2019 Kentucky Nonprofit Leadership Forum Presenters
Jeff Ashley, Partner, Founder and President – Ashley|Rountree and Associates
Jeff has over 25 years of non-profit leadership, management and fundraising experience. He has assisted numerous organizations in raising almost $1 billion throughout his career. Previously he served as Vice President for University Advancement for Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky (The University subsequently became a client of Ashley & Associates). During his tenure, Spalding completed its first comprehensive capital campaign, raising $15.3 million on a $10 million goal. Prior to that Ashley served as Director of Major Gifts for the University of Louisville’s “Challenge for Excellence” Campaign. He played a leadership role in directing the silent and public phases of the campaign that raised over $340 million on a $200 million goal.
Presenting Session: 7B
Tom Bishop, Partner – CauseImpact LLC
Tom Bishop is a partner at CauseImpact LLC, a social enterprise consultancy which uses an innovative and collaborative approach to drive new revenue and greater mission impact. Previously he spent more than 30 years in media and media arts-based nonprofits, the last twenty of that as Chief Executive, and created multiple social enterprises to support and amplify the mission of his organizations. Along with his work in social innovation, Tom works with nonprofits on strategic direction, governance, and organizational development. CauseImpact helps nonprofits Do Good. Better!
Presenting Session: 6A
Julia Campbell, Owner - JS Social Marketing
Julia Campbell has run her digital marketing consulting business for almost a decade, focused exclusively on mission-driven organizations. A mom of 2 and a Retired Peace Corps Volunteer, she is the author of Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits, a call-to-action for nonprofits to use stories to accomplish their missions.
Based in Boston, Julia is a global authority on digital storytelling, with happy clients spanning the globe from Moscow to San Francisco. She has provided workshops and training to Meals on Wheels America, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and Facebook. Julia is a frequent contributor to Nonprofit Tech for Good, Social Media Today, Maximize Social Business, Elevation Web, Network for Good, Wild Apricot, and others.
Her passion is to get nonprofits of all sizes to stop spinning their wheels on social media and to start getting real results using digital tools.
Presenting Sessions: 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A
David Cobb, Senior Consultant, Director of External Partnerships – Ashley|Rountree and Associates
David joined Ashley Rountree as an experienced fundraiser and senior nonprofit executive with more than 20 years experience leading innovative fund development, public affairs and strategic planning initiatives for a broad range of nonprofits. David’s diverse background in fundraising includes having led highly successful capital campaigns, major gifts initiatives, annual funds and events. An attorney, David brings extensive non-profit management experience with a special focus on organizational turnarounds and self-funded program creation.
Brian Cohoon, CFP, AIF, CRPC, Consultant – Ashley|Rountree and Associates
Brian’s experience includes over 23 years in the financial and estate planning field. He is a Certified Financial Planner practitioner with significant experience in planned giving and charitable estate planning. He worked as a Senior Consultant for Renaissance Inc. where he helped advisors, donors and nonprofit organizations develop charitable estate plans. Renaissance Inc. is a national charitable trust administration company and has been a pioneer in the planned giving industry since the late 1980’s. In the process of his tenure at Renaissance, Inc., he was involved in the creation of over 500 charitable trusts for donors and over $500 million in trust assets directed to charities. He came to Louisville as Director of Planned Giving for Norton Healthcare where he oversaw the Planned Giving program for The Norton Hospital Foundation and Kosair Children’s Hospital. During his tenure, he established their first Planned Giving Society and helped to grow and manage the largest planned giving office in the state of Kentucky.
Presenting Session: 7B
Alice Cowley, Senior Manager – Crowe, LLP
Alice is the Senior Manager at Crowe, LLP. She has twelve years of experience providing external audit services to a variety of clients, including colleges and universities, local governments, foundations, trade and membership organizations, and other not-for-profit entities. She holds degrees from Bellarmine University and Rhodes College.
Presenting Session: 6D
Michael Fine, Partner - Wyatt Tarrant & Combs
Michael’s legal practice spans the full range of nonprofit and tax-exempt organization legal and tax issues. He advises public charities, private foundations, boards, and donors. Mike regularly assists clients with tax compliance and corporate planning matters including unrelated business, executive compensation, intermediate sanctions, joint ventures, affiliation strategies, reorganizations, property and sales tax, charitable contributions, IRS audits, and obtaining tax exemption from the IRS.
Before joining Wyatt, Michael worked at large, international law firms in Chicago and Washington, D.C. He is a frequent speaker and author, and has been quoted in various publications including Modern Healthcare, The Chicago Tribune, Tax Analysts, and Bloomberg BNA's Daily Tax Report. Mike serves as Chair of the American Health Lawyers Association’s Tax & Finance Practice Group. He was recently selected by Louisville Business First for its “Forty Under 40” award.
Presenting Session: 4D
John Gillig, Program Manager of Volunteer Generation Fund – Serve Kentucky
John is the Program Manager of the Volunteer Generation Fund. He joined Serve Kentucky, the State Service Commission that administers AmeriCorps, in January 2019. Prior to joining the Serve Kentucky staff, John served as a Commissioner on the Serve Kentucky Commission from 2014 through 2019, having been appointed to this position for one term by Governor Beshear and reappointed by Governor Bevin.
John had an extensive career in government, working for the US House of Representatives, the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, and for the Legislative Research Commission, the administrative arm of the Kentucky General Assembly. After leaving state government he worked with the national office of the YMCA, where he got to work for five years on nonprofit issues nationally and directly with YMCAs in 20 states.
Presenting Session: 7A
Megan Gulla, Director of Engagement – CivicLex
Megan Gulla is the Director of Engagement at CivicLex, where she oversees community workshops and relational development. She studied English at the University of Kentucky and has since worked and volunteered in a variety of fields. She is interested in creative, local, journalism, and in her free time is usually busy with one of her too many hobbies.
Presenting Session: 3C
Marian Guinn, Owner - MG Coaching & Consulting
Marian Guinn, owner of MG Coaching & Consulting, has a passion for leadership and believes that concentrated effort to improve the capacity of leaders is critical to future success. She works with leaders 1:1 as an executive coach or thought partner helping them move through transitions or achieve desired competencies. As a leadership trainer she works with teams to create customized professional development plans. As a consultant, she facilitates strategic planning processes, and works with organizations to enhance board engagement. She is co-founder of the High Impact Leadership Project, a 6-month leadership development program focused on emotional intelligence and leadership agility.
Parker Harrington, Founder – Sponsorship Plus
Parker Harrington, founder of Sponsorship Plus, leads a small but mighty firm committed to helping nonprofits of all sizes raise more money, engage deeply committed volunteers and inspire influencers to take action. She is a trusted advisor to nonprofits of all sizes in markets across the country. She builds teams among staff and board through deep listening and sharing what she’s learned. Parker is often referred to as the Suze Orman of sponsorship -- high energy, knowledgeable and generous in sharing her expertise.
Justin Hubbard - Dean Dorton
Justin currently leads Dean Dorton’s Accounting and Financial Outsourcing (AFO) group, providing outsourced accounting and business consulting services to clients throughout the country in a variety of industries. A primary focus of the AFO group is leveraging technology to automate processing, while gaining greater insights to information that will help business leaders make decisions and achieve business goals.
Upon obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky in 2003, Justin spent two years overseeing the accounting department of a privately held coal company. In December 2005, he obtained his Master’s degree in Accounting from the University of Kentucky and began practicing public accounting at Dean Dorton in January 2006. He has provided audit, tax, and consulting services for clients in various industries throughout Kentucky.
Justin has 12 years of public accounting experience, providing assurance, accounting, business advisory, and tax services to clients in the healthcare, construction, natural resource, nonprofit, and higher education industries. Justin works specifically within our healthcare and natural resource industry teams. Prior to coming to Dean Dorton, Justin worked for various small businesses and has a passion for working alongside small business and local entrepreneurs.
Presenting Session: 7D
Morgan Kirk, Community Engagement Manager – Wellcare Health Plans, Inc.
Morgan Kirk, native of Harlan County, received her B.A. in Sociology from Morehead State University. After working in microsociology for six years in Eastern Kentucky, she settled in Hazard, KY where she became involved with civic and community organizations such as Kiwanis and InVision Hazard. Morgan serves as Manager of the Community Engagement team with WellCare Health Plans, Inc. This team looks at ways to overcome barriers in social determinants of health that lead to disparities in health outcomes. Through her role with WellCare Morgan is a Board member of the Housing Development Alliance, Northfork Local Food, Pathfinders of Perry County, and the Hazard-Perry County Community Ministries board.
Presenting Session: 4C
Todd Krise, Integrated Communications Director - Vimarc
Rooted in a background of online publishing and an insatiable curiosity to learn, Todd has a unique ability to keep a pulse on all things new in the digital realm. As the heart and soul of the Vimarc Integrated Communications department, his laugh is almost as big as his desire to help clients meet (and exceed) their goals. Todd provides invaluable knowledge and expertise with regard to digital media planning, content marketing strategy, new media exploration, campaign tracking and optimization, and digital platform development. Todd has counseled nonprofit clients such as Leader Dogs for the Blind, Kentucky Derby Festival, The Healing Place, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana.
Presenting Session: 1A
Clint Long, VP and Director of Institutional Sales - WealthSouth
Clint Long is the VP and Director of Institutional Sales for WealthSouth. Clint has an extensive background in planed giving solutions and donor relations. He is the Treasurer for Centenary United Methodist Church, Finance Chair for St. Joseph Hospital Foundation and Board Member of Family Counseling Services.
Presenting Session: 4B
Demetria Miles-McDonald, Founder & CEO - Decide Diversity
Demetria Miles-McDonald is the Founder and CEO of Decide Diversity, a company focused on increasing the presence and effectiveness of underrepresented groups in the workplace, specifically in leadership positions. Demetria specializes in bringing the experiences of people who identify with two or more marginalized groups to the forefront, to better understand and utilize the strengths they bring to the workplace. Demetria's experience in industrial and organizational psychology have energized her to take action and lead today's leaders away from stereotypes and biases that prevent qualified people from reaching their highest potential.
Tad Myre, Partner – Wyatt Tarrant & Combs
Tad is Co-Chair of the Firm's Health Care Service Team. He concentrates his practice in the areas of health care, taxation, nonprofit organizations, and general business law. He has extensive experience in the areas of health care organizations, including hospitals and physician practices, tax-exempt organizations, small business and joint ventures.
Before joining Wyatt, Tad served as General Counsel with Norton Healthcare and was an attorney with the United States Tax Court. He often speaks and authors publications on tax-exempt and health care issues.
Presenting Session: 4D
Nancy Orben, CPA, Sr. Manager – Blue & Co
Nancy Orben is a CPA and Sr. Manager with Blue & Co. With over 30 years’ experience, Nancy specializes in accounting software and related consulting. She works with a variety of accounting software including Sage, QuickBooks, Abila and Blackbaud. Nancy is advanced certified and/or certified in all Quickbooks software. She was selected as Insightful Accountant’s 2017 QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor of the year and has been in their top 10 ProAdvisors from 2014-2018. She works several non-profit educational organizations as well as fraternal and religious organizations. She has served on numerous nonprofit boards and volunteered for over 10 years with Hamilton County 4H. She is a graduate of Xavier University.
Presenting Session: 2C
Amy Potts, Volunteer Development Coordinator – Serve Kentucky
Amy Potts is a Volunteer Development Coordinator with Serve Kentucky. She coordinates the Service Enterprise Initiative, a volunteer management certification program of the Points of Light Foundation. Previously, Amy worked as the Director of Preservation Kentucky’s Heritage Program, providing educational workshops, and technical assistance for nonprofit organizations, local governments and property owners on models of best practices for rural preservation. She has also written and managed numerous National Science Byway grants for central Kentucky’s Lincoln Heritage Highway National Scenic Highway.
Presenting Session: 7A
Lisa Betson Resnik, Consultant – Ashley|Rountree and Associates
Lisa brings 30 years of executive non-profit leadership spanning roles in the arts, secondary and higher education, social services and cultural organizations. She specializes in organizational stewardship, capital campaigns, strategic planning, board engagement and operations. Most recently she held executive leadership and C-Suite roles with the Speed Art Museum and the Kentucky Science Center.
Presenting Session: 6B
Leslie “Dani” Rodgers, Partnership Specialist – U.S. Census Bureau – Philadelphia Region
Leslie is a Partnership Specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau. She is a tri-lingual Spelman College Graduate with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Japanese. She has spent most of her life working with nonprofits and as an advocate for those whose voices go unheard or have been muted. Using her overseas work experience and love of languages, she strives to bridge unnecessary cultural and linguistic gaps in the community to focus on commonalities and the appreciation of differences.
Leslie has been working with the US Census Bureau since January 2019 and, in her spare time, she teaches English, Spanish, and Japanese and serves on the boards of the Migrant Network Coalition, Greenhouse 17, Micah Legal, and the Kentucky Black Bourbon Guild.
Presenting Session: 1B
Mark Rountree, President, Partner and Senior Consultant Ashley|Rountree and Associates
Mark Rountree has made a career in development and institutional advancement for over 30 years, serving as both a consultant and development officer for several educational, cultural and health organizations. Mark’s vast experience includes planning and guiding diverse fundraising studies and campaigns, executive searches, and leadership coaching. As an advisor to volunteer leaders, Mark believes that it is important to practice what he preaches and make a personal commitment to also volunteer work on several local boards.
Presenting Session: 6B
Kim Scifres, Senior Manager, Crowe LLP
Kim has more than 30 years of experience serving tax-exempt organizations including complex healthcare organizations, private foundations and various other not-for-profit organizations. She has managed all tax compliance aspects for many organizations and is well versed in reporting issues faced by exempt organizations including Form 990 compliance, unrelated business income reporting, compensation and fringe benefits, and joint ventures.
Presenting Session: 6D
Judy Simpson, Assurance Department Manager - Blue & Co.
Judy Simpson is a Manager at Blue & Co in their Assurance Department. She provides audits, reviews, internal control work, and other consulting services to clients in various industries. Judy graduated from the University of Kentucky with a double major in Finance and Accounting. She has a passion for Kentucky and is overall growth and well-being. She previously served as Treasurer for the Rotaract Club of Lexington. Currently servicing on the board of On the Move Art Studio as Treasurer and on the Development & Marketing Committee for Ampersand Sexual Violence Resource Center of the Bluegrass. Judy spend a lot of her time in the Not-fo-Profit sector, combining both her passion and her strength.
Presenting Session: 2C
Richmond Simpson, President and CEO – Vimarc
With nearly 30 years of industry experience, Richmond’s keen intuition and strategic leadership have helped clients in all business segments achieve success. Among his many talents, Richmond is adept in the categories of brand development, strategic planning, market research, and campaign development and execution. His passion for nonprofits is demonstrated in his long history of working with and alongside organizations such as The Healing Place, Episcopal Church Home, Parkinson Support Center of Kentuckiana, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana, and Friend for Life Cancer Support Network.
Presenting Session: 1A
Paula Swope, Director of Grant Professionals Division Partnership – Ashley|Rountree and Associates
Paula Swope made a life changing decision to leave her position as the Associate Director of Partners for Education at Berea College to become a grant professional consultant. After years of working with colleges and universities, Paula decided to pursue her passion of helping nonprofit organizations achieve sustainability. She always thought that if she could make a decent living helping others she would be happy, and this has been the case for the past two years. Paula is a Madison County native. When she married her husband, Will, they moved to Louisville, KY in September 2015. Philanthropy is deeply embedded in the culture of Louisville, and Paula has had ample opportunities to put her unique skill set to excellent use in the community. In her short career working independently, she has secured $3,000,000 in funding for Louisville nonprofits.
Presenting Session: 7B
Florence Tandy, Founder|Consultant – Leadership Bridges
Florence Tandy is the founder and CEO of Leadership Bridges, a boutique consultancy with particular expertise in leadership development, governance, organizational performance, and strategic planning. Prior to that, Florence had a 30-year career in nonprofit leadership positions, most recently as the Executive Director for Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission (2005-2018). Her master’s degree in Organizational Leadership has provided the background needed to grapple with troubling leadership, governance, and sustainability issues as an executive, as a consultant and a board member.
Florence has received such professional recognition as the Outstanding Executive award from the Kentucky Nonprofit Network (2013), the Outstanding Women of Northern Kentucky honor (2018), and community service awards from two Chambers of Commerce (Northern Kentucky in 2018, and Richmond, Kentucky in 1998). One of Kentucky’s most experienced nonprofit board members, Florence has served on the boards of a dozen or more organizations, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Kentucky Nonprofit Network.
Florence is a UK basketball fan, an avid reader, and a pretty good gardener. She has two grown children and lives in southern Boone County with her husband of 39 years.
Presenting Session: 5C
Lisa Williams, President - Lisa Williams Consulting
Lisa Williams is a leadership and organizational coach and consultant who helps nonprofits and their leaders become peak performers. As a coach, her passion is helping leaders increase their emotional intelligence. As a consultant, she uses a solution-focused mentality to help organizations improve processes and systems, maneuver around pitfalls and think outside the box. She previously served as the executive director of the University of Kentucky Institute for Workplace Innovation and has held leadership roles in various nonprofit organizations.
Presenting Session: 1C
Loren Wood, CivicLex
Loren helps nonprofit organizations drive systemic social change by leveraging 13+ years of experience in areas from employee engagement and human-centered design, to marketing and Scrum project management. Ever the problem solver, he shines when getting to help nonprofit organizations identify and overcome the root cause issues stopping them from achieving their mission.
Presenting Session: 3C
Richard Young, Co-Founder and Director – CivicLex
Richard Young has been working in and around civic engagement and community development for almost a decade. He has overseen multi-million dollar organizations and countless startup endeavors, all in the non-profit realm. Starting his career with a degree in Double Bass performance from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Richard has a deep interest in how creative process can positively impact democracy. He enjoys cooking, gardening, playing music, and spending time with his dog Oliver.
Presenting Session: 3C
