Deborah Barge is a leader of philanthropic culture and partnership at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America serving as Chief Development Officer in service to the largest JEDI-focused your mentoring program in the nation. Over the past 20+ years, Deborah has led teams and partnerships that have generated more than $1 billion to the causes and missions she has served. As a BIPOC female in the industry, Deborah brings an authentic perspective to our work to solve the worlds most complex problems through our mission-based endeavors.

Clay is a thirty-year fundraising veteran and has been both a front-line fundraiser at several nonprofits and a senior consultant with major national firms. He has experience in all aspects of fundraising, with expertise in individual giving and building the systems and infrastructure achieve high-level results. He has held the Certified Fund Raising Executive certification since 2010, served as the President of the Las Vegas chapter of AFP, and is an AFP Master Trainer. He co-wrote the U.S. Critical Fundraising Report for Rogare, the fundraising think tank and teaches the fundraising courses for the Nonprofit Management and Fundraising certification programs at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He holds a BA from the University of Georgia, an MFA from Michigan State University, a Certificate in Professional Writing from the University of Chicago, and completed a Certificate In Philanthropic Psychology, With Distinction, from the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy. He makes his home in Southern Nevada where he’s owned by two Labrador Retrievers.

Shelby Davies-Sekle, CMP, DES is an event planner in the DC Metro area for Inova Health Foundation. Inova Health Foundation is Northern Virginia’s leading nonprofit healthcare provider and has a mission to provide world-class healthcare – every time, every touch – to each person in every community we have the privilege to serve.

Shelby, a graduate of Virginia Tech, is a certified meeting professional and digital event strategist with over a decade of combined experience in the events, fashion, marketing and interiors industries. She has been recognized throughout her career including having been a 2019 National Kidney Foundation – National Capital Region All Star Award recipient for her involvement in their annual fundraising gala, The Kidney Ball. She also was a feature in the Fall 2020 Meetings Issue of Associations Now Magazine. Shelby is passionate about sharing her skillset with her community through volunteering and has done so with the National Kidney Foundation, ASAE’s Meetings and Expositions Professionals Advisory Council. She is currently serving as the Regional Director for Fashion Group International’s DC Chapter.

Patrick Kirby is the Founder of Do Good Better Consulting, author of the Amazon best seller Fundraise Awesomer! A Practical Guide to Staying Sane While Doing Good, host of The Official Do Good Better Podcast, and a believer that “we’ve always done it this way” is the most dangerous phrase in the English language.

Patrick has spent nearly fifteen years working as a fundraiser in the nonprofit industry, for organizations of all shapes and sizes, and strives to ‘Do Good Better’ every day. From organizing $10,000 cure walks to $1 million galas, Patrick’s passion lies in creating creative solutions to make fundraising less boring.

He cut his donor relations/fundraising teeth as the Alumni Coordinator at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, MN, before trying his hand as a manufacturing sales rep to companies such as Target and Best Buy. Tired of being yelled at for uncontrollable international shipping issues in both English and Chinese, Patrick re-joined the world of nonprofit work as the Sr. Development Director at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation MN/Dakotas Chapter before taking the Chief Development Officer position at the Anne Carlsen Center.

Lauren is an Emmy Award winning storyteller who specializes in untold stories. She began her career at 17 years old in her first TV job as a production assistant. She ran cameras during the evening newscasts after school. Eventually she worked her way up to a job in front of the camera and spent time as a reporter in Iowa, Nebraska and Memphis.

After a decade working in newsrooms, she transitioned from a life in front of the camera, to a life behind the camera telling stories for nonprofits.
As owner and Principal Storyteller for Forever Ready Productions, her vision for storytelling is at the heart of every production. She is a four time Regional Emmy Award winner from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

It’s this background in reporting — where production happens fast and complex human stories are at the center — that reminds Lauren to dig deeper than the headline; telling untold stories. Lauren’s specialty is taking moments of human experience and turning them into dynamic and compelling videos.

Lauren was named Memphis Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 for her work in the Memphis community and her mission-driven business. She received the Vistage Impact Award for growth and leadership. Her company, Forever Ready Productions, received the Small Business of the Year Award in 2020 from the Memphis Business Journal.

Lauren is an Iowa native and a graduate of Loras College. She is based in Memphis, TN with her husband, Scott and their son Max. She’s a part 107 certified drone pilot, loves rock climbing and photography.

Mia S. Willis is a cultural worker, popular educator, and fundraiser based in Atlanta, Georgia. Although their initial efforts supported the arts and cultural programs in which they participate, Mia began fundraising on behalf of education and social justice nonprofit organizations after the 2020 Uprisings. They have served in a number of development roles, including as the Tournament Director of the 2019 Feminine Empowerment Movement Slam (Cambridge, MA), the Development Coordinator of Reading In Motion (Chicago, IL), and most recently as the Interim Co-Coordinator of Development and Communications at Highlander Research and Education Center (New Market, TN).

As Director of Philanthropy, Lety Martinez leads the planning, development, and implementation of all communications, marketing and fundraising activities across the organization. She stewards ICF’s relationship within Mexican foundation networks and has helped ICF earn recognition as key funder for Mexican organizations. She magnifies the culture of philanthropy across ICF staff and board members.

Lety was recently awarded Outstanding Development Professional of the Year 2021 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) San Diego Chapter.

She joined the International Community Foundation in August 2017 as the Marketing & Development Manager.

Lety has over 12 years of experience successfully fundraising and stewarding donor relations for several Mexican nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining ICF, Lety served as the Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Tijuana. She was previously Youth Program and Fundraising Director for Centro de Formación Humana and a Social Investment Director for Fundación Dibujando un Mañana. Lety has also served as a volunteer in Budapest, Hungary at Szent Benedek Iskola and the Regnum Christi.

Lety is a graduate of Universidad Anáhuac México Norte where she received a Master of Family Sciences for Counseling, and she is certificated in Non-Profit Management by United Way Mexico and USAID. Previously she earned her B.A. in International Business from Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) Campus San Luis. She’s currently a graduate student in Nonprofit Leadership and Management at the University of San Diego.

Lety’s devoted to the growth and sustainability of Mexican nonprofits. She is a proud Mexican living in San Diego, where she enjoys spending time with her husband and her dog, reading and traveling. She is also a Human Rights and LGBTQIA+ advocate.

Pam Orr is the Executive Director for Fellowship Housing, a nonprofit that serves single moms and their children through safe, affordable housing and financial literacy training. She loves seeing single moms transform as they gain confidence and are empowered to build new legacies for their families. Pam has over 15 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector in both executive leadership and board oversight.

Under her leadership, Fellowship Housing has increased the number of families served by 33% and increased its revenue by 190%. She is incredibly passionate about equipping single moms to create a generational impact for their families and excited that Fellowship Housing continues to expand its reach with a 2021 launch into McHenry County and a 2022 launch into DuPage County.