Biographies

Penny Goforth
Senior Associate. With over 30 years of expertise in working with nonprofit organizations, Penny works with a wide range of programs. She coordinates the business aspects of the collaborative by meeting with clients, schmoozing and scheduling team assignments. She is sought out as a nonprofit consultant and speaker and sits on the advisory boards of several local organizations.

CALIFORNIA LEADS

Kathy Abbott
Lead Associate. Kathy has developed a strong legal background through her many years of working in the county court system. She specializes in civic/community development as well as youth and art/culture programs. She advises nonprofits in forming strategic alliances and making accountability a priority so they will thrive in future years. Kathy was the Grants Coordinator for the San Diego County Superior Court System for several years and now works building the court’s volunteer program.

Betsy Gordon, MAT, MAOM
Lead Associate. Betsy holds an M.A. in Teaching degree from Harvard University and an M.A. in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. She has more than thirty years experience of writing, editing, and administration in the public and private sectors. Before moving to California in 1996, Betsy founded an independent Montessori school in Toronto, Canada. She ran it for twenty years, with countless opportunities for writing newsletters, staff and parent manuals, budgets, performance objectives, and community marketing materials, as well as conducting parent and community educational workshops. Betsy has edited articles, grant proposals, and book chapters for local and international scientists since 1992, as well as editing two business books. She has provided grant writing and grants management services to nonprofit service organizations in San Diego since 2000.

Peg Martin, MS
Lead Associate. Peg is an experienced researcher, grant writer and program developer and holds M. A. degrees from New York University in both International Education and Social and Cultural Anthropology. Her background includes a combined 20 years of experience in the non profit and public sectors where she developed and managed programs and projects in the areas of adult and community education, community development and employment and human services.

NATIONAL LEADS

Alison Cox
Lead Associate – Utah Branch Office. Alison Cox specializes in health program grant writing, but also has some background in the arts and music. She graduated from Utah State University with a BS in Community Health Education and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). She has experience working in asthma prevention and control, cancer prevention and control, and currently works for the Environmental Public Health Tracking Network at the Utah Department of Health. She loves to travel and had a wonderful learning experience for 2 months doing AIDS prevention education in Kenya, Africa. Her other great travel destinations have included England and France seeing the art and architecture.

Linda L. Ivey, MPH
Lead Associate – Washington, DC Branch Office. Linda brings a vast background in Federal, State and Municipal writing to the entire East Coast. She has worked both as an administrator and as a grant writing for a wide variety of nonprofit organizations and government agencies. She has received multiple awards for her commitment to improving the lives of others. These include the “D.C. Meritorious Public Service Award”, “Outstanding Citizen of the Year”, “Womens Program Manager of the Year”, among many others. We are proud to have her as part of our team!

Laura Rupkalvis, MS
Lead Associate – Arizona Branch Office. Laura brings a broad funding background to our team. She is a recent AmeriCorps Volunteer. Having completed her Masters Graduate in Philanthropic Studies 2005, she has worked dually as a grantmaker for a private family foundation and a grantseeker for the nonprofit community. She has taught workshops in nonprofit community research methodologies for identifying grant proposal prospects. She has also assisted the nonprofit community in seeking corporate, private and individual grants for the nonprofit community. Laura has a passion for the nonprofit industry and enjoys enabling nonprofits in their efforts to build better communities.

Richard Edmonds, JD, AICP
Lead Associate – Michigan Branch Office. Richard has been an attorney and community planner in Michigan for the last 15 years. Richard has assisted several communities obtain grants for local museums, libraries, recreational facilities and non-motorized pathways. He is currently assisting the Hispanic Legal Services Center. Richard is a retired Marine Corps Officer and he is active in his community in youth sports and enjoys his time with his granddaughter.

Cheri Willard
Lead Associate – Nevada Branch Office. Over 20 years of experience in corporate administration including funding and managing the philanthropic budget. Cheri has a proven track record for identifying the needs, developing the solutions, and providing the results.

Maddie Zeigler, MEd
Lead Associate – New Mexico Branch Office. Maddie has been involved in grant proposal writing and program development/ management for the past 18 years. She has extensive experience developing federal grant proposals and serves as a reviewer for federal funding agencies. Maddies areas of expertise include: science education, school-community partnerships, informal education, museums, youth and family programs, bilingual education initiatives, and the development of evaluation logic models. Maddie, who is bilingual (English/Spanish), has also written over 5 million dollars in successful medical grants for the California First Five Commission and the California Endowment.

WRITERS

Keith K. Ball
Keith has worked oversees as a navigator and witnessed firsthand the suffering of children in the Philippine Islands. After his honorably discharge from the Navy, he worked to provide food, medicine, clean water, and shelter to families living in the P.I. jungles. Working as a Development Director, he helped fund 23 programs to aid new refugees arriving in the U.S. and provided relief to refugee camps in Uganda, Africa. Keiths nonprofit experience includes consulting, technical consulting, and work as a grant writer for Cal State - San Marcos, the Palomar Pomerado Hospital Foundation and other groups involved in education, childrens issues, international aid, technology, employment and healthcare. Keith has worked as both an academic counselor and an employment specialist with the State of Oregon. He graduated Cum Laude in Business Management from Northwest Christian College in 1998, and has certification in paralegal research. Keith has owned a successful contracting company since 1995 and currently enjoys coaching youth sports in North San Diego County where he lives with his wife and two children.

Elizabeth Berg, MA
Elizabeth is an established writer who has successfully applied her skills in the fields of journalism, public relations and grant writing. As a grant writer for schools and nonprofit organizations, she has worked in all phases of grant procurement and development. Her achievements include: developing programs with administrators, faculty, parents, students and community members, directing design and planning workshops, matching organizations with potential grant sources, relationships with funders, collecting statistical data, creating budgets and writing full proposals for local, state, and federal funding.

Dana Goodrow, MSW, MPH
An Executive Director of a local nonprofit organization, Dana has Masters degrees in social work and public health, as well as an undergraduate degree and eight years experience in journalism and writing. She has written grants on the federal, state and local foundation level, and has served as a consultant to organizations around the state of California on projects ranging from strategic planning to evaluation, and all the steps in between. Dana has provided consulting on behalf of the Center for Applied Research Solutions Mentoring Technical Assistance Project, the Community Prevention Institute, and CalPartners. She in the chair of the Mentoring Coalition of San Diego County and was the President of the Board for the California Alliance Concerned with School Age Parenting and Pregnancy Prevention. She was also a trained consultant for the former “Its Up To Me” Media campaign funded by the CA Office of Family Planning.

Friedemann Hundziak
Friedemann is from Frankfurt, Germany and came to the US in the late 50s. He has served in the US Navy and used his translation background within the nuclear industry for evaluations and product quality assurance reporting. He also has experience in the aerospace and auto industries, programming computer-controlled measurements to ensure quality with electronic methods. He has stellar and extensive background in technical writing in the area of statistical processing, reporting and evaluation.

Annette Ketner, CFRE
Annette has a 20-year fundraising history in the Midwest and West Coast, with experience in collaborative partnerships and project management. Grant writing specialization includes health care, hospice, environment, education, science. Fundraising experience includes 6 years at a major Midwestern health center, 6 years at a major university, and 6 years at a private West Coast university.

Sarah Lumbert
Sarah has a strong background in nonprofit development and management. In San Diego, she has contributed extensively to community organizations as an Operations Director, Program Manager, and Development Director. With over seven years management experience, she has worked on community mobilization, project development, research, case management, and public relations for a wide variety of nonprofit organizations in Travis County, TX, San Diego County, CA, Kauai, HI, and Tijuana, BC. Sarah helps organizations that work with culture, community, arts, youth, and financial literacy, and enjoys working with start-up nonprofits. In 2006 Sarah helped to form a now successful 501(c)(3) nonprofit in San Diego County called Dancing After School. There, as Development Director, she provides support in the areas of grant procurement, donor cultivation, strategic planning, research, and statistical data collection.

Annie Moore, MA
Annie has more than ten years experience working with nonprofit organizations. She received her MA in International Studies from the University of Denver, with an emphasis on International Development. She has worked with nonprofits in California, Colorado and southern Africa, focusing on serving disadvantage children and families. She has an additional ten years experience working in both education and special education. Annie has assisted two organizations in establishing their 501(c)(3) status. She currently serves as a board member of Kinship Family Alliance, serving relatives raising a family members child full- time, in order to keep them out of the formal foster care system.

Jan Ouren, Ph.D.
Jan Ouren began her career as a Probation Officer for the Los Angeles County Probation Department. During that time she earned a Master of Science degree from California State University Northridge in Social Psychology, and then went on to earn her doctorate at UCLA in Public Health (Health Economics). Her work experience includes clinical research (Research Psychologist, Veterans Administration), health services research (Research Manager, KPMG Peat Marwick) and health policy and financial research (Senior Vice President, California Childrens Hospital Association).

Renee Richards
Renee, the President of the Escondido Society of St. Vincent de Paul, has taught Moral Theology and Social Justice courses for the Diocese of San Diego since 1998. She is the grant writer for nonprofits helping the community with special emphasis on the homeless, victims of the recent Southern California wildfires, and Assistance for the physically disabled.

Carrie Roberts, CFRE
Carrie has worked with a number of nonprofit organizations throughout Southern California and British Columbia, Canada. Skilled in prospect research, fundraising, organizational develop- ment and planning/evaluation, she has served as a program officer at a local Southern California Foundation, taught many proposal writing courses and provided technical assistance to a number of nonprofit organizations. Carrie provides services to an array of social service and religious nonprofit organizations.

Amaris Sanchez
Amaris has a wide breadth of experience in victim services and community partnership building. She works closely with regional law enforcement partners in program and fund development. Amaris has extensive familiarity with law enforcement grants and Department of Justice applications.

Melissa Stephens
Holding a BS from Virginia Tech in Health Promotion. Melissa Stephens has over 10 years of professional experience in Community Health and Wellness, working for both Roanoke City of Parks and Recreation and the YMCA on two coasts. She is currently pursuing her Masters Degree in Organizational Leadership and Management from Springfield College to be completed in December 2008.

Graham Wilder
With nearly 30 years of experience in the nonprofit community, Graham brings to our team a unique understanding of, and sensitivity to, the special needs and operating styles of nonprofit organizations. In addition to being an excellent writer/editor, Graham has extensive experience with Public/Donor Relations, Planned Giving, Asset Management, Program Development, Project Management, and is committed to excellence and best practices.

Holly Younghans, MSW
Holly brings a diverse work history and background to our team. She has spent many years working with and for a variety of government and non-profit organizations, primarily in the social services, arts and education arenas. She has a Masters Degree in Social Work with an emphasis in non-profit administration. She is currently the Director of Housing and Supportive Services for Episcopal Community Services. She is a veteran writer of local, state and federal grants and is skilled at helping organizations design viable programs.

RESEARCHERS

Flo Clark
Flo currently works as a program coordinator for an education program promoting health careers to youth ages 9-18. Her background is in Public Health and she is currently pursuing a degree in counseling. She has extensive experience working with diverse populations including the refugee/new immigrant populations and adjudicated youth. Flo enjoys working with people of all ages and backgrounds to help others improve their lives.

Mark Connelly, MPA
Mark has spent the last 8 years working for a nonprofit health center. He is currently the Assistant Director overseeing clinic and mental health operations. He is experienced in budget preparation, Federal, State, and County regulatory requirements, and grant research. Mark has also worked with Community Voice Mail, a collaborative of over 140 social service agencies throughout San Diego County. This no cost program offers homeless and phoneless clients access to a voice mail retrieval system. Mark enjoys working with innovative agencies to meet the needs of the community.

Leslie Simmons, MLS
Leslie has over 20 years experience as a librarian and has been an apprentice carpenter and auto mechanic. She has worked in an engineering library, a publishing library and is currently the business reference librarian for the County of San Diego Public Library. Her interests are many, extending from architecture to zoology, with everything in between.

Tammy White
Tammy is a dedicated community volunteer who works with both preschools and elementary schools. She has assisted them in obtaining several successfully funded educational grants. She serves on multiple community boards. She has great organizational skills and enjoys using the computer to do research and writing.

YOUTH PROGRAM CONSULTANT

Jerry Sherk
As Director of Mentor Management Systems, Jerry develops manuals and trainings for youth mentoring, as well as for business-based mentoring programs. He heads up the Mentoring Coalition of San Diego County, a collaborative of over 100 local youth programs. And -- hes a heck of a nice guy!

NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

Dave Andrews
Dave Andrews brings 10 years of valuable nonprofit experience to the team. Most recently as the executive director of Rolling Readers, a childrens literacy program. Dave has his own diversified business solutions firm, Fortunate Fields, and provides consulting, payroll, and bookkeeping services to nonprofits and small businesses. He also is a tax preparer and notary public.

Michelle Hills, CRA CGS
With more than 12 years in the field of grants management for 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, including academia and community service, Michelle is a specialist in all aspects of fiscal administration of research, training, and program-related grants, contracts, sub awards, and subcontracts, including management of all phases of the grant cycle (pre-award, post-award, and closeout). She has been designated as a Certified Research Administrator (CRA) and Certified Grants Specialist (CGS).

Victor Molokwu CPA, MBA, MPA
Victor Molokwu is a business management consultant. He obtained his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and Masters Degree in Financial Management from Western Kentucky University and National University respectively. He also holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from National University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He has consulted with numerous businesses and Non- Profit Organizations. He is an adjunct professor and has taught a wide range of courses in accounting, marketing and strategic management.