Speaker Biographies

Keynote Presenter

Katya Andresen is chief operating officer of Network for Good, as well as a speaker, author and blogger about nonprofit marketing, online outreach and the basics of social media. In addition, she is an adjunct professor of communications at American University’s Key Certificate Program and serves on the board of EarthShare.

Katya has trained thousands of causes in effective marketing and media relations, and her marketing materials for non-profits have won national and international awards. She is the author of the book, Robin Hood Marketing: Stealing Corporate Savvy to Sell Just Causes and was featured in the e-book, Nine Minds of Marketing. She is also a co-author with Network for Good CEO Bill Strathmann of a chapter in the book, People to People Fundraising - Social Networking and Web 2.0 for Charities.

Fundraising Success Magazine named her Fundraising Professional of the Year in 2007. Before joining Network for Good, she was Senior Vice President of Sutton Group, a marketing and communications firm and a marketing consultant overseas in Ukraine. She also worked for CARE International. Katya traces her passion for good causes to the enormous social need she witnessed as a journalist prior to her work in the non-profit sector. She was a foreign correspondent for Reuters News and Television in Asia and for Associated Press and major US newspapers in Africa.

Kristin Antin is the online community builder for the New Tactics in Human Rights project at the Center for Victims of Torture. She has been working in this capacity for almost two years and previously worked in human rights advocacy in Uganda. Kristin has had the opportunity to participate in strategic thinking, information activism, nonviolent conflict and trainer trainings in Minnesota, Massachusetts, Guatemala and India. Kristin holds a BA in humanities from the University of Colorado and an M.A. in human rights from the University of Essex.


Jason Barnett is co-founder and executive director of The UpTake, a video-based media organization that merges social media strategy and online technology, tools and access to engage and empower citizen journalists. With a degree in fine arts, Jason spent 15 years as a professional sculptor. With an interest in news, politics, technology and creative thinking, Jason recognized the power of online video and social networking. Since its inception, The UpTake has advanced the frontier of news gathering, garnering national notoriety through its coverage of the 2008 political conventions and the Minnesota U.S. Senate recount and trial.

Gary J. Benedict has been involved in public service since 1983. He has held a variety of positions in social service agencies from CEO to program management. Gary is also a closet techie wannabe going back to his days of trying to figure out how to make his Apple meet his needs as a graduate student. While never mastering technology, he has figured out how to make it meet the needs of his organizations and his personal life.

Fawn Bernhardt-Norvell has worked with nonprofits and campaigns for over 14 years. She is the deputy executive director and a founder of Wellstone Action. Fawn began her career as assistant finance director of the Wellstone Alliance in. She continued on doing development work for several area nonprofits before landing at The Center for Victims of Torture. In 2001 she joined Paul Wellstone's 2002 U.S. Senate campaign as the deputy finance director. Fawn volunteers and mentors campaign finance teams for many local, state and national campaigns, and also serves on the board of Project SUCCESS. In 2007 she was named a "Forty Under 40" Twin Cities leader by the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. Fawn earned her B.A. in international affairs from Lewis & Clark College.


Rick Birmingham is the senior technology circuit rider for MAP for Nonprofits. For more than ten years, Rick has worked on over a hundred projects with nonprofits in the metro area on technology projects. Rick is now MAP’s internal network and database administrator.

 

Steve Braker has been producing documentary video with and for "virtuous nonprofit organizations and benign government agencies" for more than 25 years. Worthwhile Films | Nonprofit Media specializes in telling narration-free stories by weaving interviews into engaging conversations. Steve feels that collaboration is key to every project's success.




Kela Caldwell is the development & marketing manager at HandsOn Twin Cities, a nonprofit that brings people together to strengthen communities through meaningful volunteer action. Kela has over fifteen years of sales and marketing experience working with media organizations such as Twin Cities Public Television and The Rake Magazine. She has worked with large corporations, local independent businesses, arts and cultural institutions and other nonprofits in order to help them build their brand through strategic advertising campaigns, large-scale events and co-promotions, e-mail marketing and social media. Kela is also the co-founder of Ignite Minneapolis, a community driven event series in which presenters deliver 5-minute presentations to engage, enlighten or entertain the audience with a cutting edge concept or idea.

Meg Canada is a senior librarian for Web services and training at Hennepin County Library. Meg coordinates public training and social media efforts for the forty-one library system. She volunteers hosting the Unsummit, presenting at MinneWebCon, and is a regular contributor to Social Media Breakfast. Meg also sings regularly with the Twin Cities chapter of TechKaraoke.

Libby Caulum is program director for Community Technology Empowerment Project (CTEP) AmeriCorps. Prior to her position with CTEP, Libby served as a member of AmeriCorps and as a volunteer in Peace Corps - Niger and was the program coordinator for Multicultural Communities in Action AmeriCorps. She is currently on the Executive Committee for the Technology Literacy Collaborative. She is a graduate of Luther College.

Carlo Cuesta is the managing partner for Creation In Common, which helps nonprofits enhance their power to engage the public through the creation of communication, fundraising and organizational development strategies. Carlo has led engagements for Greater Twin Cities United Way, Pillsbury United Communities, Care Providers of Minnesota, KERA Public Radio and Television, Resources for Child Caring, Plains Art Museum, Sabes JCC, The Saint Paul Foundation, Sidney Health Center, Vail Place and Work Incentives Connection. He is the author of several articles on nonprofit branding as well as presents trainings on the topic with Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Julie Dappen, director of marketing and communications for MAP for Nonprofits, has worked for more than 20 years in marketing and communications with nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining MAP, Julie was senior director of corporate communications for HealthPartners, director of public relations for Regions Hospital; director of marketing and communications for Regional West Medical Center, and director of marketing for Performance Criterion Corporation. Julie began her career as a newspaper reporter and photographer, and has a BA in journalism. Julie has served on the board of directors for the Center for Victims of Torture, the Riverside Zoological Society and the Nebraska Society for Healthcare Marketing and Public Relations.

Michelle Dibblee is the senior organizer for Transit for Livable Communities (TLC). Michelle leads TLC’s efforts to grow its membership base and strengthen member participation in hands-on advocacy and leadership development. Michelle has also worked in neighborhood organizations, coalitions, grassroots groups, and faith-based organizations in the Twin Cities and New York City.

Andrew Eklund is founder & CEO of Ciceron, a veteran Minneapolis digital marketing firm. In recent years, he has dedicated himself to helping organizations align themselves to the opportunities in social media. Andrew writes a weekly blog for MinnesotaBusiness.com.

 

Kent Eklund, a partner at Cincinnatus, offers a broad range of senior management skills and experience working with public, private and nonprofit organizations. He currently chairs the boards of directors of Courage Center and Ebenezer and serves on the boards of VocalEssence, Search Institute, the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, and Park Midway Bank. He is an associate adjunct professor at Hamline University’s Graduate School of Management and serves on the Board of Regents of the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Prior to returning to Cincinnatus, he served as president of the Fairview Foundation.

David Erickson, director of e-Strategy at Tunheim Partners, specializes in strategic online communication. He has more than 14 years experience, first as a freelancer, then as founder and president of e-Strategy, and now with Tunheim Partners. David's experience includes executing a national online media relations campaign, expert positioning with e-mail marketing, EPKs and search-optimized press releases, search engine marketing for many clients, viral video campaigns, and social media marketing campaigns.


Paul C. Ernst is a technology consultant with a 20 year history in the supercomputer industry and a more recent degree in international development education, focusing on culturally appropriate technology for development. He is involved with Information Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) projects internationally, and focuses his attention locally on narrowing the digital divide, particularly with new immigrant groups. Through his work with the ADC Foundation, Paul is familiar with many of the local community technology centers and digital inclusion projects. He is also an avid volunteer, working with MAP for Nonprofits and MCN, serving on the boards of Global Citizens Network and Intercultural Student Experiences and having served on the Minneapolis Digital Inclusion Task Force and the Minnesota High Technology Council board.


Susan Estee is the executive director of Second Harvest North Central Food Bank, a nonprofit organization based in Grand Rapids that annually provides over 3.5 million pounds of food and grocery products to over 140 non-profit agencies in north central Minnesota. The Food Bank has doubled in food distribution volume and completed a $1.8 million dollar capital campaign and building project since 2000 when Sue became ED. A graduate of North Dakota State University, Sue worked in the construction, ready-mix and sand and gravel industry in Fargo-Moorhead and owned her own business prior to moving to Grand Rapids in 2000.

Kristen Gast is an account representative at Tunheim Partners.


Lindsi Gish is the communications manager at Second Harvest Heartland, the Upper Midwest’s largest hunger relief organization. She is responsible for print communications, including newsletters and solicitations, as well as all online vehicles for the organization. Lindsi manages the design, content and development for the main website as well as all microsites for larger events/campaigns. Another big part of her role is managing the online community—through Second Harvest’s blog, Twitter and Facebook—to engage the constituency in new and deeper ways to drive ongoing support of the mission.


Karen Graham is interested in how technology transforms relationships. As director of business development for thedatabank, she has helped many of the company’s 900+ nonprofit clients find the right mix of database and communication tools, and leverage their software investment in support of their mission. She has presented at local and national nonprofit conferences on list building, email marketing, and using technology for voter engagement. Karen received her MBA with an emphasis in nonprofit management from the University of St. Thomas.

Susan Haas has been an integral part of the Twin Cities arts community for over thirty years. After receiving her B.F.A. from the University of Milwaukee in theatre/acting and directing, she gained a wide range of experience, including serving as the company manager for Illusion Theatre, an original member of Theatre de la Jeune Lune, a milliner at the Children’s Theatre Company, a member of the Heart Of The Beast River Tour, as well as working as a costume designer, composer, and musician at many various theatres. Complementing her theatre work, she owned and operated Three Seeds gardening company, and has remodeled several properties. She co-founded Open Eye Figure Theatre and has been producing director of the company ever since.

Kenza Hadj-Moussa serves as the education coordinator in the St. Stephen’s Human Rights Program. The Human Rights Program is a branch of St. Stephen’s Human Services that is dedicated to education, advocacy, and community organizing around issues that affect people who are homeless or in poverty. Kenza is the coordinator of their signature education program, A Day in the Life. Before joining the Human Right’s team she interned in Washington, D.C., where she worked for the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools. She studied poverty, inequality and social change in the Twin Cities through the Higher Education Consortium of Urban Affairs and holds a BA in economics from Guilford College in North Carolina.

Jeff Hahn has built his career around website development and online marketing. Over the last 14 years, he has developed online strategies for many companies and nonprofits. As the CEO of Internet Exposure, he places a strong emphasis on effective messaging, simple designs and measuring results.

Graham Hartley is the director of programs for MIGIZI Communications, Inc. With MIGIZI since 1995, he has been successful in building partnerships with schools, educational organizations and other nonprofit programs. Graham is a former science teacher, who successfully incorporated project-based learning coupled with animation and presentational technology for high school students to gain deeper understanding and engagement in their science courses. Over the last fifteen years he has also designed and delivered professional development workshops, locally and nationally, for teachers, school administrators and non-profit agencies to improve the incorporation of technology into their work.

Lori L. Jacobwith, communication and fundraising strategist and trainer, has spent more than 20 years helping people and organizations increase visibility and communicate boldly to generate more individual fundraising dollars. Over the last nine years Lori’s fundraising and communication strategies have helped organizations to collectively raise nearly $90 million. A high energy speaker who has presented to thousands worldwide, Lori has a mission of creating an environment for people to find ease and joy in fundraising. In 2006 Lori established her training and consulting company Apporté (ah_pour_tay) to bring people together to dramatically shift communication and fundraising habits.

Richard Johnson Jr. has been the organizer for the St. Stephen's Human Rights program for two and a half years. He has done organizing in the community, door knocking, and voter registration over the past 5 years. He studied at the University of South Dakota - Vermillion and at the University of Minnesota, where he is a senior with the aspirations of receiving three degrees in Native American studies, English and theatre. His work experience has been very broad from organizer to blackjack dealer. Richard is a member of Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska, and the Chumash Nation from California. He is also a Chicano but considers himself a full blooded Native man.

Noah Keesecker is program manager at Springboard for the Arts. Springboard provides economic development programs for artists in the five-state Upper Midwest. Noah travels all over the region, teaching workshops and working one-on-one with individual artists to improve their capacity to make a living and a life in the arts. Noah manages the Artist Loan Fund, legal services, and directs Springboard’s social media initiatives. He has had numerous awards and commissions of his work, including a 2008 McKnight Foundation Fellowship and American Composers Forum grant.

Sarah Koschinska, community technology manager, has worked at Project for Pride in Living (PPL) for eleven years. She has served the organization in several capacities: volunteer coordinator, manager of youth services, computer access lab manager and currently leads community-based technology programming within PPL’s Employment Training, Family Services and Education divisions. In this role she oversees services, classes and resources for community members seeking employment, education and technology literacy skills. Sarah works with PPL’s partnerships with the Community Technology Empowerment Project, Refugee Employment and Housing VISTA Network and Nexus Community Partners. She founded and serves as a co-chair of the Technology Literacy Collaborative and served as a member of the City of Minneapolis Digital Inclusion Task Force.

Alicia Lane-Outlaw, creative director at AllOut Marketing, has been designing and developing websites for over 13 years. Having created many websites from start to finish for both businesses and nonprofits, Lane-Outlaw has broad experience incorporating accessibility into a variety of web workflows. She is currently serving as president of the Minnesota Association of Deaf Citizens and previously spearheaded marketing efforts for a local deaf charter school, led the expansion of a popular deaf events website, and presented workshops and testified before legislators on various deaf community and accessibility topics.

Tom Lehman is president of Lehman Associates, LLC, a Minneapolis-based strategy, technology, and research firm he founded in 1992. Lehman Associates works with nonprofit organizations and other clients to gain higher value from its investments in technology, information management, and research. He helps clients develop effective website and community strategies employing a combination of constituent and market research, industry knowledge, and successful online engagement models. Tom has been actively involved in the online industry for more than 20 years and is a frequent presenter at industry conferences. He is a board member of the Voyageurs National Park Association and a Governor-appointed member of the Minnesota State Commission on the Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard of Hearing, focusing particularly on marketing and technology issues.


Xavier Lopez-Ayala is the new media director at Alliance for a Better Minnesota, the communications hub for Minnesota's progressive community. Prior to his work with ABM, Xavier served as the Obama campaign's new media director in Minnesota, organized online activists and coordinated volunteers for the Clinton campaign, and helped build community around film on a social networking website. This past May, Xavier graduated from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI with Political Science honors.

Reed Millar manages electoral and grassroots advocacy projects at grassroots solutions, specializing in planning and executing field operations and developing sustainable infrastructures for clients. Before joining Grassroots Solutions, Reed worked on nearly 20 campaigns in eight different states. Some highlights from Reed’s campaign trail include serving as a field director on three legislative races in Pennsylvania; working as the regional field director for Mark Warner; organizing for the Iowa Democratic Party, John Kerry for President in Iowa, supervising Get Out the Vote operations in three states for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and most recently, directing the field program in Pennsylvania for the Alliance for Justice. After joining grassroots solutions, Reed has focused on using his campaign experience and community organizing philosophy to help advocacy organizations run effective programs.

Roger Miller is a creative director with experience in video, web, live event, and print mediums. Roger started in media production in 1973 in a motion picture laboratory, and proceeded to learn the skills of animator, writer, producer and director. He has a unique mix of broad technological expertise along with a storyteller’s ability to use a medium to its best advantage for a given situation. This blend of experience helps him to merge content and creativity into new communication solutions. Roger has helped both public and private sector organizations accomplish their communication goals through the right technology and storytelling. He has spoken to audiences on the successful use of technology at meetings for Media Communications Association International (MCAI), and at Meeting Planners International (MPI).


Dana Montgomery, a seasoned trainer and presenter, was lead trainer for the Technical Assistance program on behalf of Minnesota, providing ongoing grassroots training and technical assistance to local communities across Minnesota for over four years. She helped coordinate seven training tracks involving over 30 trainers for the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s 2008 Survivorship Summit, which trained over 1,000 cancer survivors on a wide range of advocacy skills. Dana has organized on-the-ground legislative campaigns and has consulted with local, statewide, national, and international groups on grassroots organizing strategy.

Dana Nelson is the executive director of GiveMN.org, an innovative online platform that helps nonprofits of all sizes reach new and different audiences and enable donors to find, learn about, and contribute to local and national programs that support the causes in which they believe. GiveMN.org is an independent 501(c)(3) that is a supporting organization of Minnesota Community Foundation. Dana most recently worked at Target Community Relations, and prior to that, worked for Minneapolis Public Schools. She is an active community volunteer with organizations such as Emerson Spanish Immersion Learning Center, Pillsbury House, Powderhorn Neighborhood Association, and Centro Cultural Chicano.

Mark Panger has been creating and designing databases since 1985 for clients in single person shops to Fortune 500 companies. He built the database for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts to track $30 million of donated goods and services. Mark’s largest current client is Trail Blazer Nonprofit Manager where he delivers client training & assists with product development.



Curt Prins is the executive director of District 202, a Twin Cities-based organization that empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. He’s lead the 19-year-old organization's recent restructuring from a youth drop-in center to a metro-wide provider of youth programming. For more than 16 years, he has served as a technology marketing expert to entrepreneurs, start-ups and emerging companies within the Twin Cities, US and abroad. He continues to follow technology trends, especially those that impact small organizations. Prins has also been an active community volunteer within the Twin Cities for many years. He's worked locally with the Green Chair Project, MAP for Nonprofits, Project 515, OutFront Minnesota and HRC Twin Cities, and nationally with Immigration Equality. Prins holds a B.A. in communications from University of Detroit.

John Richard, adult education and employment coordinator, has worked at Pillsbury United Communities for 5 years. In coordination with education and employment programming, Mr. Richard developed and maintains a heavily used Community Technology Center (CTC). Mr. Richard served as a consultant in the design of the CTC at Hope Community in Minneapolis. Mr. Richard is a founder and active participant in the Technology Literacy Collaboration. He has served on the Minneapolis Digital Inclusion Task Force, and currently sits on the Digital Inclusion Fund Advisory Board of the Minneapolis Foundation. Prior to working at PUC, Mr. Richard was a principal in Adult Education Partnerships, and a founder of the Cedar Riverside Community School. Mr. Richard currently sits on the Advisory Board of the West Bank Community Fund, and is a former board member of the West Bank CTC.


Rena Rogers is a project management specialist at the State of Minnesota’s Office of Enterprise Technology. She holds advanced degrees in education and computer science, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). She is currently the project manager for the Technology Accessibility Standards Implementation project underway at the State of Minnesota.

Jason Samuels is technology manager for the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR). He is an accidental techie, a social media enthusiast, an aspiring software trainer, a harried network administrator, and he occasionally tries his hand at writing a little bit of code. Jason believes that IT management is most effective when you find the points where technological innovations and staff skills meet to improve business processes. He enjoys analyzing every aspect of an implementation project to get the best possible value out of every dollar spent.

 

Colleen Schmitt is the Day One® Manager at Cornerstone. Day One® is a service model that streamlines access to safety for domestic violence victims. Ms. Schmitt oversees all the model components- building capacity of the service providers’ network; managing the structure of the secured web-based site allowing programs to share “real time” bed availability and services; and administrating the statewide MN Domestic Violence Crisis Line connecting the caller directly to the nearest services. She works exclusively with the web-based developers on designing and implementing all Day One® Web site versions. As Vice President of National Day One®, LLC Colleen manages all expansion initiatives for the current and future applications of the model.

Ashley Schweitzer oversees marketing and communications for Nonprofits Assistance Fund. She is responsible for the organization's strategy and content, including integrating social media and more traditional communications channels. Ashley has participated in MCN's Strategic Connectors Leadership Institute, helps facilitate the Twin Cities Net Squared Meetup and is on the planning committee for Second Runway - a Goodwill/Easter Seals Minnesota special event. She is a graduate of Macalester College.

David Severtson, since 2000, has been managing IT and developing Web sites for nonprofits and small businesses, specializing in helping organizations become more self-sufficient in their use of technology and better educated in how new technologies can help them achieve more.

David Skarjune is a web communications consultant and works as an online community builder for Windustry. He has worked with the World Wide Web for over a decade and is certified as an Electronic Document Professional with Xplor International. His expertise includes content management systems, constituent relationship management, and Web 2.0 tools including social media. He was the founding editor of Public Art Review, worked on data warehouse projects for Fortune 500 companies, and has focused on public service roles at Dunwoody College of Technology, Minnesota AIDS Project, Minnesota State Arts Board, and Windustry.

Tim Stanley is senior director for government affairs for Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and executive director of the Action Fund and its three state PACs. He leads Planned Parenthood’s work to develop and implement organizing and political strategies that advance public policy supportive of affordable health care, reproductive health and freedom. Prior to joining Planned Parenthood, Stanley provided strong leadership to NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota for more than eight years. He first joined the NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota team as a student organizing intern while completing graduate studies in public administration at Hamline University. Stanley has been the architect of many groundbreaking programs, including the statewide student organizing program and the first pro-choice field canvassing program in Minnesota in more than 15 years.

Michael Steigerwald is the executive director of Public Computing Services, a Minnesota nonprofit organization created to distribute computing services primarily through public charities, while helping those organizations conquer their own technology needs. He has been an information technology professional for over 25 years and has specialized in 'cloud computing' for the past five. PCS focuses on cloud computing because it minimizes the expensive 'hard' assets a cash-strapped organization needs. As a self-proclaimed amateur educator, Mike enjoys demonstrating what he's learned to audiences that need it most. Along the way, he tries hard to translate tech talk into plain English, and can also show how to find Spanish, Somali, etc. translations for most of it.


Jamie Taylor is the technology specialist at the Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing Minnesotans. She has a master's degree in deaf education from the University of Minnesota. She has traveled extensively in the U.S. and abroad at several professional conferences as a technology specialist and lecturer. She has spoken on topics ranging from voting machine accessibility to accessible pedestrian signals for individuals with disabilities, especially deafblindness.

 

Greg Tehven launched a vision with three friends to change the world. These four students worked to create a Pay It Forward Tour, a community service project on wheels. Since its inception, Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF) has sent out 194 Pay It Forward Tours with 7,100 participants serving over 2,000 communities across the country performing a collective 120,000 hours of service. Greg serves on the Wisdom Council for Volunteerism.org, and is the advisor of the Metro Student Council Ambassadors of Fargo Moorhead. He also serves as a board member of the Metro Youth Partnership of Fargo Moorhead and GiveMN.org. His personal mission statement is simple: To challenge, inspire and encourage young people to live a life of excellence.

Terri Thao is a program officer at Nexus Community Partners, a community building initiative with a mission to expand community assets and build social and human capital. Terri is responsible for all the activities in the Midtown area of South Minneapolis as well as fundraising for the initiatives. In addition, Terri has managed projects exploring the use of technology in helping build community and increase assets. Her other professional experience includes working on social justice issues and project management of research projects about after school education and leadership development. Terri is also an active member in the community, her current volunteer activities include: serving on the boards of St. Paul social service nonprofit Neighborhood House, the Asian Pacific Endowment at the St. Paul Foundation and the Asian Economic Development Association.

Ann Treacy, with a master’s degree is library and information science, has been how people find information and get found in the Internet for almost 15 years. Ann builds web sites, develops and deploys online marketing plans and provides SEO consulting. She has traveled from Ireland to present today.

Mary Ann Van Cura serves as library development and continuing education coordinator for State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, supporting nonprofit and other library staff in meeting the needs of their end users. Previously Mary Ann provided public training and staffed inner city Community Technology Centers within Minneapolis Public Library, notably Hosmer Library and Franklin Library. She monitors and shares statistics on access to computers and the Internet and works to increase public awareness of the importance of public training and access to civic, education, employment, entertainment, and business information. She has served on the board of Peace & Hope Partnership International and Canto General, and is a founder and active member of the local Technology Literacy Collaborative.

DawnMarie Vihrachoff, was raised in Florida, where she got an early start in politics as an intern in the office of her local congresswoman. DawnMarie worked as an organizer for Planned Parenthood during her college years and served as legislative aide for the Florida House of Representatives, working for years in the South Florida political community. She has dedicated her time to various political campaigns, feminist causes and organizations such as NOW, local homeless and hunger assistance charities, and her faith-based community. As the development and member manager at Wellstone Action, DawnMarie enjoys working closely with supporters by handling their requests and contributions and managing the behind the scenes work of the organization's fundraising. She also works to help coordinate volunteers and interns at Wellstone Action's St. Paul office.

Cary Walski's expertise lies in translating mission into meaningful media online for nonprofits. Currently she works as web communications associate at Minnesota Council on Foundations, and also volunteers as web developer for RainborRumpus.org. You can find her online at defiance-blog.com.

 

Elaine Weber Nelson has been in marketing and development for more than 20 years. She received an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota with a focus in marketing. Elaine’s prior nonprofit positions include leading the development and marketing efforts for two organizations as well as major gifts and planned giving officer positions. She is currently an adjunct professor at the Carlson School of Management and the University of St. Thomas, teaching marketing principles, strategy, research and promotions at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Elaine works with nonprofit organizations in the areas of marketing and development effort capacity building, capital and endowment campaigns, annual fund efforts, grantwriting and board training. She served two terms on the board of directors for the Association of Fundraising Professionals.


Deanna White is a relocated South Dakota girl who joined Clean Water Action in January 2008 as program director. She brings with her an extensive background in political and community organizing. Most recently, she ran the Brandon Valley Area Chamber of Commerce. Prior to that, she spent eight years with the Sierra Club beginning as a community organizer in Las Vegas, serving as national deputy political director in Washington, D.C. and returning to South Dakota as a senior regional representative. She began her career as a campaign organizer with the South Dakota Democratic Party.


Elana Wolowitz serves as communications director for Wellstone Action. She has extensive experience in issue mobilization, online advocacy, new media and branding and design. At Wellstone Action, she manages member communication and media relations, new media outreach and edits and contributes to the blog at wellstone.org. Since joining Wellstone Action in 2004, Elana has coordinated grassroots mobilization for two national issue campaigns, managed non- partisan voter engagement efforts, and serves as a senior trainer. In her spare time, she helps with marketing for the family business - a socially responsible restaurant in Minneapolis called Common Roots Café.


Jay Wyant serves as the CEO of Remotocom, a provider of high-quality media delivery and communications services. Previously he was marketing director for a national media accessibility services provider. Jay devotes much of his private time to volunteering on the boards of various service organizations for the deaf and hard of hearing. He is past president of a nonprofit audiology clinic and Northern Voices, an oral pre-school. He is currently president of the AG Bell Association, headquartered in Washington, DC.

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