People in Fundraising: A Nonprofit Podcast by Tim Wilson

People in Fundraising, ep. 109: Erica Marken, Development Director, Utah Clean Energy

Welcoming my former managers as guests on "People in Fundraising" is a goal of my podcast, and today I am pleased to feature the first guest in that series: Erica Marken hired me to my current role at Weber State University in summer 2021. It was great reconnecting with her!
She is now the inaugural Development Director fundraising for Utah Clean Energy, an environmental nonprofit in a state facing several climate and energy crises, such as air quality, the receding Great Salt Lake, access to water in a high-desert state with rapid population growth the last 10+ years.
Erica discusses:
* Utah Clean Energy's four main objectives: transitioning to renewable energy; reducing emissions from dwellings; climate change leadership; and clean/electric transit - and how her role raises funds for these sectors
* Where Erica's passion for environmental and animal rights advocacy originates, and why these issues are close to her professionally and personally
* Resilience and finding value in being open about realizing when an organization is not the right "fit" for a fundraising professional. Erica mentions the uncomfortableness that can accompany this experience, yet she also shares how being transparent about this step with others enables people who have had (or are having) similar experiences to connect and boost each other.
Thank you Erica for a very interesting, candid, and enjoyable conversation! While not covered in our conversation, thank you also for your role in shaping prospect development's Utah chapter of Apra International in its earliest days and iterations.

People in Fundraising, ep. 108: Virginia Commonwealth University's Misa Lobato

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th - October 15th), I am pleased to share this fascinating "People in Fundraising" interview with Milagro "Misa" Lobato! She works with a prior guest, Rachel Brandell-Mayers, at Virginia Commonwealth University. A longtime prospect development leader and Apra volunteer, Misa shares her thoughts on an array of topics, including:
* How Misa is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
* Her reaction, with personal and professional anecdotes, to Elizabeth Colon's (president, Chicago chapter, National Association of Women Business Owners) quote: "Don't let fear stop you from achieving what you want."
* Her "relationship to achievement," as Misa termed this prevalent sentiment where many workers feel that much of their identity is defined by work terms (director, etc.) and a dizzying drive for continued progress and success.
* Misa's role in launching Apra International's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, now the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, Justice, and Access Committee.
* Misa's real-life health crisis, which prompted a re-assessment of her goals and how she works. I also share about my health crisis from 2013, and Misa and I have a deep conversation about what these significant challenges meant for how we wanted to live, work, be grateful, and make more deliberate decisions.
Thank you Misa for a wide-ranging, riveting, and really enjoyable conversation! I appreciate your candidness, and know that your authenticity will resonate with our audience.

People in Fundraising, ep. 107: Brooke Gledhill Wood of The Policy Project

My friend Brooke Gledhill Wood joins "People in Fundraising" with an interesting new perspective to share. Brooke discusses the public-private partnership model in social impact/nonprofit work through Utah-based The Policy Project.
Three of its major recent initiatives are The Period Project (for access to period products in schools, workplaces, and public spaces), the Teen Center Project (to repurpose under-utilized spaces in public high schools for food pantries, laundry services, showers, and community resources), and The Safe Child Project (to expand child sexual abuse prevention education).
As Brooke describes, this public-private partnership model to address specific and long-standing issues in society "is a real sign of commitment and investment from the community and the private sector, and private donors see their donations impact every corner of the state," especially when the state legislature works in tandem to allocate even more funding.
Brooke and I first met in 2013 in greater Boston, where she was serving as a mission for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the beginning of our conversation, you'll see us in a still photo from 2015. It was wonderful to reconnect with you, Brooke! Thank you for a very enlightening and fun conversation!

People in Fundraising, ep. 106: Roger Allred, organ donation advocate

Roger Allred, who is the father and father-in-law of my friends Alicia and Scott Buchanan, joins "People in Fundraising" to talk about the literal life-saving importance of being an organ donor. This interview is another in a series where my guests talk about the impact of nonprofit work from the donor/recipient perspective.
A father of nine children, Roger sketches a 25-year history of heart issues that ultimately led him to need a heart transplant after having heart disease for 13 of those years. He movingly shares some incredible experiences as an organ donor recipient, including one involving connecting with the mother of the person whose heart was transplanted into Roger.
Since becoming a transplant recipient, Roger has devoted significant time to raising awareness of the need for organ, cornea, and tissue donors. He talks about his educational advocacy efforts and volunteering with DonorConnect. "The wider we cast the net, the more people are in the system, when a need comes, then we have more people who have the potentiality of being a donor."
Thank you Roger for being a great ambassador for organ, eye, and tissue donation! It was very meaningful to connect with you on your experience and to help raise awareness for as wide a net as possible of organ donors.

People in Fundraising ep. 105: Anne Murphy, founder of Empowered Fundraiser

Many in the "People in Fundraising" audience know today's guest, Anne Murphy, from her dynamic and engaging LinkedIn posts about Artificial Intelligence and fundraising topics. I am delighted to welcome Anne to this program, and share her fascinating interview with you all.
Anne discusses her decision to take an entrepreneurial path almost 5 years ago, after a long tenure in higher education development. In 2021, she launched Empowered Fundraiser, a nonprofit consultant firm.
Anne also shares her keen interest in AI and her response to a great quote from U2's Bono, who in touting his autobiography once said, "Life is the creative act." Anne strikes me as a very creative person and professional; her reaction to this quote is fascinating.
Thank you Anne for an outstanding conversation!

People in Fundraising, ep. 104: Dr. Shalonda Martin; Pomona College, DEI Strategist, Organizational Development

Shalonda Martin, Ed.D., and I first met at the CASE District VII and VIII Conference in Anaheim, California, this past March. Current Apra International President Rodger Devine, who works with Shalonda at Pomona College, immediately introduced us and suggested that Shalonda would be a great guest. He was 100% right, and it is my pleasure to highlight Shalonda in today's interview.
Listen as Shalonda discusses her career in advancement services. She also shares her perspective on organizational development (especially with a DEI lens), her experience as a coach and consultant, and her response to three-time Olympic gold medalist and civil rights activist Wilma Rudolph's quote, "The triumph can't be had without the struggle."
Thank you Shalonda for an outstanding interview!

People in Fundraising ep. 103: Dominique Calixte, Big Sister Association of Greater Boston

Thanks to season 1 guest Jessica McNeill, I had the blessing of interviewing Dominique Calixte in "People in Fundraising." She has a terrific story to tell about her journey to social impact work!
Tune in to hear Dominique discuss her goal to activate Millennials as change-makers through philanthropy and effective DEI practices. She talks about this goal in relation to herself as a Millennial as well. Dominique also shares the importance of representation in her mentoring and volunteer work for other young women of color in philanthropy.
Thank you Dominique for an outstanding and enjoyable conversation!

People in Fundraising episode 102: Armando Zumaya, Somos el Poder

Veteran philanthropic leader Armando Zumaya joins "People in Fundraising" to share some incredible success stories over his decades in social impact work. We had a great conversation!
Tune in to hear Armando describe several topics, including the founding of Somos El Poder, which assists Latinx-focused nonprofits improve their fundraising operations. And please read Armando's 2023 LinkedIn article about his journey through the nonprofit world: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/descubriendo-nuestro-propio-poder-my-journey-through-world-zumaya%3FtrackingId=1vhmsXpWombuleUU3uLowg%253D%253D/?trackingId=1vhmsXpWombuleUU3uLowg%3D%3D
Thank you Armando for a wonderful and thought-provoking interview!

People in Fundraising, ep. #101: Nida Januskis, Associate Dean of Advancement, INSEAD

Nida Januskis has been one of my all-time favorite colleagues, a mentor, and a friend to me for years. Welcoming her to "People in Fundraising" is an honor. It has been a pleasure watching Nida's career progress since our time at Harvard Business School (HBS), where she focused on donor engagement of HBS alumni and friends on-the-ground in Europe.
Since then, Nida has held various roles at INSEAD, one of the world's leading business schools. She focuses on engaging INSEAD's 70,000+ alumni around the world, with 3 campuses across the globe - and where no more than 10% of each class is represented by any one country.
In our conversation, Nida describes:
* Being a Lithuanian-American, spending a year backpacking with her husband, and starting her career in commercial real estate. The backpacking trip was a preamble to Nida's later career, and through commercial real estate, she developed an interest in fundraising.
* Meeting Jill Morelli, who was then working at HBS, which led to Nida joining the fundraising team. Nida managed young alumni in her first tenure at the school, then transferred to Paris for her husband's career and focused on their young family before an "HBS 2.0" opportunity in Paris developed.
* Working with such a diverse student body and staff, how this exposure to diversity is critical to engaging with alumni - and leads to a strong spirit of creativity, nimbleness, and an exciting entrepreneurial drive, which results in lifelong learning opportunities, a new My INSEAD app, and much more.
* The importance of finding time outside of one's work and personal commitments to express one's values through supporting nonprofits. Nida talks about her involvement with female empowerment nonprofits RefuSHE (a Kenya-based organization) and the European Network for Women in Leadership (WIL), an academic partner of INSEAD.
* Overcoming self-doubt and getting out of your own way, with a fantastic example from Nida's career when she appeared on a French news broadcast.
* Challenges Nida has overcome to become "a digital badass," asking stupid questions, and the critical need to surround yourself with the right people, since we all have aspects of our skillset that we are not good at.
Thank you Nida for an awesome conversation. You generously offer advice and mentorship to others, and viewers/listeners will enjoy your fantastic insights!

People in Fundraising, episode #100: Louis Diez, founder of the Donor Participation Project

Today's "People in Fundraising" episode is a special conversation - episode 100! And for this centennial interview, I am really delighted and honored to have Louis Diez as my guest! Many in my audience know Louis from his insightful and exploratory LinkedIn posts about the current state of philanthropy; how we can increase donor participation; and challenges and opportunities in the social impact sector.
In our fascinating and fun conversation, Louis discusses:
* his launch of the Donor Participation Project in 2020, and what it offers to our industry
* starting the Annual Fund Toolkit in April 2023, and how it blends "academic insights, real-world experience, and strategic analysis to accelerate fundraising success."
* what motivated Louis to embark on these two entrepreneurial ventures after years working in development for institutions
* his background as a musician, including performing with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, and what connections he sees between the work of a musician and the work of a social impact leader
* in a personal spotlight, Louis' response to legendary TV producer Norman Lear ("All in the Family," "The Jeffersons") once remarking that "Laughter and pleasure add time to one's life."
Thank you Louis for a wonderful and highly enjoyable conversation! I am grateful to be connected with you and connected through our social impact efforts. 
And thank you to my "People in Fundraising" audience for your support across these first 100 episodes! Many more conversations are lining up for the years ahead.