earned her M.A. in international education with a specialization in cross-cultural exchange and training from New York University and a B.A. in international relations from Pomona College in California.

Alicia Wilson has just been selected as the Executive Director of La Clínica del Pueblo. She received her BA in Religion and Sociology/Anthropology from Swarthmore College and began working in the social services field immediately after graduating. She first served as a case manager working with the homeless and working poor in and around Washington, DC, then shifted to working with HIV-positive Latinos at La Clínica del Pueblo. In 2001, Ms. Wilson joined the development department of La Clínica and in 2002 became the Director of Grants and Contracts Administration there. Ms. Wilson was responsible for overseeing grant writing and fundraising efforts for the agency’s current $7 million annual budget, of which 75% is grants and contracts, as well as public relations and many longer-term projects for the clinic.