PLENARY SESSION SPEAKERS

Robert C. Bobb has more than 30 years executive management experience in both the private and public sectors. He is the owner, president, and CEO of the LAPA Group, LLC, a multi-faceted private/public sector consulting firm. He was elected president of the Washington, D.C., Board of Education in 2006. Bobb is the former city administrator and deputy mayor for Washington, D.C., and served as the District’s homeland security advisor. He has worked as city manager for Oakland, Calif.; Richmond, Va., Santa Ana, Calif., and Kalamazoo, Mich. He is the longest tenured African American city manager/city administrator in the nation. He is an expert on the issues facing urban government from education and economic development to municipal budgeting and public/ private partnerships with sports franchises.

Session: Home Work - Funding in Your Community

Arthur C. Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, is a noted lecturer and author best known for his work on the junctions between culture, economics and politics. His books include “Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism” and “Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America – and How We Can Get More of It.” Brooks previously served as the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He also has worked in several capacities leading research and teaching public policy and nonprofit studies at Syracuse. Brooks is a former consultant with the RAND Corporation.

Session: Common Goals, Different Paths: The Sea Change in 21st Century Philanthropy

Ben Cameron is the program director for the arts for The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, which focuses on support for contemporary dance, jazz and theatre artists and organizations that nurture and present them. Before joining the foundation in 2006, Cameron was the executive director of the Theatre Communications Group, based in New York City. He has experience in corporate philanthropy with the Dayton Hudson Foundation and with Target stores. He has served as an officer of the American Arts Alliance and the national Arts and Business Council and on the boards of Grantmakers in the Arts and the Theatre Development Fund.

Session: Investing in the Culture of Communities – A Sea Change for the Future

Douglas B. Diamond has been an independent consultant specializing in housing and housing finance issues in developing countries for more than 20 years. His international activities followed a 15-year career of involvement in all aspects of U.S. housing research and policy in academia and government. Diamond received his Ph.D. in urban economics from the University of Chicago. Since moving to San Diego in 1989, Diamond and his wife have become involved in a number of community activities and institutions, as well as providing support through their donor-advised fund at the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. He is currently co-chair of the San Diego Neighborhood Funders and on the board of the entity that manages the development activities of the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation.

Monday Lunch Mini Plenary: Education Reform - Funding Our Future

Joanne Florino, executive director of the Triad Foundation, Inc., in Ithaca, New York, has worked in philanthropy more than 25 years. Triad, a family foundation founded by Roy H. Park Jr. and his children, Elizabeth Park Fowler and Roy H. Park III , makes over $10 million in grants each year primarily for: graduate fellowships at Cornell University and the University of North Carolina; educational programs serving children and youth; marine and tropical ecology; scientific research; and human services. Florino also has worked in grantmaking and management for the Park Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies.

Session: Common Goals, Different Paths: The Sea Change in 21st Century Philanthropy

Robert Friedman is the founder, chair, and general counsel of the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED). Since 1979, CFED has worked to bring together community practice, public policy and private markets to foster sustainable economic well-being. Strategies include microenterprise, individual development accounts, and economic health assessments. Friedman's current work focuses on the Policy and Practice Initiative of the Savings for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment (SEED) to assess the potential of investment accounts established at birth. Friedman was founding chair of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity. He is a former board member of Levi Strauss & Co. and Ecotrust.

Session: Common Goals, Different Paths: The Sea Change in 21st Century Philanthropy

Jeff Jarvis is the author of “What Would Google Do?”. He blogs about media and news at Buzzmachine.com and teaches interactive journalism at the City University of New York. Jarvis consults with media companies, and is consulting editor and partner at Daylife, a news startup. He writes a “new media” column for The Guardian, and is host of its Media Talk USA podcast. Previous experience includes president and creative director of Advance.net, creator and founding editor of Entertainment Weekly, Sunday editor and associate publisher of the New York Daily News, TV critic for TV Guide and People magazines, columnist for the San Francisco Examiner, assistant city editor and reporter for the Chicago Tribune, and a reporter for Chicago Today.

Session: What Would Google Do in Philanthropy?

Phillip Holmes, the Los Angeles director for Blue State Digital, has a wide array of experience in new media, online communication, branding, public policy, political campaigns and online grassroots organizing. He has effectively organized broad-based coalitions of elected officials, thought leaders, institutions, and organizations to affect governmental change. He has directed online departments at political and policy shops in southern California. In 2007, he worked on the California gubernatorial campaign and Proposition 87, an alternative energy initiative, leading an innovative and strategic communication plan that garnered national attention for being creative and cost-effective.

Session: Catalytic Philanthropy

Kathleen Pattillo co-founded the Rockdale Foundation, a private foundation that is family led and professionally managed and focuses on social enterprise and education. The Foundation has been publicly recognized for its achievements in microfinance and the reform of the Atlanta Public Schools. Patillo has recently completed her second term on the Atlanta Board of Education and is a former chair. During her tenure, the Atlanta Board of Education received the prestigious Council of Urban School Boards (CUBE) Annual Award for Urban Board Excellence. She currently serves as vice chair of the Atlanta board of Teach For America and on the boards of the Atlanta Education Fund and the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta. Ms. Pattillo previously served as deputy press secretary to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker.

Session: Catalytic Philanthropy

C. David Campbell is president of the McGregor Fund. Prior to joining the fund, Campbell lead program operations for the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan and held various positions at two colleges, including as dean of students at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. He’s a former trustee and chair of the Council of Michigan Foundations. In Detroit, Campbell serves on the boards of Detroit LISC, which he chaired from 2000 to 2004, and the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. He is also on the board of Alma College and The LEAGUE, a national initiative to integrate the concept of philanthropy into school curriculums and activities. Campbell serveson the Council board, chairs the Committee on Professional Development, and is a member of the Trustee Engagement Taskforce.

Lunch Mini Plenary Session I: Funding Our Future – Creating Excellent Schools

Diane Kaplan is president and CEO of the Rasmuson Foundation. From 1994 to 2001, Kaplan’s consulting company provided management and government relations services to philanthropic organizations, Native corporations and tribes, and nonprofit organizations. She was previously president and CEO of Alaska’s 28-station public radio network. Kaplan is a member of the board of directors of Anchorage Community Land Trust, Alaska Children’s Trust, Foraker Group, and United States Artists. She is a member of the Alaska Railroad Corporation Community Advisory Board, Philanthropy Northwest Honorary Council, Governor’s Housing Trust Steering Committee, and the Anchorage Rotary Club. Kaplan’s community contributions have been recognized by the Alaska Federation of Natives, YWCA, and Anchorage Chamber of Commerce ATHENA Society. In 2007, she was one of two recipients of the Council on Foundations’ Distinguished Grantmaker Award. At the Council, Kaplan serves as board vice chair and is a member of the Executive Committee, Public Policy Committee, and the Inclusiveness Committee.

Breakfast Plenary Session: Investing in the Culture of Communities – A Sea Change for the Future

Jason Rzepka is vice president of public affairs at MTV. He is responsible for the strategic direction of all MTV “pro-social” campaigns, including the Peabody-winning “It’s Your (Sex) Life,” with the Kaiser Family Foundation, which has reached over 200 million young people on sexual health issues; Emmy-winning “Choose or Lose,” which has helped drive the largest youth voter turnouts in U.S. history; and “A Thin Line,” which addresses youth digital abuse. Prior to his current role, Jason served as the head of communications at the PopTech Institute, a global network of leaders exploring the social impact of new technologies, where he built the communications strategy for the Social Innovation Fellows program and Project Masiluleke, the largest-ever use of mobile devices for the delivery of HIV/AIDS and TB care.

Breakfast Plenary Session: Catalytic Philanthropy

Kari Dunn Saratovsky, vice president of Social Innovation at the Case Foundation, has more than a decade of experience in the government and nonprofit sectors. She works on strengthening civic engagement and volunteerism, developing cross-sector partnerships, and using technology to accelerate new approaches to giving and philanthropy. She also serves as publisher of the Case Foundation’s blog, Social Citizens. Prior to joining the Case Foundation, Saratovsky was executive director of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. Previously, she was White House liaison and advisor to the CEO at the Corporation for National and Community Service, the parent agency of the AmeriCorps program. She serves on the boards of Mobilize.org and Repair the World.

Lunch Plenary Session: What Would Google Do In Philanthropy?

Douglas B. Stewart is the executive director of the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, working with nonprofit partners to strengthen families and communities. He is a member of a number of nonprofit boards and serves on the Council’s Family Philanthropy Committee, the Council of Michigan Foundations’ Committee to Transform Michigan Philanthropy through Diversity and Inclusion, and the University of Michigan’s Development Summer Internship Advisory Board. For the past 20 years, Stewart has served such organizations as the Michigan Nonprofit Management Institute, Botsford General Hospital, the Arthritis Foundation, and Children’s Hospital of Michigan. Most recently, Doug worked at the University of Michigan Health System as the director of development for Children’s and Women’s Health.

Lunch Mini Plenary Session I: Funding our Future – Creating Excellent Schools

Sharna Goldseker is director of 21/64, a nonprofit consulting division of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, which specializes in next generation and multigenerational philanthropy. She is a Gen X philanthropy professional who is also a member of the Board of the Goldseker Foundation. 21/64 helps families, foundations and family enterprises to clarify and develop strategic multigenerational collaboration in this era when there are often four generations above age 21 around philanthropic tables.

Session:Next Generation Retreat for Family Members and Catalytic Philanthropy

Carol A. Goss is president and CEO of The Skillman Foundation, an independent foundation that seeks to improve the lives of children in metropolitan Detroit by strengthening their schools and neighborhoods. Goss joined The Skillman Foundation in March, 1998, as a senior program officer and was named president and CEO in 2004. She has also worked with the Stuart Foundation in San Francisco and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Mich. Her career also includes nearly 20 years experience in child welfare, family services, and youth development. The Skillman Foundation, with an annual grants budget of $23 million, recently fine-tuned its program areas to focus efforts on six impoverished neighborhoods in Detroit and supporting innovative schools throughout the city.

Session: Lunch mini-plenary: Finding Our Future – Creating Excellent Schools

Judy Belk is senior vice president of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA). Before joining RPA, Belk served as vice president of global public affairs for Levi Strauss & Company. During her tenure at the company, Belk also spearheaded the Levi Strauss Foundation, which had $120 million in assets. She currently serves on the boards of the Marlborough School, the National Center for Family Philanthropy, and the Southern California Association of Grantmakers. Belk has written and lectured extensively on organizational ethics, race, and social change. Her articles have aired on National Public Radio and have appeared in The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Washington Post.

Session: Common Goals, Different Paths: The Sea Change in 21st Century Philanthropy

Reginald Jones has served as executive director of the Steans Family Foundation since 2003. Previously, he was program officer for the Joyce Foundation in Chicago. Jones has worked in the arts, education, and public administration. He served as director of audience development and outreach for the Highland Park-based Ravinia Festival, where, collaborating with numerous organizations in Chicago’s West Side, he leveraged resources and developed community-driven programs. Earlier in his career, Jones held senior positions in public administration and taught at Louisiana State University and Southeastern Louisiana University.

Session: Home Work: Strategies to Maximize Place-Based Philanthropy

Elizabeth Myrick is an independent consultant who works with nonprofits, associations, and foundations to enhance and sustain their impact. From 2000 until 2008, Myrick held senior positions with The Aspen Institute, including assistant director of Aspen's Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program. Previously, Myrick was director of programs for the Maine Community Foundation, where she worked closely with communities, nonprofits, and donors to design grantmaking programs and initiatives. Since 2003, Myrick worked with the Neighborhood Funders Group to conceive, design, and direct SmartLink.org, an online resource offering useful ideas, donor profiles, and tools created especially for donors and foundation trustees giving to local neighborhoods and communities.

Session: Mini Plenary #2: Home Work: Strategies to Maximize Place-Based Philanthropy

Ann Tartre joined the Equinox Center as its program director in 2009. Prior to that, Tartre was the executive director of Avoided Deforestation Partners, a nonprofit working to prevent tropical deforestation and to mitigate climate change. She also has served as the director of the San Diego-based U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership, a network of foundations on both sides of the border that aims to improve quality of life in the border region. Before working on the border, Tartre’s career focused primarily on sustainable development and conservation themes. As the director of donor services at the Maine Community Foundation, she managed the foundation’s funds focused on conservation and economic and community development. Tartre also has worked as a grants officer for the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, based in Hungary. She was legislative aide for U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell in Washington, D.C., focusing on national environmental and energy issues.
Session: Mini Plenary #2 Home Work: Strategies to Maximize Place-Based Philanthropy