Speaker Bios
Keynote - Dan Pallotta is a builder of movements. He invented the multi- day charitable event industry. He created the Breast Cancer 3-Day walks and the multi-day AIDS Rides, which raised in excess of half a billion dollars in nine years and were the subject of a Harvard Business School case study. The model and methods he created are now employed by dozens of charities and raise in excess of $100 million annually for important causes from pediatric leukemia to AIDS to suicide prevention and many others.
Pallotta is the author of, Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential, the best-selling title in the history of Tufts University Press. The Stanford Social Innovation Review said that the book “deserves to become the nonprofit sector’s new manifesto.” His newest book is, Charity Case: How the Nonprofit Community Can Stand Up for Itself and Really Change the World. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has described it as, “An Apollo program for American philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.”
Dan is the founder and President of the Charity Defense Council, which is a national leadership organization dedicated to changing the way the donating public thinks about charity. He is also the President and Chief Humanity Officer of Advertising for Humanity.
His iconic TED 2013 Talk has been viewed more than 3.6 million times. It is one of the 100 most-viewed TED Talks of all time.
He is a William J. Clinton Distinguished Lecturer, and has spoken at Stanford, Wharton, Harvard Business School, Harvard’s Hauser Center for Nonprofits, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Brown, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Council on Foundations, the Gates Foundation, Hewlett Foundation and the Milken Institute among others. Read Dan's full bio here.
Catherine Blinder is the Chief Education and Outreach Officer with the State’s Department of Consumer Protection, where she works to identify ways in which policy and education can benefit the needs of the state’s most vulnerable residents – the elderly, immigrants and refugees, non-English speakers, those with no or low-literacy skills, people living in very rural areas and other marginalized populations. She recently created the first of a series of bulletins, translated into 11 languages, to alert consumers about third party electric suppliers. She is also working in collaboration with other agencies and nonprofits to develop a statewide financial capability plan for youth and adults. She has advocated for progressive causes and policies in Connecticut since 1988, from women’s reproductive rights to fair housing policies. She also is a freelance writer, having been published in many state wide publications, and currently writes a bi-monthly column for Tribuna newspaper, the state’s only paper to publish in Spanish, Portuguese and English. She is a firm believer in the power of story-telling as a tool for advocacy and social change.
Mary Erin Casale is the Advocacy and PR Manager for the Maine Association of Nonprofits (MANP) in Portland, Maine. She received her undergraduate degree at Simmons College in Boston, double-majoring in Political Science and Communications. Casale then spent five years in Washington, DC working for MacWilliams Robinson, a progressive media consulting firm. During her time as Media Director, she planned and strategically placed millions of dollars in television, radio, cable, Internet, and print advertising for political and nonprofit clients. In March of 2010, she was hired as the Maine Democratic Party's Executive Director, where she oversaw budget, fundraising and communications activities, while charting the electoral direction of the organization during the 2010, 2012 and 2014 campaign cycles. She joined the team at MANP in July of 2015.
Sharon J. Danosky, founder and president of Danosky & Associates, has dedicated her career to working with not-for-profit organizations for over 30 years. As both a consultant and a senior executive for numerous charitable organizations, she has transformed organizations into highly effectively charities of choice in their communities.
Sharon conducts seminars and lectures through her affiliations with the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Connecticut Association of Nonprofits, Connecticut Community Foundation, Connecticut Land Conservation Council, Fairfield County Community Foundation, Westchester Association of Development Officers, Community Foundation of Northwest Connecticut and the Rhode Island Foundation.
Sharon has served on numerous Boards of not-for-profit organizations; is a member of and has served on the Boards of NEAHP and AFP. She is also a sought-after presenter at regional, national and international conferences including BoardSource and Land Trust Alliance Rally.
Sarah Durham started Big Duck in 1994 to help nonprofits increase their visibility, raise money, and achieve their missions. Today, Big Duck is the leading communications firm that works exclusively with nonprofits to help them raise money, recruit and build awareness. Clients include local, regional, national, and international organizations.
The author of Brandraising: How Nonprofits Raise Visibility and Money Through Smart Communications (Jossey-Bass/Wiley, 2010), Sarah teaches aspiring nonprofit communications geeks at NYU’s Wagner School (where she is an adjunct faculty member). She serves on the boards of the National Brain Tumor Society and the New York Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and is a 2015 International Fundraising Congress (IFC) Master Class presenter. She regularly gives workshops and webinars to anyone who’ll listen.
Sarah tweets @BigDuckSarah; please join her in conversation there.
Debbie Fay, Master of Ceremonies, is founder and president of bespeak presentation solutions, llc, providing presentation development, one on one public speaking coaching, and corporate training to businesses worldwide. Bespeak’s clients include: BNY Mellon Bank, the Hay Group, US Fund for UNICEF, Moody’s Investment Services, Tauck World Discovery, Sabra Dipping Products and many others. An award winning trainer and teacher with a life- long involvement in theater, Debbie helps her clients present themselves with confidence, conviction, and clarity, delivering presentations that get heard and get results. Debbie is a sought after speaker and contributing author to forbes.com and the Huffington Post. Debbie’s book, Nail it. Create and deliver presentations that connect, compel, and convince., is available on Amazon.com and from other book retailers.
For more information, go to: www.bespeakpresentations.com
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Paul Gionfriddo is the President and CEO of Mental Health America. He has worked in a variety of health and mental-health related positions during a career spanning over thirty years. In 2013, he was appointed by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to a four-year term on the 12-member National Advisory Council to the SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services.
Prior to joining MHA, he was a consultant, speaker, and writer, and author of a popular weekly health policy blog entitled Our Health Policy Matters. He is the author of, Losing Tim: How Our Health and Education Systems Failed My Son with Schizophrenia, released by Columbia University Press in the fall of 2014.
From 1978 through 1991, he served as a full-time elected official, the first eleven of those years in the Connecticut State Legislature, where he held several leadership positions, including Deputy Majority Leader and chair of the Public Health Committee and Health and Human Services Subcommittees of the Appropriations Committee. For the final two years, he served as Mayor of Middletown, Connecticut.
Mr. Gionfriddo has been a member of the Adjunct Faculty of both Wesleyan University and Trinity College, where he developed and taught graduate-level courses in public policy. He was also a member of the faculty of the Applied Statistics Training Institute of the National Center for Health Statistics.
He is a graduate of Wesleyan University.
Rob Leighton, a founder of iMission Partners, helps nonprofits to succeed in our increasingly connected world. He works with his clients to build much larger communities of donors, volunteers and advocates. He then works to move these communities to action, generating measurable returns on investment and for mission. Through their work with Rob, nonprofits integrate online marketing and cloud technologies with the more traditional tools and tactics of stakeholder engagement. Rob holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.
Meghan Lowney is the founding Executive Director of The ZOOM Foundation, a Connecticut family foundation that focuses its philanthropic investments on innovative change efforts that have the high potential for sustainable, scalable impact, especially in the areas of education, the environment and leadership development. Among other initiatives, Meghan launched the inaugural ZOOM Fellowship Program in 2012 to create action-oriented learning opportunities for emerging public policy and social change leaders. In 2014, the Foundation partnered with Echoing Green to launch a Climate Fellows program specifically targeted for next-generation social entrepreneurs committed to working on innovations in mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
Meghan is the founder of Ripple Effect Consulting, a leadership and organizational development company specializing in services to individuals, nonprofits and philanthropists to enhance social impact. In 2008, she founded and continues to oversee the Leadership Development Roundtable (LDR), a professional development program geared to developing a powerful movement of focused nonprofit leaders working to effect social change in Connecticut. Prior to opening her consultation business, Ms. Lowney served for ten years as the Executive Director of Operation Hope of Fairfield, a nonprofit providing innovative solutions to homelessness, including development of supportive housing, in greater Bridgeport. In recognition of her work, Fairfield University bestowed upon her an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 2007.
Meghan has served on numerous Boards and Committees, and currently is on the Boards of the Connecticut News Project, Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, Excel Bridgeport, and Public Square Partnership. Ms. Lowney earned her BA from Boston College and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Connecticut.
Andrea Mills has extensive experience working with nonprofits, individuals, and foundations helping them make important fiscal decisions. Andrea works with a diverse group of clients across the nation and internationally. In addition, Andrea provided a customized training on the U.S. nonprofit reporting of financial information for international organizations.
As a sought-after trainer and speaker, Andrea travels the country presenting on a variety of nonprofit financial management topics. Andrea holds the Certification in Control Self-Assessment (CCSA®) awarded by The Institute of Internal Auditors to practitioners who have proven their knowledge and are able to provide guidance on risk, controls, and business objectives. In addition, Andrea holds the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) awarded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The CGMA demonstrates management accounting expertise, determination and commitment to achieving sustainable business success. She is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and The Institute of Internal Auditors, and has served as an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of Continuing Education, where she lectured on nonprofit accounting issues. Andrea serves on the Board of Directors of Unifem/USA, NY Metro Chapter and the Board of the Ireland/US Council. Andrea has an MBA degree from Drexel University and graduated magna cum laude with a BBA from Temple University.
Kenya Rutland is a passionate consultant who uses his diverse skills and talents to increase confidence, motivation and performance of others. He has been described as the “Chief Enthusiasm Officer” and is a catalyst for learning and organizational development.
He attended the University of Georgia and The Morse School of Business. He also holds various learning and development certifications. Kenya most recently earned the certification of Learning Facilitator from Carlton Advanced Management Institute (CAMI) and currently heads the conflict resolution and sensitivity training and content development initiatives.
Jeffrey Shaw is the Director of Public Policy for the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits (CT Nonprofits), the state’s largest network of nonprofit organizations. Shaw has over ten years experience in government relations and public policy development, providing expertise on the state budget, bonding, nonprofit trends, economic impact, health care and federal legislation.Prior to joining CT Nonprofits in October 2012, Shaw served as Senior Legislative Aide & Team Leader at the Connecticut General Assembly, specializing in health policy and judicial reform. He has been active in the Council of State Governments Innovations Review and Health Policy Committees, and was recognized with the Virgil Puskarich State and Regional Leadership Award at the 2012 Council of State Governments, Eastern Regional Conference (CSG/ERC). The Council of State Governments develops regional policy solutions with all three branches of governments in the states, Canadian provinces, and U.S. territories.Similarly, Shaw was recently appointed to the Public Policy Committee of the National Council of Nonprofits, working with leaders across the United States and our allies in Washington DC, on federal issues impacting nonprofits back in the states.Jeffrey Shaw holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and two master’s degrees; one from Fairfield University; the other from the University of Connecticut.
Bill Yelenak is a communications & government relations professional with 15 years experience in the communications, public policy and nonprofit sectors. Since 2007, Yelenak has worked at the Providers' Council -- Massachusetts' largest membership association for human services organization -- and he currently serves as the vice president public policy & development. Over the past four years, he managed advocacy campaigns that secured nearly $50 million in state funding for low-paid human services workers. Yelenak -- who was born and raised in Southington, Connecticut and worked at the Record-Journal in Meriden from 2004 to 2006 -- received a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Suffolk University in 2010 and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Boston University in 2004.
Anne Yurasek has been an organizational development consultant and trainer for over eighteen years in the nonprofit and private sector. Her strength lies in her ability to listen to her clients’ needs and develop customized solutions. Anne is an excellent facilitator and is known for her training and presentation skills. Her role in many of Fio Partners’ projects is to gather information to support evidence-based decision making. From informational interviews to surveys as well as research in a particular field, Anne is able to raise the information and present the findings to clients in an accessible format. Her ability to support organizations through their inflection points – whether due to consolidation or growth – is unsurpassed. Anne has an MBA in Management from Columbia University and a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Wellesley College, and is currently a Board member of the Alliance for Nonprofit Management.