
Our Team
As
collaborative members, we were drawn together because of our
interest in serving community organizations. As individuals,
however, we each have our own special areas of expertise. Click
on the name to view a brief summary of each member of our team.
Penny Goforth | Primary Trainer / Public
Speaker |
Kathy Abbott | Faith Based / Green Solutions / Social Justice |
Veronica Baker | Arts and Culture / Family / Youth |
Dana Goodrow, MSW, MPH | Education / Public Health / Social Work |
Eric Ellis | Health / Volunteerism / Youth |
Judith Meeks | Business / Community Planning / Native American Issues |
Writers / Researchers
Veronica Cruz | Arts / Animal / Environment |
Janeal Ford, MPA, CFRE | Education / Human Services / Municipalities |
Annette Ketner, CFRE | Education / Environment / Health / Hospice |
Michael Russell | Business / Green / Technology |
Sarah Schafer | Community Development / Public Health / Youth |
Frank Wagner | Dependency / Faith Based |
Mentoring Program Consultants
Jerry Sherk, MA | Business / Adult and Youth
Mentoring |
Accounting Consultant
Dave Yoshida, EA, MPA | Business and Nonprofit
Consultant |
Federal Grant Specialists
Dana Goodrow, MSW, MPH | Health, Social Services, Education |
Business Consultants
Michael Russell | Engineering / Green Solutions / Technology |
Dave Yoshida, EA, MPA | Business and Nonprofit
Consultant |
Kathy Abbott
Kathy has a strong legal background through her many years of
working in the county court system. She specializes in civic and
community development as well as youth and art/culture programs.
She advises nonprofits in forming strategic alliances and making
accountability a priority so they thrive in the future. Kathy
was Grants Coordinator for the San Diego County Superior Court
System and worked at building the court's volunteer program.
Veronica Baker has been a professional fundraiser and grant
writer for 30 years.She served as Associate Director for Kids
Korps USA Development Director for Mainly Mozart, Cygnet
Theater, North County Humane Society, North Coast Repertory
Theater, and as Director of Marketing and development for the
Make-A-Wish Foundation of San Diego. Veronica has also served on
a variety of nonprofit boards, including the Jonathan Tarr
Foundation, the Tariq Khamisa Foundation, and Microloans for
Mothers.
Veronica Cruz is a nonprofit development professional and
grant writing specialist based out of San Diego, California.
As a grant writer Veronica specializes in human services,
environment & animals and arts & humanities. She has secured
millions of dollars in support through private foundation,
corporate and government funding opportunities during her
tenure. Veronica is former Senior Development Officer of
Lions Tigers & Bears – San Diego’s only accredited big cat
and bear sanctuary – where she significantly increased all
avenues of philanthropic support for the organization.
Veronica is also a former grant writer for Feeding San Diego
as well as other food banks across the United States.
Education: B.A. Environmental Studies, B.A. International
Affairs from Florida State University; Certificate in
Fundraising from The Sanford Institute of Philanthropy at
National University.
Eric Ellis
Eric is a native of San Diego, CA and enjoys helping and working
with people. He has worked for the American Red Cross and NGTL
(National Genome Testing Lab) of San Diego. He is involved in
both school and community related activities in Southern
California. He has volunteered at the Food Bank and as a
football and baseball coach at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Jr.
High School and Twin Hills Little League. He currently serves on
the boards of the Webster Community Council and the Career
College of San Diego.
Janeal has been fundraising for nonprofits for more
than 15 years. Over the years, she has secured more than $50
million in government, foundation, corporate and individual
sources. She specializes in health and human services
organizations, education, and municipalities. She graduated from
the University of Utah with a Bachelors of Science in Sociology,
and a Masters of Public Administration. She currently
serves on the Board of the Association of Fundraising
Professionals, San Diego Chapter, San Diego County Citizen's
Scholarship Foundation, and is a member of Women Give San Diego.
Penny Goforth, Senior Associate
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 of our
free series of workshops and has trained thousands of
nonprofit professionals over the past 15 years.
Dana Goodrow, MSW, MPH
Dana has written federal, state, and local foundation grants,
and served as 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 is chair of the
Mentoring Coalition of San Diego County and was 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 "It's Up To Me" media campaign funded
by the California Office of Family Planning.
Annette Kettner, CFRE
Annette has been a fundraiser for 35 years, serving nonprofits
in the Midwest and Midwest and West Coast. Experienced in
collaborative partnerships and project management, she
specializes in grantwriting for health care, hospice,
environment, education, theatre, and science. Experience
includes six years at a major Midwestern health center, six
years at a major public university, and twelve years at a
private West Coast university. She holds a University of
Michigan BS/BA degree in literature and science.
Judith Meeks
Judith has a diverse back ground which includes serving as a
public official advocating for business people while on the San
Diego Downtown Community Planning Advisory Board for the
redevelopment project of the San Diego City Council. Her
responsibilities included reviewing urban planners designs and
contracts, community planing, redevelopment, safety, open-space,
housing, homeless issues, green technology, and transportation.
She also has a varied background in working in fields that deal
with health and wellness, domestic violence, youth mentorship,
relative foster care (IHSS) as well as local Native American
Gaming Industry.
Michael Russell
Given the complex web of renewable energy financing
opportunities available are often overwhelming for property
owners . With the variety of grants, rebates, refunds, loans,
leases, tax-incentives, and subsidies available to businesses
theses days, there is a need for experienced energy consultants
to maximize the financial opportunities of going "green".
Michael is the Director of Sustainable Future (sdsustainablefuture.com),
an independent, third-party energy consulting & building
inspection service located in San Diego, CA. Formerly a Field
Energy Consultant representing SolarCity, Michael
Russell can help property owners eliminate their utility bills
with energy upgrades and a new renewable energy systems.
Michael has successfully written municipal energy grants
garnering more than $1 million for business and technology.
Sarah Schafer
Sarah completed two years with the Peace Corps working at
the grassroots level in the Mayan communities of Southern
Belize under the Rural Family Health Project (RFHP). She
focused on improving health education, child literacy, youth
programs and community development. She wrote and organized
grants for boys' and girls 'camps in Belize as part of youth
development. The RFHP was dependent on partnerships and
cooperation with key stakeholders in the community and dealt
with many culturally sensitive issues. She assisted with
program evaluation as well as increasing awareness of the
project by creating social media accounts and publishing
meaningful stories and statistics. In the past she has
worked with the American Lung Association of California to
implement grants that dealt with smoking policies in the
area. She has also worked with other organizations such as
Healthy for life, Orange County Department of Health, Orange
County Safe from the Start, and Mika (A Community
Development Program dealing with poverty). She earned her
bachelor’s degree from California State University, Long
Beach in Community Health Education and specializes in
program development and evaluation.
Jerry Sherk
As Director of Mentor Management Systems (www.mentorms.com), 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 --he's a heck of a nice guy!
Frank Wagner
Frank has been involved in communications - journalism,
marketing, and grantwriting - for most of his working life. He
received his BA in Journalism from San Diego State University,
where he supplemented his GI Bill by working as a newspaper
reporter and advertising copywriter. Frank has been involved in
a number of community organizations as a volunteer and board
member.
Dave Yoshida, EA, MPA
Dave brings 10 years of valuable nonprofit experience to the
team. In 2006, Dave established his own diversified business
solutions firm, Fortunate Fields, Inc., and provides consulting,
payroll, and bookkeeping services to nonprofits and small
businesses. Dave is an enrolled agent and, as such, is licensed
to represent taxpayers before the IRS in all matters.