Biographies

Kathy Abbott
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.

Dave Andrews-Yoshida
Dave Andrews-Yoshida 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.

Kellye Bojorquez
A third-generation native San Diegan, Kellye received her Bachelors in English from San Diego State and both her teaching credentials from San Diego Christian College. A former Human Resources professional, and teacher for six years, she has experience working with and advocating for private industry, as well as public, private, and charter schools. Kellye is actively involved in her church and North County educational programs, and seeks funding for educational and faith-based programs close to her heart. She and her husband live in North County

Louis (Skip) Carufel
Louis is an advocate for the well-written grant proposal, and he bundles his experiences and enthusiasm, his commitment and compassion into writing compelling, grant-winning proposals in order to get funds and support into the hands of non-profits serving their communities. He’s a published author, and has been a newspaper columnist, a trade journal editor and a youth charity director. He earned a BA and a BS in Liberal Arts and just completed a 30-year career as salesman and business owner. Louis remains an indefatigable supporter of the Boys Scouts, co-ed youth groups, community gardens and bilingual cultural programs. He’s pragmatic, believing it never hurts to ask, and ethical, insisting we take only what we need. Louis is a complement for any team.

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.

Ida Cecelia Duncan
Ida received her degree in Counseling and Education from Old Dominion University. She has more than 15 years experience as a Social Worker and Case Manager for a variety of nonprofit organizations. She has used her skills with residents in nursing homes and senior centers. She has experience in grant writing with housing and redevelopment programs. Her current focus is in Employment Development with young adult men.

Sean Feldstein
Sean has a graduate degree in Developmental Psychology, and two Bachelors degrees, one in Psychology and the other in American History. She has taught child development and psychology courses at the college level, and has also provided trainings to various community groups. Sean is a mother of two children, one of whom has a learning disability. As a mother of a disabled child she has first hand knowledge of the issues facing the disabled population, and strongly advocates on their behalf. Sean is actively involved in her church and has successfully written grants to fund their community based programs.

Penny Goforth
With over 30 years of expertise in working with nonprofit organizations, Penny works with the widest 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. She is the primary teacher for our free series of workshops in the local community.

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.

Linda L. Ivey, MPH
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!

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.

Gilda Martinez
Gilda has solid experience in the development, implementation & management, monitoring & evaluation of a wide range of Third World as well as US socio-economic and community development programs. With a Masters degree in rural, regional and urban development, she is skilled in program planning & design; proposal development, including fund sourcing and negotiations; program implementation & financial management in the nonprofit, private, and government sectors. Excellent cross-cultural/multi-cultural, interpersonal, public contact and program coordination skills Her special emphasis on International programs is enhanced by her fluency in Spanish, French; Thai and Japanese.

Shaletny Miles
Shay has an extensive background in Education, having worked with various departments at a local community college. Her Medical writing background includes strong knowledge in both Epidemiology and Oncology. She is a highly responsible and a motivated self-starter.

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.

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.

Farrah Morrisey
Farrah has over eight years of experience working with non-profit, public health, academic and government organizations. Farrah has participated in raising over 2 million dollars for 25 programs and served as a contract monitor. She also has contributed to the establishment of over 40 nonprofit organizations. Farrah has a Master's degree in Public Policy and a Bachelor's degree in International Relations. She has been involved in numerous efforts at promoting the quality of life for persons of low-income across California. She is also bilingual (English/Spanish).

Renee Richardson
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 development 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.

Laura Rupkalvis, MS
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.

Liz Schwartz
Liz brings over 20 years of invaluable experience working with non-profits to the Grant Writing Specialists Team. She holds a BA in Social Work and has dedicated her career to try and "make the dreams of others come true." Her areas of interest and expertise are: care management, community organization, grant writing, research, strategic planning, board development and fundraising. She is an international public speaker and published author in the field of Aging.

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!

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.

Phillip A. Tanzilo, MLS
Phillip served as a mentor, coach and consultant for multiple profit and nonprofit organizations. He has been engaged in industries that include but is not limited to high-tech, human resources, non-profit, volunteer, and education. As an entrepreneur, Phillip has helped build small and large companies. He led multiple small and large-scale projects spanning the globe for small businesses and large organizations. He understands business and aspires to be part of the solution and not the problem. He has won multiple awards for his strategic planning and other innovative programs. As a respected thought leader, he served on the team that wrote the credentialing standards for the adult learning (training) profession. His is a passionate supporter of people and organizations with transformational resources and strategies to create a world that works for everyone.

Tim Torres
Tim has a Bachelor's degree in journalism and political science. He has twenty years experience as a journalist covering Northern and Southern California communities. He is an active Community volunteer. 'And when you harvest your land, touch not the corners of your fields, but leave them to the poor, and to the stranger.

Frank Wagner
Frank has a strong background in journalism and related fields. He has been an editor of community newspapers, an editorial consultant to magazines, and a wire editor and contributing writer to a nationally syndicated news service. He was an award-winning copywriter for an advertising agency and has served in staff and consulting positions in marketing communications for a variety of organizations. He is an Air Force veteran and holds a BA from San Diego State University.

Cheri Willard
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
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.