Empowering Your Development Team: Preventing Burnout & Achieving Your Mission

Marilyn Foster Kirk, CFRE, is a fundraising professional, consultant and educator with more than 35 years’ experience. Her expertise includes fundraising analysis, planning, and performance; strategic planning; board development; executive and fundraising staff development; major and principal gifts; and fundraising ethics.

She has held the following professional fundraising leadership positions: associate vice chancellor of development at the University of Illinois at Chicago and associate vice president of the University of Illinois Foundation, chief development officer for the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Northwestern University, assistant chancellor for university relations at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and executive officer of the UW-Parkside Foundation. She also served as a development officer for Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Carroll College, and the Kansas State Historical Society.

Conor Hughes is a SHRM-CP certified HR professional with over a decade of experience,
currently serving as an HR Consultant at RealHR Solutions and a board member of the
Westchester Human Resource Management Association. His expertise lies in transforming HR
operations through strategic development, leadership coaching, and employee engagement.
Known for his ability to align HR strategy with business goals, Conor has a track record of
success in implementing effective policies and procedures that enhance organizational
performance. His strategic and bottom-up approach to HR solutions, coupled with his
commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, positions him as a leading figure in the human
resources community.

Sarah Olivieri is the change you’ve been searching for. The breath of fresh air that will reinvigorate your organization and reignite your spark of joy for the impact you can have. A globally-renowned speaker and #1 international bestselling author, she has two decades of nonprofit leadership experience and she’s poured her insight, expertise and vast knowledge into creating The Impact Method™️ - a powerful framework that helps nonprofits and for-profits alike simplify their operations, improve their capacity, build aligned teams, and make a bigger impact without getting overwhelmed or burning out.

Sarah holds a BA from the University of Chicago with a focus on globalization and its effect on marginalized cultures, and a master's degree in Humanistic and Multicultural Education from SUNY New Paltz. When she isn't helping nonprofit leaders or on "mom duty", you can find her out sailing on the Hudson River.

Sherry Quam Taylor works with growth-minded Nonprofit CEOs who are scaling their organizations but still need larger amounts of general operating support to accomplish their Strategic Plans. She breaks their teams free from the limitations of transactional fundraising and helps them reimagine their entire approach to revenue generation. The high-performing leaders Sherry works with need more unrestricted revenue from investment-level donors. As a result of learning her methodology, Sherry’s clients regularly add 7-figures of gen-ops revenue to their bottom line by learning how to attract investment-level donors that WANT to fund their work.