People in Fundraising: A Nonprofit Podcast by Tim Wilson

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 14: Emily O’Brien and Ian Wells of Ian T. Wells & Associates

Originally recorded in spring 2023: From co-workers to a married couple, Ian Wells and Emily O'Brien take us on their professional and personal paths in this episode of "People in Fundraising." Both Ian and Emily have worked in prospect research & development for years, at Boston College; Salem State University; Boston Children's Hospital Trust; and Mass General, where Ian and Emily started working within a week of each other. They discuss the benefit of working together at prospect development consulting firm, Ian T. Wells & Associates, which Ian launched almost a decade ago. Ian talks about the personal impetus for his entrepreneurial pivot, as well as what had earlier in his career made starting his own firm seem unfeasible. Emily shares her and her family's long connection to Salem State University, experience in higher ed. and healthcare prospect development, and what led her to join Ian's firm in 2023. Our conversation wraps up with Emily and Ian discussing plans for the future, trends Ian sees in prospect development, and Emily's encouragement to ensure that nonprofit databases are kept as up-to-date as possible, because there are wonderful stories in there that development leadership needs to know and act on.

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 13: Jess Channell-Iler, UNLV

Originally recorded in summer 2023: "This isn't a job. This is a community. And we all provide a service to the people we work with." Jessica Channell-Iler is my first guest to represent Nevada, joining us from UNLV.Jess has held roles in the center of orgs. in various states and Apra chapters (OPRN, MidSouth, SWARO), bridging the technical gaps between frontline fundraisers and the analytics, research, and database functions. "It's been so cool!" she adds, while dropping the new-to-me term "funky tech."

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 12: Carey Greggila, The Cleveland Clinic

Originally recorded in summer 2023: It's my pleasure to feature as a "People in Fundraising" guest Carey Greggila, who is the Executive Director of Development at Cleveland Clinic, the world's leading heart institute, where "everything that has to do with the heart" is Carey's fundraising outcomes responsibility.Carey discusses how heart disease is #1 threat to human life, the leading killer of people worldwide in every single demographic – and how that sobering static motivates grateful patients and their families to support Cleveland Clinic. 

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 11: Robby West, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Originally recorded in summer 2023: Robert West joins my "People in Fundraising" webcast just before his 1-year anniversary of working at the world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He entered fundraising from experiential education and admissions before first working in prospect research.
A University of New Hampshire alum, Robby also talks about the joy and challenge of working for his alma mater for several years.

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 10: Rachell Brandell-Mayers, Virginia Commonwealth U.

Originally recorded in summer 2023: In the 50th published "People in Fundraising" interview, I am so pleased to spotlight Rachel Brandell-Mayers! She and I currently are co-heads of Apra International's Online Content Committee. We manage a team of great volunteers from the prospect research & management sector of fundraising, working to generate content ideas; line up speakers; and deliver the content to our wider Apra community.Rachel leads by sharing a lyric from singer Ani DiFranco that has been a driver for Rachel's diverse career: "I do it...because the world owes us nothing, and we owe each other the world."

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep.9: John Beckvold, CFO and VP, West Virginia

Originally recorded in spring 2023: My friend John Beckvold is the first "People in Fundraising" guest to represent the beautiful state of West Virginia. In our wide-ranging conversation, John catalogues his nonprofit and for-profit experience in various states.
Doing so, John discusses how he creates the narrative about his career journey in interviews, focusing on the opportunity and his enthusiasm for new challenges.

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 8: Krissy Cannizzo

Originally recorded in spring 2023: In this "Friends and Family" edition of People in Fundraising, I welcome Krissy Cannizzo to the program. Krissy and I were in the same grade all the way through high school in Massachusetts. Our interview purposefully is airing on Monday, June 19th - the birthday of her step-father, George Mitchell. George was an amazing early education teacher and passionate advocate for whole-child educational, emotional, and social development.Happy heavenly birthday, Mr. Mitchell.Krissy movingly talks about George's impact on her life and some of the wisdom he shared with her. She dreams about buying a new school bus and stocking it with STEAM resources to bring classroom/lab learning to under-developed school systems in southeastern Massachusetts, where she lives and works. This is influenced by a goal Krissy and George had many years ago.Krissy also talks about her passion for STEAM education as the Director of Education and Outreach at The Children's Museum in Easton, MA. She has a STEAM board with info behind her during our interview, and enthusiastically talks about the importance of including "A" for Arts in the STEAM acronym.

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 7: Jennifer Filla, Founder Prospect Research Institute

Originally recorded in spring 2023: Nonprofit Prospect Research is full of generous people sharing their talents and enthusiasm for our work in fundraising. To welcome one of the most enthusiastic, generous, and insightful leaders, Jennifer Filla, to my webcast is an honor!2023 marks the 10th anniversary of Jennifer establishing the Prospect Research Institute! Jennifer had earlier also launched Aspire Research Group, which has overseen the Institute for the last two years.

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 6: Lucas Horns, Project Rainbow Utah

Originally recorded in spring 2023: In celebration of Pride Month, Utah native Lucas Horns joins People in Fundraising to discuss his founding role at Project Rainbow Utah. This nonprofit, now in its fifth year, has numerous programs and initiatives to raise awareness and provide resources for the LGBTQIA+ community in this conservative state (take it from me, a New Englander).
Lucas shares his personal background for launching this nonprofit, which among other activities uses a team of volunteers across the state to plant Pride flags in donors' lawns. I have been a flag-staking volunteer a few times since moving to Utah in 2018, and it's a really worthwhile effort. Lucas has been involved in queer advocacy for over a decade, and his commitment to supporting Utah's LGBTQIA+ community is remarkable.

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 5: Beth Inman, Shriners’ Childrens, North Carolina

Originally recorded in spring 2023: Longtime Apra International and Apra Carolinas volunteer leader Beth Trammell Inman joins "People in Fundraising"  to discuss her prospect development career.
She and past "People in Fundraising" guest Jennifer Vincent recently co-presented at the annual NEDRA Conference. Beth received Apra International's Distinguished Service Award in 2019.Beth discusses her art history background and earlier work in museums, including the impact that mentor Terry Mularkey had on Beth's onramp to fundraising. She shares how her art background and creativity complemented the working-with-numbers aspect of development. Beth has worked at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and George Washington U. among other nonprofits, and in 2022 joined Shriners Children's, a system of 20 hospitals separate from Shriners International that celebrated its centennial in 2022.Beth concludes our conversation by discussing the rituals that start her day and Michelle Obama's focus on working one's hands to rest one's mind.