Ephren W. Taylor II
Keynote Speaker

Named by The Michigan Chronicle as one of 2007’s ten people making a global difference.  Ephren W. Taylor II is the youngest African-American CEO of any publicly traded company ever –  City Capital Corporation (stock symbol:CTCC).  Described as “walking history” by popular radio show host Tom Joyner, Taylor started his first business venture at age 12, when he began making video games.  By age 17, he built a multi-million dollar technology company; GoFerretGo.com.

In 2007, at City Capital Corporation, Taylor started the Goshen Energy initiative; which focuses on producing alternative energy specializing in biofuels.  Taylor’s commitment to green energy is part of his concept of empowering local communities with both profitable and socially-conscious investing and development.  Through his action on green energy and philanthropy, Taylor is leading a new wave of CEO’s focusing on corporate social responsibility. 

Beyond his unprecedented accomplishments at an early age in business, Taylor is an author, inspirational speaker, and real estate mastermind.  His first book, “Creating Success from the Inside Out”, is published by the world’s number one business publisher, Wiley and is an Amazon and CEO Read best seller.  The book serves as an expose of the mindset of today’s multi-millionaires while defining success as not only attaining wealth, but how to utilize it.

Values, Mission, and the Unconventional Leader>

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Patricia Marrone Bennett, Resource Development Associates

Dr. Marrone Bennett received her degree in Human and Organizational Development at the Fielding Graduate University.  For 9 years, she has served as CEO of Resource Development Associates, a consulting firm in the San Francisco Bay area dedicated to strengthening public and nonprofit efforts to promote social and economic justice for vulnerable populations.  To this position, Pat brings 30 years of experience in the nonprofit and public sector realm.  She has lobbied for the Friends Committee on Legislation, where she addressed criminal and juvenile justice policy in the California State Legislature and has worked as a community organizer.  She is currently a faculty member at UCSF and Alliant International University.

As the executive director of non-profit direct service organizations providing prevention and intervention mental health services to low income children, youth and their families, Pat has worked closely with service providers, consumers and their families. In addressing mental health policy issues at the State level, she has advocated for the rights of consumers and their family members as well as for prisoners and their families.  In addition, she has worked in Clark County, Washington to implement an Assertive Community Treatment Program for methamphetamine users with mental health issues.  Currently, Pat is working with the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department in developing an organizational strategic plan.
Dr. Bennett has worked extensively in the San Francisco Bay Area both as the director of a non-profit organization for men and woman re-entering the community from prison and jail and as the lead consultant to the work of the East Bay Public Safety Corridor Partnership, where she worked with local police departments and neighborhood groups to develop programs to reduce youth violence.  She has five children, now all teenagers and young adults and lives in Oakland, CA.

DEBATE: Should Nonprofits Merge?>

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Leyna Bernstein, Leyna Bernstein Consulting

Leyna has been consulting with nonprofit organizations since 1996. She offers her clients depth of expertise in nonprofit governance and management, combined with 25 years of recruiting experience. From 1997 through 2008, she held senior staff positions at Bay Area nonprofit support centers, where she managed consulting and program development for a broad range of nonprofit leaders and organizations.

Leyna was the Director of Programs at The CBO Center, the Program Director for the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin, and Director of Consulting Services at The Management Center. She has presented on nonprofit management and board issues in Northern California and beyond, and regularly facilitates planning retreats for boards and staff.

Getting Sacred Cows Out of the Boardroom: Why Most Boards Don't Work and What We Can Do About It >

Melissa Breach, Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership

Melissa Breach is Director of Programs at the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin. She is a former Bay Area Executive Director and Organizational Development Consultant—with extensive experience consulting and training on the issues of governance, organizational sustainability, and change facilitation. She is a former advisory committee member of the California Arts Commission’s Public School Partnership Initiative, as well as a former Board Member of California Partners in Education, Theatre for Young People, and Resourceful Women.

Executive Forum: Bringing Leadership to Management >

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Diane Brown, The Non-Profit Assistance Group

Since 1985, Diane has been a consultant with The Non-Profit Assistance Group, providing strategic planning, retreat and meeting facilitation, board development, and fundraising training and consulting to foundations, public agencies, and nonprofit organizations across the western United States and Canada.  Diane also teaches graduate nonprofit management at Sonoma State University and the University of San Francisco.

DEBATE: Should Nonprofits Merge? >

Wilma Chan, Children Now

Wilma Chan has been a strong advocate for children and families for over 35 years.  Assemblywoman Wilma Chan served as the first woman Majority Leader of the State Assembly.  She represented Oakland, Alameda and Piedmont in the State Assembly from 2000 – 2006.  She authored many groundbreaking bills including making California the first state to ban toxic flame retardants and implement a no-lead standard in drinking water pipes and fixtures.  Ms. Chan authored historic legislation to end the practice of hospitals overcharging uninsured and underinsured patients and to cover California’s 800,000 uninsured children.  She won approval of $100 million to expand State Preschool and fought successfully to maintain the state’s Master Plan for college student access.  Prior to her election to the Assembly, Ms. Chan was elected twice as the first Asian American to serve on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors after completing a term on the Oakland Board of Education.  Ms. Chan holds a BA in history from Wellesley College and a MA in education policy from Stanford University.  She has two grown children and one grandchild.

She served as the Legislator in Residence at UC Berkeley during the 2006-07 academic year and taught political science on campus for two years.  In addition, she was appointed by Senate President Pro Tem Perata to serve on the California Medical Assistance Commission.  She has worked on healthcare projects in Alameda County, including an expansion of health services at the Peralta Community Colleges and was a candidate for the California State Senate 9th SD.  She was recently appointed Vice President for Policy at Children Now.

Advocacy Leaders Roundtable>

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Paul Connolly, TCC Group

Paul Connolly is Senior Vice President at TCC Group. He leads the firm's Philanthropy Practice, oversaw the firm's Nonprofit Practice, and serves on the firm's board of directors. He also heads the firm’s Western Region office, based in San Francisco. He is a seasoned consultant, manager, trainer, and writer. He is especially knowledgeable about and experienced in organizational capacity building, strategic planning, grantmaking, evaluation, cultural participation, and social enterprise. His current and recent clients include: Arts and Business Council, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Community Service Society, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Foundation Center, Goldman Sachs, Habitat for Humanity, Helene Fuld Health Trust, Heritage of Pride, James Irvine Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Jumpstart, The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, Massachusetts Cultural Council, National Center for Learning Disabilities, and Safe Horizon.

DEBATE: Should Nonprofits Merge?>

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Linda Davis, Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership

Prior to joining Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin in 2002, Linda was the CEO of the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce for seven years. She is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management and was recognized as an Accredited Chamber Executive by the Western Association of Chamber Executives.

Linda has 27 years experience in nonprofit management, working with both local and national organizations. She is a Board Member for the Marin County School to Career Partnership and the California Management Assistance Partnership; a member of the California Association of Nonprofit (CAN) Policy Council, a CAN Regional Partner, and a member of the Community Advisory Group for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). Linda is a former appointee to the Marin County Women's Commission, past President of the Marin National Organization for Women, past president of the Marin Services for Women and a former member of the Marin Independent Journal Editorial Board.

Leadership Conversation:  Exploring a New Social Contract>

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Emily Hall, Olive Grove Consulting

Emily Hall, President of Olive Grove Consulting, has worked in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors, serving as Executive Vice President and head of the West Coast Nonprofit Practice for DHR International, Director of the West Coast Nonprofit Practice for A.T. Kearney, and Director of Executive Search at The Management Center. She also has extensive experience as a board member in both New York and the Bay Area.

Emily holds a B.A. from Northwestern University and studied abroad at the University of Sussex in England.  She has an M.A. (ABD) in Human Resources and Organization Development at the University of San Francisco.  Emily has conducted surveys on industry trends, written thought-papers, served as guest lecturer at the University of Michigan and the Haas School of Business, and served on the selection panel for Craigslist Venture Philanthropy Forum.  She has designed and delivered curricula on topics such as strategic succession planning; strategy; executive transitions and recruiting; organizational change; effective decision making; and a range of governance and accountability topics.

DEBATE: Should Nonprofit Boards Fundraise? >

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Paul Harder, Harder+Company

Paul Harder is the President of Harder+Company Community Research, a consulting firm with offices across California. Harder+Company was founded in 1986.  Paul and his company work with government, foundation and nonprofit organizations on planning and evaluation projects.  Paul has a special interest in strategies for community change and has helped funders and service providers find approaches that work.  Prior to starting Harder+Company, he was at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC.  A former Marin resident, Paul has an MSW and an MBA, both from the University of Chicago.  He currently lives in Davis with his wife Cliva and 16-year old daughter Avalon.

Re-Examining the Social Contract: A New Approach to Changing Communities>

Leadership Conversation:  Exploring a New Social Contract>

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Evan Kavanagh, Spirit Rock Meditation Center

Evan Kavanagh has served as the Executive Director of the Spirit Rock Meditation Center since 2000.  An Insight Meditation practitioner since 1995, Evan is a graduate of the Spirit Rock Dedicated Practitioners Program and the Sati Center's Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program. He has taught Insight Meditation at 12-step retreats, sitting groups and occasionally as a Guest Teacher at Spirit Rock.  He is one of the teachers at a weekly Monday night meditation group at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center.

Evan is a longtime nonprofit executive. Professional engagements prior to Spirit Rock include the Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving, the Western Alliance of Arts Administrators Foundation, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, the Portland Stage Company (Maine), the Portland Performing Arts Center, and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois.

Evan and his husband Andrew live in San Francisco where they were married in 2004 (and again in 2008!).

New Ideas Come from the Heart>

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John Kenyon, Nonprofit Technology Educator & Strategist

John Kenyonis a nonprofit technology strategist who has been engaged with nonprofits for over 16 years providing advice, teaching seminars and writing articles about technology. Along with Michael Stein he wrote both The eNonprofit: a guide to ASPs, internet services and online software and the Nonprofit Quarterly article A Decade of Online Fundraising. He recently served as Training and Consulting Manager at Groundspring.org/Network for Good before returning to private practice in 2006. John’s practice concentrates on strategic uses of appropriate technologies with a focus on leveraging the internet. He is an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco and has been a featured speaker at conferences and workshops across the US, England, Australia and online.

Technology as Movement Building>

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Elliot Levin, Partnership Resources Group (PRG)

Elliot Levin is the President of the Partnership Resources Group (PRG), a consulting firm founded in 1991.  With offices in San Rafael, San Jose and Denver, PRG specializes in planning and financial development for larger nonprofit and public programs.  The firm is a network of nineteen professionals, each an experienced specialist from a variety of disciplines including capital development, endowments, real estate, bond financing, corporate philanthropy, public grantmaking and nonprofit business planning.  Mr. Levin has developed and managed capital and endowment projects ranging from $150,000 to $30,000,000.

Elliot, as managing partner, serves as senior counsel on PRG’s projects and assembles the right team to meet the requirements of each project.  An experienced problem-solver, Mr. Levin utilizes his extensive background in nonprofit management to assist organizations with planning, growth and opportunities for change.

Deconstructing the Development Department: A New Fundraising Structure for a Forever Changed Economy >

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Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado

Jan Masaoka is a leading writer and thinker on nonprofit organizations with particular emphasis on boards of directors, business planning, and the role of nonprofits in society. She is currently the Director and Editor-in-Chief of an online nonprofit magazine Blue Avocado (www.blueavocado.org), which launched in April of 2008 and in June of 2009 had 50,000 subscribers. She recently left her position of 14 years as executive director of CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, a consulting and training firm for nonprofits based in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. In that position she was named Nonprofit Executive of the Year by NonProfit Times in 2003.

Jan’s community activities include serving on the boards of New America Media (www.newamericamedia.org) and Save the Bay (www.savesfbay.org). She is the former Chair of the Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center (www.apiwellness.org), and Founding Board President of the San Francisco Foundation Community Initiative Funds (www.communityin.org).  She is an Advisory Board member for the Stanford Social Innovation Review (www.ssireview.org).  Jan was a member of the Governance and Fiduciary Working Group of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector convened to advise the US Senate Finance Committee.  She currently serves on the Complete Count (Census) Commission of the City and County of San Francisco, and was a member of the 2008 California Grantmaker Associations Diversity in Philanthropy Advisory Committee.

Jan has been named eight times as one of the "Fifty Most Influential People" in the nonprofit sector nationwide, and in 2005 she was named “California Community Leader of the Year” by Leadership California. 

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Mariana Moore, Mariana Moore Consulting

Mariana Moore is a consultant to nonprofit, community-based organizations in the areas of
fundraising, strategic planning and communications.  She specializes in helping small to medium
sized nonprofits build their internal capacity in order to expand and diversify their funding base.
 Mariana brings nearly two decades of experience in all aspects of organizational planning and
development, having served as an executive director, development director, board member and
consultant to numerous organizations in the fields of health and human services, animal
welfare, the arts, public policy, legal services, and higher education.  She currently serves as
chair of the board of the Diablo Valley College Foundation. She has secured more than $10
million in program funding through proposals to corporations, government agencies and
foundations, and has personally solicited gifts of $250,000+ from individual donors.  

DEBATE: Should Nonprofit Boards Fundraise?>

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Sarah R. Moore, Sarah R. Moore Non-Profit Communications Consulting

Sarah R. Moore is a non-profit communications consultant who leads organizations to strategic clarity and focus in communicating their purpose to funders, donors, and volunteers alike. She spent her first 20 years as a senior executive in some of the world's largest advertising agencies, including Saatchi & Saatchi, Foote, Cone & Belding and DDB Worldwide.

Her current practice provides communications consulting and action plans for a wide variety of non-profits including the Horizons Foundation, Generations Ahead, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, Breast Cancer Action and the Foundation for National Progress. She has been a member of several non-profit boards, including her current role on the Executive Board of Children of Shelters, a San Francisco non-profit that supports children in each of the city's four family transitional shelters. In addition, she teaches workshops at CompassPoint, the CBO Center, Craigslist Foundation Nonprofit Boot Camp, SPIN Academy, and the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children and is an active volunteer in the San Francisco public schools.

Brand-Based Decision Making: Putting Strategic Planning in Its Place>

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Maureen Sedonaen, Youth Leadership Institute (YLI)

Maureen Sedonaen has over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit leadership and management sector. A nationally and internationally recognized authority and thought leader in the field of Strategic Leadership and Youth Development; she focuses primarily on the intersections between Leadership, Social Change and Community in the areas of Health, Public Policy, Philanthropy and Civic Engagement. In 1989, Ms. Sedonaen founded the Youth Leadership Institute (YLI), incorporated in 1991, and currently serves as the organization’s President and Chief Executive Officer. An accomplished keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant, she has received the State of California Governor’s Award of Recognition for developing youth programs that truly empower young people; a Congressional Award of Innovation for her youth leadership and development work. She has a particular interest in the intersections between Social Justice, Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship.  Maureen has written numerous articles, thought and policy papers on leadership, prevention, public policy and meaningful youth engagement. Maureen holds an MBA in Strategic Leadership.

Building Leaderful Organizations: Shifting our Leadership Paradigm>

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Amy Smith is the president of HandsOn Network, the largest volunteer network in the world. In this role, she is responsible for the success of a network of more than 250 volunteer action centers around the globe, as well as HandsOn University, national service programs, network advancement and strategic partnerships.

Amy joined Hands On Network in March of 2005. After supporting a variety of initiatives in the organization, including serving as Interim Director of Technology, she designed, developed and launched the now highly-effective regional affiliate support structure. She was the first Regional Vice President, supporting all affiliates west of the Mississippi River. 
Prior to joining the HandsOn Network team, Amy was the Executive Director of Hands On San Francisco. She drove the merger between Hands On San Francisco and Community Impact to create Hands On Bay Area, now the largest Bay Area-wide volunteer service organization. Amy first joined Hands On San Francisco as a board member where she served as the board chair for two years and a volunteer leader for five years. 

Amy has an additional eight years of corporate experience and has worked for Apple Computer on several initiatives including the Apple retail initiative, international real estate development and organizational design. Her expertise in strategy planning, organizational development, project management, program development and process implementation is a result of the range of corporate and nonprofit sector roles she has fulfilled. 

Amy earned a B.S. in Materials and Logistics Management from Michigan State University and currently serves on the board of CCVA – Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration. She resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband.

The Underestimated Asset: Exploring the Potential of Donated Time>

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Diane Tompkins, Courage Corps & The Curious Company

One part Consultancy, one part Community, Courage Corps coaches individuals and groups who are committed to creating transformative social change. We work with a wide variety of clients in the personal, professional and non-profit sectors to clarify their highest purpose, crystallize their vision, and make explicit how they will help transform the world.  We coach them in how to engage their audiences and give them strategic tools to create momentum. The Courage Corps Community is being built on the belief that we must collaborate in new ways and with new partners in order to create wide-scale, sustaining social change and to accelerate how quickly that happens.  The Community will share freely all that members learn about what works and what doesn’t, and will work together to achieve a higher good than any one member’s individual progress.

Prior to Courage Corps, Diane was a founding partner of The Curious Company, a qualitative research and brand strategy studio in SF.  At Curious, she partnered with groups as diverse as the environmental news organization Grist, The International Fund for Animal Welfare, Breast Cancer Action, Method Home, the San Francisco Green Home Center, the Activation Point Project with Spitfire Strategies and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Tabitha Healthcare Services, the Central Texas Children & Nature Community, and ACCESS Women’s Health Rights Coalition.  Diane regularly trains grantees and grantmakers about brand strategy and social change, and how to use qualitative research as a strategic tool for audience engagement.

Brand-Based Decision Making: Putting Strategic Planning in Its Place>

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Morrie Warshawski, Arts Consultant/Writer

Morrie Warshawski works with nonprofits that are having trouble reaching their goals.  He helps them achieve their dreams through strategic planning.  His practice is guided by the core values of: tolerance, thoughtfulness, transparency, and creativity.  He was the Executive Director of three nonprofits and became a consultant in 1986.  Since then, his practice has included work with State and Regional Agencies (South Carolina, Missouri, California), Foundations (Bush, MacArthur, Pew Charitable Trust), The National Endowment for the Arts, and numerous nonprofit organizations in many disciplines throughout the US (Habitat for Humanity, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, St. Louis Black Repertory Company, Madison Repertory Theatre, Opera Theatre of St. Louis and others).  He designed and edited a website devoted to planning for the National Endowment for the Arts, called Lessons Learned: (www.nea.gov/resources/Lessons/index.html), and wrote A State Arts Agency Planning Toolkit for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.  He is the author of The Fundraising Houseparty: How to Party with a Purpose and Raise Money for Your Cause, and Shaking the Money Tree: How to Get Grants and Donations for Film and Video.  Morrie Warshawski maintains his own website at www.warshawski.com.

Getting Sacred Cows Out of the Boardroom:
Why Most Boards Don't Work and What We Can Do About It>

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Robert Zimmerman, Zimmerman Lehman

Robert M. Zimmerman, Fundraising Specialist and President of Zimmerman Lehman, has 30 years of experience in nonprofit administration in areas of fundraising, organizational development, and executive search. He has been Director of Development at a variety of nonprofit organizations, including the Youth Law Center and the Westside Center for Independent Living. Bob has taught on major donor solicitation, grantseeking, hiring top-notch executive staff, and overcoming the fear of fundraising. He served on the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and was Co-Chair of AFP's "Fundraising Day 2001" in San Francisco.

DEBATE: Should Nonprofit Boards Fundraise? >

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