Keynote Speaker
Gordon McHenry, Jr. became President & CEO of United Way of King County in 2019. United Way is a nonprofit organization that brings people together to give, volunteer, and take action to help people in need and solve our community’s toughest challenges. The organization works to ensure people have homes, students graduate, and families are financially stable.
Prior to UWKC, McHenry served as President & CEO of Solid Ground, Executive Director of Rainier Scholars, and as Corporate Counsel and in a variety of executive leadership roles at The Boeing Company.
Mr. McHenry, a lifetime resident of King County, has served on many boards involved with education, social service, and environmental issues. He currently serves as Chair of the Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice, and on the boards of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust.
Session Speakers
Genevieve G. Shaker, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies in the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI. She was an advancement officer for 20 years, most recently as associate dean for development and external affairs for the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts. She was the Association of Fundraising Professionals “Emerging Scholar” in 2015 and is an enthusiastic contributor to the knowledge base for fundraising. Professor Shaker’s research focuses on higher education advancement; fundraising and fundraisers; workplace philanthropy; and universities’ contributions to the public good.
Sarah K. Nathan, Ph.D., is Associate Director of The Fund Raising School, the nationally renowned professional training program for fundraising practitioners. A true pracademic, she supports faculty and curriculum development while engaging in research about the fundraising profession. As an enthusiastic volunteer, she serves on the board of her local community foundation, co-leads a Girl Scout troop, and advises the library foundation on its forthcoming capital campaign. Dr. Nathan holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Philanthropic Studies from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI.
Allison Rabbitt is the Director of Development for Seattle Opera. She leads the team that recently completed the $28.5 million campaign to build Seattle Opera’s new civic home and raises over $10 million annually. In her tenure with Seattle Opera, she helped to build a culture of joy, trust, and authenticity through organizational challenges to co-create the evolution of this arts organization and de-mystify fundraising. She has dedicated 19 years to making community dreams come true through some of Seattle’s leading cultural and educational non-profits. Allison has volunteered as an Advancement Northwest mentor, a leader with Contemplative Outreach Northwest, and loves to sculpt cake.
Anna O’Donnell has served as Director of Development at the Burke Museum since 2007. In her lengthy tenure at the museum, she increased unrestricted giving by 800% and led the $107 million Campaign for the New Burke. After a decade of planning and building, the new flagship museum opened in October 2019. O’Donnell is a proud member of the stellar UW Advancement operation and the Burke’s leadership team. She believes that nonprofits should stick together and share best practices in order to maximize the resources needed to serve the community—our best work is done together.
Savitha Reddy Pathi has been Deputy Director of Climate Solutions since June 2019, previously serving as Development Director since January 2010. She is responsible for organizational effectiveness and also oversees Climate Solutions development, cultivation and fundraising efforts, managing the team that raises funds from individuals, foundations, and corporate supporters. Prior to Climate Solutions, Savitha worked at Seattle Foundation where she served as philanthropic advisor to over 100 donor advised funds and the Environmental grant making lead. Savitha has been recognized with the 40 Under 40 award from the Puget Sound Business Journal and the Eco Women Making a Difference award from Women of Color Empowered & The Northwest Asian Weekly.
Currently Director of Development and Communications for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Maria Kolby-Wolfe serves on the boards of TeamChild and Allied Arts Foundation, as well as a Campaign Committee member for the Rainier Valley Food Bank and as a Communications Committee member for the Washington State Bar Association’s Access to Justice Board. Previously Maria worked as Director of Development for Path with Art and ACT Theatre, and in a wide variety of fundraising roles with Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Museum of Popular Culture, and Swedish Medical Center Foundation. Her passions and beliefs align with her work: Food, Art, and Justice for All.
Elizabeth “Beth” Castleberry serves as a Chief Philanthropy Executive at Fred Hutch. Beth has more than 20 years of experience in fundraising in the Puget Sound and is dedicated to creating a more equitable and just community. She has held leadership positions in a variety of nonprofit organizations including in the arts, healthcare, education, libraries, and social-impact investment. Through her professional and volunteer experiences, Beth has honed strategies for time management and methodologies for evaluating opportunities.
Cindy Sharek, CFRE has 25 years of fundraising, marketing, and communications experience in the nonprofit sector. For the past nine years, she has served as Director of Donor Relations with the King County Library System Foundation where she leads major gifts, planned gifts, and special events. Balancing her competing job priorities has taught Cindy strategies to successfully achieve short and long-term goals. She looks forward to sharing tips on staying organized, maximizing efficiency, and increasing productivity.
Jennifer Shin is a nonprofit fundraising professional with over 13 years of managerial experience across the sector, focused on institutional resource growth, strategic planning, fundraising operations and analytics, and stakeholder relationship management. She has served as a fundraiser for both The Seattle Public Library Foundation and Catholic Community Services, and also provided nonprofit consulting services at The Alford Group during her time as a Consultant. She recently joined Forterra as their VP of Philanthropy where she manages a dynamic team of fundraisers in this virtual workplace environment.
Alex Martin is Owner and Event Strategy Mastermind at the Seattle-based event planning team Synchronicity Events. She’s been helping nonprofit organizations plan and produce successful events since 1998, and continues to find delight and inspiration in this work every day. Alex created this session to help guide as many organizations as possible toward achieving their event fundraising goals, making choices that are environmentally friendly, putting community first when planning all event elements, and eliminating toxic work culture and stress around events.
Nina Yarbrough, Business Development Manager at CD Forum, arrived in Seattle in 2014 to earn an MFA in Arts Leadership at Seattle University. With a background in theatre performance and playwriting, Nina has worked for stellar arts organizations including serving as Seattle Opera’s Capital Campaign Manager where she worked with an incredible team of fundraisers who supported one of Seattle’s largest arts and culture nonprofits. At CD Forum, Nina ensures that the organization has the resources it needs to thrive. With her background in fundraising and donor relations, she builds strong relationships connecting the great people of Seattle to the incredible art that CD Forum produces. Photo by: Jonathan Vanderweit
Rosa Nicole Booker, Event Engineer at RosieColeyBee Professional Services, believes that a successful event is one where the guests and the client are unaware of any hiccups. She plans in-person and virtual events for anywhere from 20-800+ attendees and employing several different databases and registration platforms. She also manages event committees and volunteers, raffle and auction item procurement, secures sponsorships, and maintains vendor relationships. Her goal is that guests leave the event feeling that their time was well spent.
Jessica D. Nieves is the Director of Communications & Development at Casa Latina. Previously she was Development Manager at OneAmerica where she led the annual fund for the largest immigrant and refugee rights organization in Washington State. With nearly a decade of experience, Jessica has raised millions of dollars in the community development and local advocacy sectors. She is known for her unique blend of data-driven diligence and relationship-focused fundraising paired with a relentless commitment to ensuring that a nonprofit’s ethical vision for the world is mirrored in their fundraising practices.
Margaret Su works on the University of Washington’s brand strategy team as the Assistant Director for Advancement Marketing and Communications. Previously, she was the Deputy Director of Institutional Giving and Marketing at the Wing Luke Museum. During her twelve-year tenure, she oversaw fundraising and membership programs as well as building marketing and communications strategy from the ground up. Prior to that, she worked at GlobalGiving and Defenders of Wildlife in DC and received degrees at Swarthmore College and the University of Michigan. Basically, she spent enough time in other parts of the country to know she needed to move back to Seattle for good.
Suman Bhat-Kincaid is the Director of Philanthropy at Upaya Social Ventures, a global nonprofit organization focused on lifting people out of extreme poverty through sustainable job creation. Prior to joining Upaya in 2020, she helped raise awareness and expand financial support for nonprofit healthcare organizations working in the US and abroad. With specialties in corporate and foundation partnerships, she has worked as Senior Corporate Partnerships Officer at Bloodworks Northwest and as Manager of Corporate and Foundation Partnerships at SightLife, a global health organization focused on restoring sight to the blind. Suman holds a BS in International Management from Butler University and an MPA from the University of Washington.
Hong Chhour helps others connect with issues and causes they care about and invest their time, talent and treasure in ways that are meaningful to them. Outside of his fundraising life, you can find him working in his garden, experimenting in his kitchen, out walking his dog or peddling his family’s beloved donuts with the world. Photo by: Jonathan Vanderweit