Amberlie Phillips

Amberlie Phillips, MPA, is a managing partner at Pathway Associates. She has over twenty years of nonprofit experience and is an expert in large scale fundraising programs, campaigns, and major gifts program implementation. She successfully led the development programs at both YWCA Utah and the Utah Food Bank to record-breaking fundraising success and raised major gifts for San Diego State University. She brings a practical, results-oriented approach to her work with staff and boards.

Gail Perry

Gail Perry, MBA, CFRE, is an internationally recognized fundraising consultant and is considered one of the foremost national experts in the field of philanthropy and nonprofits. Her company, Gail Perry Group, leads nonprofits to extraordinary fundraising and capital campaign results. As a philanthropy leader, keynote speaker, and author with more than 30 years’ experience, Gail is renowned for her positivity, expertise and insight.

Rachel Stephan

I’m a strategic thinker, creative idea generator and an event industry speaker. I provide strategic input and guidance as well as create, develop and deliver integrated marketing campaigns for non-profit and corporate organizations locally, nationally and abroad.I speak at various industry events on topics such as event marketing, influencer marketing and mobilizing audience to grow your face-to-face and/or virtual event, etc.

Maria Ramos

Maria A Ramos, CMP, Director of Meetings and Events at Talley, has over 20 years in the meetings industry and has produced events, meetings, and conventions spanning the social, medical, and trade association industries. Known for her extensive project management experience, Maria has systematically created custom planning strategies for her clients. Her expertise is in creating and implementing standard operating logistical procedures and for events. Now as director, she leads a talented team of planners to deliver exceptional service to clients.

Asad Mahmood

Asad Mahmood, Vice President of Data & Analytics at HSO, is a leading figure in the establishment of corporate data strategies and the execution of optimal pathways toward achieving data-driven organizational excellence. With a strong focus on technology-led modernization, Asad specializes in serving large enterprises across diverse sectors such as Non-Profit, Financial Services, Manufacturing, and Retail.

Asad leads advanced analytics teams, leveraging cutting-edge technology to harness the power of data. His expertise extends to activating insights from customer and marketing data, as well as identifying optimization opportunities using the latest in Data Science and AI/ML methodologies. As a thought leader, he excels in areas spanning Marketing, Sales, Supply Chain, Customer Journeys, Inventory Management, and Digital Transformation initiatives.

Nupur Warke

Nupur is a seasoned strategist specializing in digital transformation across professional associations, higher education, and nonprofit sectors. With an academic foundation in Engineering and Applied Data Science, complemented by an MBA, she seamlessly blends technical acumen with business insights. Over the past 12 years, Nupur has honed her expertise in process improvement, deploying digital tools like Marketing Automation Systems, CRM, LMS and AMS to drive results. As a Salesforce-certified architect, she has spearheaded and successfully executed numerous complex projects. She thrives on continuous learning and is always eager to delve into emerging technologies

Adam Mangana

Adam Mangana is a highly respected figure in the education industry, known for his expertise in integrating virtual reality (VR) into the classroom experience. As co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of OptimaEd, he has been instrumental in creating VR curriculum development solutions that cater to the unique needs of modern-day learners.

Prior to launching OptimaEd, Adam served as Head of School at Benedict Day School, where he established the first-ever Virtual Reality Lab in Mississippi’s Pine Belt region. He also worked as Director of the Extended Reality Lab at Jackson Preparatory School in Flowood, MS. In that role, he helped build the largest K-12 Extended Reality Lab in the Southeast. Adam is passionate about crafting the best educational experiences in VR and empowering students to create their own content in the immersive medium. He is a Teach For America alumnus and an Albert Bennett award recipient, and hosted the “Ready Teacher One” podcast.

John Hamilton

John is a strategic leader in the camp, out-of-school time (OST), and youth development fields. He currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer for the Alliance for Camp Health (ACH). John has a deep understanding of mental, emotional, and social (MESH) health needs of youth, national program expansion and a hope-filled perspective. Prior to ACH he served as the National Director for Camp HOPE America where he collaborated with city/county government, national leaders, clinicians, psychologists, and community-based organizations. John has an MA in Leadership and Cultural Justice, has been named the American Camp Association’s Subject Matter expert on MESH and Trauma-Informed Care at camp and is a former Executive Director of a camp near Lake Tahoe.

Mark Goldstein

Mark Goldstein, CFRE, is the President/CEO of Communication Mark, a grant writing firm
founded in 2000. He has raised more than $70 million for his clients by obtaining grants for
organizations of all types, sizes and locales. He is President of the Grant Professionals
Association NC Chapter and an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals
(AFP) of Western NC, which selected him as Western North Carolina’s Outstanding Fundraising
Executive in 2019.

Ian Cohen

A serial entrepreneur and performance coach, Ian Cohen began his career in the classroom teaching high school humanities in Metro Atlanta, where he was awarded Teacher of the Year and Coach of the Year. After seeing the opportunity gap firsthand, Ian left the classroom to serve as Cofounder and first Executive Director for the youth development non-profit Next Gen. Ian has also served as Regional Director for the Urban Leaders Fellowship, Co-Director of Fellowships for the Center for Civic Innovation, and now leads the EdTech company TARA as Cofounder/CEO.

TARA’s progress monitoring tools for special educators and upcoming communication app for school staff significantly reduce the burdens on teachers and leaders alike. Ian is also the Co-Creator of the Teacher Support Languages Quiz, a workstyle assessment for school leaders looking to better understand the needs and preferences of their teachers.

Ian is a passionate doer and strategic thinker who gains energy from supporting and connecting people. An avid reader, Ian is always ready with a good book recommendation and believes strongly in the power of mental performance training and technology to empower individuals anywhere.