September 21-25, 2020
Every weekday evening the week of September 21st
5:00-6:00 PM ET
Members-Only
***LIMITED SEATING ENGAGEMENT***
This September, not only will our community come together again to connect via WOC Connections Week, but we will offer you a chance to workshop topics that are important to being a successful woman of color fundraiser or philanthropist.
You bring the ideas and questions; we bring the experts to help you sort through them. Here are the sessions topics we will be covering:
Session Programming
Monday - September 21st
Young Professionals Roundtable
It's a tough but rewarding world out there for young professionals. Join us to talk about the issues you're facing and how WOC can help.
Hosted by: Maddy Abulencia, Director of Development of OHSU Foundation, Shanice Branch, Individual Giving Manager, Jeremiah Program, Jahmaiah Lewis, Associate Director of Development, CARE, Sarina S. Noone, Development Generalist
Tuesday - September 22nd
Preparing for Successful Year-End Fundraising During the New Normal
It's going to be an interesting time for year-end giving, and WOC Advisory Member Allyson Reaves will help you sort through your strategy.
Hosted by: WOC Advisory Committee Member and Corporate Vice President, CCS Fundraising Allyson Reaves
Wednesday - September 23rd
Not on the Front Line: Operations, Research and Database Trends in Development with Martha Lauria
Everybody has a role to play in an organization's development strategy and we want to support those who support the frontline fundraisers.
Hosted by: WOC Advisory Committee Member and Development Operations Expert Martha Lauria
Wednesday - September 23rd: BONUS Session - WOC Up this Morning Breakfast Conversation from 9-10am ET on Wednesday
How to Give Back - You Are a Philanthropist
Join our Founder, Yolanda F. Johnson and WOC Advisory Committee member and noted philanthropic officer Shaunda McDill for a discussion on dispelling impostor syndrome to embrace your inner philanthropist.
Hosted by: Yolanda F. Johnson and WOC Advisory Committee Member and Noted Philanthropic Officer Shaunda McDill
Thursday - September 24th
Tackling Issues for Women of Color in Higher Education and Advancement
Join Kimberly Shiner, California State University San Bernardino, and Rosann Santos, Founder of Latinas in Higher Education, Inc. for this insightful conversation.
Hosted by: Kimberly Shiner, California State University San Bernardino and Rosann Santos, Founder of Latinas in Higher Education
Friday - September 25th
Diverse Donors Conversation: Building Pipelines and Enhancing Stewardship
Join Advisory Committee Member and Diverse Philanthropy Trailblazer, Chantal Bonitto, as we tackle issues related to cultivating a diverse donor pipeline and how to successfully steward those donors.
Hosted by: WOC Advisory Committee Member and Diverse Philanthropy Trailblazer Chantal Bonitto
RSVP is now closed.
Thank you for your interest in WOC Connections Week. You will receive your group information shortly!
By registering for this Women of Color in Fundraising and Development (WOC)™ event, I give consent for my photograph to be taken and possibly used on the organization’s intranet, internet, newsletters, board reports, and other organizational materials as needed. I understand that I am not eligible for compensation for use of my photo and I may not be informed in advance of the specific use of those images.
Facilitators
Maddy Abulencia, Director of Development, OHSU Foundation
Maddy is a Director of Development at OHSU Foundation, where she has held several roles with increasing responsibilities and currently leads fundraising efforts for neurosciences. Before joining OHSU Foundation, she served as a Development Officer at Boys & Girls Aid. Originally from the Philippines, Maddy’s pursuit of a nonprofit career was shaped by her own experience growing up overseas as a child of UN diplomats. Maddy moved to the US to attend Lewis & Clark College where she earned her bachelor’s degrees in Economics and International Affairs. Maddy was selected as one of Portland Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 honorees in 2020.
Shanice Branch, Individual Giving Manager, Jeremiah Program
Shanice is a fundraising professional with over 7+ years in the nonprofit sector at organizations like the YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, Urban Pathways, Little Flower Children and Family Services and most recently the Jeremiah Program where she is the Individual Giving Manager. Shanice has traveled abroad gaining valuable experience in overseas business and has obtained her Master of Public Administration from Baruch College following her Bachelor's degree from Rutgers University in Business Management and Marketing.
Building strong relationships is the foundation of the work Shanice does both professionally and personally, she is invested in the success of others. Currently the Events Director for the Rutgers Alumni Club of NYC and an active participant in her sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, Shanice is a native New Yorker who enjoys a good Nexflix binge and baking.
Jahmaiah Lewis, Associate Director of Development, CARE
Jahmaiah Lewis is a dynamic professional with a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector. She has served in fundraising and project management positions at organizations such as the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, NAACP, Eagle Academy Foundation and Democracy Now! Jahmaiah earned her M.S. in Business Management and Leadership at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. Jahmaiah relocated from her hometown Brooklyn, NY to the Atlanta area in the spring and currently serves as Associate Director of Development at CARE. Jahmaiah is a proud member of Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy and Fabulous Female Fundraisers (F3).
Sarina S. Noone, Development Generalist
Sarina S. Noone is a development generalist with ten years of experience engaging communities and cultivating philanthropic support through strategic events and communications. Her career in development began with literary arts nonprofits in the Pacific Northwest and led to her work in service of higher education advancement at the University of Washington, MIT and Cornell University. She currently works as a research assistant at the NYU Furman Center, focused on urban policy and housing justice initiatives. Sarina earned a B.A. in English from Skidmore College and is currently pursuing her Master of Public Administration at NYU Wagner.
Allyson Reaves, Corporate Vice President, CCS Fundraising
Allyson’s work with CCS includes interim management, campaign execution, planning studies, development assessments, leadership development and capacity building for diverse organizations across social sectors. Her key achievements include heightening engagement from volunteer leaders, securing transformational seven and eight- figure commitments and implementing successful campaigns from concept to public phase.
With a sixteen-year career in philanthropy (and the past nine years with CCS), Allyson has worked directly with teams of thought leaders whose goals are to advance outreach, education and leadership around a vision. In each project, Allyson aligns the fundraising endeavor with a spirit of collaboration and team-building, which serves as the underpinning for incredible success.
Currently, Allyson is serving at Xavier University of Louisiana in the interim role of Vice President of Institutional Advancement. Supporting a staff of 15+ development professionals, Allyson managed the launch of Xavier’s L.O.V.E. Fund (Lifeline, Organization-wide, Vital, Emergency), which funds the university’s immediate COVID-19 response plan. In addition, she is advancing campaign preparation for Xavier’s 100th anniversary in 2025.
Based in Atlanta, GA, Allyson is an volunteer for several diversity and inclusion initiatives organized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the African American Development Officers Network. She is a former board member of both the Clemson University Black Alumni Council and the Community Investment Network. A graduate of the Hilton Head Island Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Program, she also served on the Chamber’s Board of Regents. Allyson volunteers with the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development (US Virgin Islands) around hurricane recovery, community organizing and building collective leadership for non-profit organizations. Allyson was also recently invited to join the German Marshall Fellowship Program and she will complete the transatlantic project in spring 2021.
Martha Lauria, Development Operations Expert
Martha is a technology and information management expert, with years of progressive experience working with relational databases, fundraising reporting and analysis to inform leadership strategy and decision making. She has a background in both healthcare development operations and higher education advancement and she is particularly focused on building relationships, cultivating talent and motivating teams. Martha has achieved a great deal of success in finding technological solutions to meet fundraisers' needs in a fast-paced and evolving environment. She is a member of the board of directors of Women In Development (WID), NY.
Shaunda McDill, Program Officer, Arts & Culture, The Heinz Endowments.
Photo credit is: Lindsay B. Garvin
Shaunda McDill joined The Heinz Endowments in October 2017. As program officer for arts and culture, she works to promote the strength and vitality of a suite of Pittsburgh-based artists and arts organizations through general operating support and a programming portfolio comprised of the Investing in Professional Artists program, the Small Arts Initiative, the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh initiative and the foundation’s first cross-programmatic social justice initiative, Just Arts, which she helped to found. Alongside her colleagues, she has also been instrumental in fortifying the role of the Endowments’ Creativity Strategic Area in utilizing art to combat stereotypes and improve outcomes for veterans as part of the foundation’s “Rethink Vets” campaign.
Shaunda has more than a decade of non-profit executive and arts management experience, working for theater companies across the country, including The Goodman Theatre of Chicago, Second Stage Theater, Yale Repertory Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse and Cornerstone Theater Company. In 2006, she also founded demaskus Theater Collective, a non-profit, service-oriented collective of artists and administrators who produce theatrical projects that share stories of the marginalized. In Pittsburgh, Shaunda served as vice president of programming and cultivation at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, where she managed all artistic and educational programs, including the production of the city’s first Black Dance Festival. As the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s director of public relations, she headed both national and local public relations campaigns, including the North American premiere of Florentijn Hofman’s Rubber Duck Project, which generated more than $10 million in direct spending in the city.
Shaunda has a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where she majored in African and African-American Studies and minored in Theater. She has a master’s from Yale University’s School of Drama with a concentration in theater management. She is a member of Macedonia Church of Pittsburgh and is married to Pittsburgh native Sager McDill. Shaunda recently became a member of the Jada House International, Inc. board of directors.
Yolanda F. Johnson, WOC Founder
With more than two decades of experience in the non-profit sector, Yolanda F. Johnson has successfully led fundraising operations for a wide range of non-profit organizations, launching creative event, sponsorship and marketing initiatives that produced new streams of both contributed and earned income. Her fundraising expertise includes securing foundation, corporate, and government funding and cultivating a diverse major gifts portfolio.
In addition to leading YFJ Consulting, LLC, Yolanda is the Founder of WOC, Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy™ and President of Women In Development (WID), NY, the NYC area's premier professional organization for women in fundraising and philanthropy. Yolanda has also had an outstanding career as a performing artist, as a composer, as a producer, as an educator, and she has used her background as a performer to become a sought-after fundraising expert.
Kimberly Shiner, Associate Vice President for University Advancement for the Office of Philanthropic Giving, California State University San Bernardino
Kimberly Shiner has spent more than 20 years as a fundraising, public relations, and community outreach professional. She currently serves as the Associate Vice President for University Advancement for the Office of Philanthropic Giving at California State University San Bernardino.
CSUSB is part of a 23 campus unibersity system, the largest public higher education system in the country.
Kim was part of securing the university's single largest cash gift in its history to name the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration. Previously, she served in a dual role as senior director for corporate and foundation relations for CSUSB, and chief fundraiser for its College of Business and Public Administration. Kim is passionate about advancing her leadership skills, and is an alum of the African American Board Leadership Institute (AABLI), the Inland Empire Economic Partnership (IEEP) Regional Leadership Academy and Leadership California's California Issues and Trends program.
Prior to CSUSB Kim spent 13 years at the University of Southern California (USC) in various leadership positions during two historic fundraising campaigns for $2.2 billion and $6 billion. During her tenure, Kim managed fundraising programs for the Keck School of Medicine, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and USC Government and Civic Engagement. She also provided leadership for the University's employee giving campaign, USC Good Neighbors, which enjoyed three-record breaking years raising more than $1 million annually for community university initiatives. Prior to her fundraising career, Kim worked for top public relations firms including Lages & Associates, Ruder Finn and Carl Byoir and Associates. She also worked on the first museum of news, the Newseum (part of the Freedom Forum) in the DC area while living there and attending Howard University.
Kim received her Bachelor's degree in journalism and Masters in Public Administration from California State University Northridge. She currently serves on the board of directors for Leadership California and is actively involved in speaking and facilitating panels on women and leadership and race and equity in educational advancement.
Rosann Santos, Director of Alumni Relations, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Born and raised in the Bronx to Dominican parents, Rosann has her Bachelor’s Degree in History and Mathematics from Syracuse University where she was a founding member of Sigma Lambda Upsilon/Señoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority, Inc. She has a Master of Arts degree in history from the University at Albany.
Currently serving as the Director of Alumni Relations at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and an adjunct faculty member in the Latin American Studies Department, Rosann has worked in higher education for over 20 years. She is now a career motivational keynote speaker, coach and founder of Latinas in Higher Education, Inc.
Throughout her career, she has been trained on conflict resolution, crisis management, strategic development, assessment and is a trained and certified Gallup StrengthsQuest facilitator and coach. She is an entrepreneur, fundraiser, and considers herself an exceptional communicator.
Rosann still lives in the Bronx with her 13 year old son Ethan where she also serves on the Board of Directors for Emblaze Academy Charter School in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx.
Chantal Bonitto, Director, Inclusive Philanthropy, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA)| Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Chantal Bonitto is an organizational leader in the space of diversity, equity and inclusion and a seasoned fund development expert in the non-profit sector. Her career has been dedicated to identifying and creating resources for institutions that benefit the most marginalized communities in our society. As a fundraiser she has fostered many skills including, Major & Principal Gifts, Direct Response, Community Engagement/Stewardship and Fundraising Events Planning. Currently, Chantal is using her talents and experience to spearhead a new fundraising program at Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) as the director of Inclusive Philanthropy. She is leading this work with an intentional focus on next-gen philanthropists and donors of color. Chantal deeply values the lived experiences of diverse communities along with their long-stated commitment to achieving equity across the country. Her passion for social justice and the power of women’s philanthropy has positioned her to be an insightful and well-versed leader in this space. Beyond her role at PPFA, she serves on the Board of Women in Development (WID) New York. Additionally, she has worked on behalf of organizations such as Women Moving Millions, The Thomson Reuters Foundation, Ms. Foundation for Women, Asia Society’s Partnership for Global Learning and the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and the Fundraising Strategy Certificate Program at The George Heyman, Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, New York University.