About Our Faculty

Tom Ahern and Simone Joyaux are recognized internationally for their work in the nonprofit sector, and both speak at conferences around the world. Both were recently recognized in a list of nine “leading practitioners” worldwide for their contributions to the professional literature and for bringing a “wealth of practical experience, a spirited enthusiasm for the craft, and a willingness to share their knowledge with others.”

Tom is one of North America's leading experts in donor communications. He has written four books and more than 4,000 people subscribe to his free tips enewsletter. Tom writes case statements, newsletters, and direct mail for some of the world's biggest brand charities, top hospitals, major universities, and amazing local nonprofits. He also evaluates donor communications and provides personalized training to organizations around North America.

C Squared Strategy Founder and Managing Partner Walter Callender advises business and organization leaders about how to adapt and thrive by uncovering the strategic value of technology and communications. With offices in Providence and New York, their select client roster includes AT&T, Providence After School Alliance, Merrill Lynch, and the New York City Bar Association. A contributing author to DM Review and Booz Allen's Strategy + Business magazines, Walter shares unique approaches to developing value added ways for organizations to communicate with their constituents. These solutions often focus on organization and communications strategic alignment, constituent segmentation, and the proper adoption, usage, and leverage of technology. Walter has an AB from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Columbia University.

Melanie Coon, vice president for communications and marketing at The Rhode Island Foundation since January 2007, has nearly 30 years of experience in nonprofit and corporate strategic planning, communications, and management. From 1988 until 2004 she held progressively responsible positions in both alumni relations and public affairs and university relations at Brown University, her alma mater. In 2005 and 2006 she served as a consultant to nonprofit organizations including colleges and universities, and she was a member of the Leadership Rhode Island Beta II class of 2006.

Melanie’s responsibilities at the Foundation include strategic oversight and planning for all areas of communication including media relations, major events, electronic communications, website, social media, and print. She develops strategies to support the Foundation’s mission to meet the needs of the people of Rhode Island, offers communications guidance to nonprofit organizations, and works to ensure that the Foundation’s outstanding reputation is advanced and upheld. Melanie also serves as assistant secretary to the Foundation’s board of directors.

Michael G. Daigneault, Esq. is the principal of D⁴ Consulting & Training. The firm provides consulting, training, research, facilitation, and retreat services to corporations and nonprofits throughout the United States.

He also is a senior governance consultant with BoardSource, formerly the National Center for Nonprofit Boards. BoardSource is the premier resource for practical information, tools and best practices, training, and leadership development for board members of nonprofit organizations worldwide.

Michael provides corporations, large and small businesses, nonprofits, credit unions, professional associations, and governmental entities with state-of-the-art and cost-effective governance, facilitation, fraud, and ethics services. He provides a full range of targeted training opportunities in the form of customized seminars, workshops, retreats, and keynote speeches. Michael is an experienced consultant, a thoughtful speaker, and a dynamic workshop facilitator. Through his work with BoardSource, he regularly works with organizations of all types to help them improve the effectiveness of their governance and leadership. In particular, he has worked with credit unions large and small to review bylaws, write committee charters, offer governance advice, and provide assistance to governance committees and supervisory committees.

Michael has been a frequent keynote or breakout speaker as well as the primary seminar presenter for various national, regional and professional conferences. He is an expert on topics such as governance, ethics and strategic planning for businesses, credit unions, nonprofits, professional associations, and governmental entities. He has published articles on these topics for a wide variety of trade journals and magazines.

Michael also is a senior fellow with the Business Learning Institute (BLI) at the Maryland Association of CPAs. Through BLI, he teaches ethics classes that meet the Maryland and Virginia CPA requirements. He also is a member of the United Way of America’s Membership Appeals Panel.

He has substantial experience in the field of organizational ethics, having been the president of the Ethics Resource Center (ERC) for six years. The ERC is one of the nation’s oldest and well-known independent ethics and consulting institutions, having been formed in 1922. Its mission is to be a leader and catalyst in fostering ethical practices in individuals and institutions. In his capacity as the president of the ERC, he had opportunities to reflect on and apply a variety of leading-edge business concepts both domestically and internationally. He has substantial “in the field” experiences in designing business programs with corporations, nonprofits, and multilateral organizations, and has hands-on experience in successfully running both for-profit and nonprofit institutions.

Michael is a three-time graduate of Georgetown, holding a B.A. from the College in Philosophy where he graduated first in his class in philosophy, a J.D. from the Law Center as well as a Masters Degree in Law from the Law Center. He was the first person to graduate from the Law Center with a Masters in Law with a concentration in legal ethics and professional responsibility.

Prior to becoming president of the ERC, he was the founder and president of Ethics, Inc., a private consulting and training firm specializing in business ethics for the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. Prior to that, Michael ran the American Inns of Court Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the skills, ethics, civility and professionalism of judges and lawyers.

Jennifer is a human resources professional, specializing in employee relations. She serves as program manager for corporate compliance and ethics at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, with a focus on ethics discipline.

Jennifer holds a B.S. in human resources management and recently completed an M.S. in organizational development. Jennifer also has the distinction of serving with “Professional of Human Resources” and “Registered Corporate Coach” designations.

For over 30 years, Gayle Gifford, ACFRE, has been helping nonprofits make a difference in the world by creating the internal change that strengthens their governance and management, improves their programming, builds stronger relationships with their constituents, or boosts their revenues. Her clients have included WaterFire Providence, The Diaper Bank, and The Trust for Public Land New England Regional Office.

A regular columnist for Contributions Magazine, Gayle is also the author of How are we Doing? A 1-hour guide to evaluating your performance as a nonprofit board, Meaningful Participation, an activist’s guide to collaborative policy making, and co-author of Bringing a Development Director on Board, #3 in the AFP Ready Reference Series. She is a past president of the RI AFP Chapter and one of fewer than 100 individuals worldwide holding the advanced fundraising certification of ACFRE.

Gayle received an M.S. in organization and management from Antioch University New England and is an adjunct instructor on organization development and communications in the Masters in Communications Management program at Simmons College and the Masters in Public Humanities Program at Brown University.

Ann-Marie Harrington founded Embolden in 1998 following successful careers in public policy and social services. Ann-Marie has built Embolden into one of the leading web firms in New England, serving the philanthropic, professional services, and financial sectors. She has developed a client roster of more than 150 active customers through an unmatched expertise in new and emerging Internet technology, highly personalized service, deep first-hand knowledge of the philanthropic, professional services, and financial sectors, and a sound business development strategy.

Ann-Marie, named the Rhode Island Small Business Person of the Year for 2009 by the U.S. Small Business Administration, earned a degree in business administration from Bryant University and a master of social work degree from Rhode Island College. As an adjunct professor at Rhode Island College, she has taught courses in computer skills and developed and taught a course about information technology in social work practice. She frequently gives workshops to nonprofit organizations and community foundations on engaging donors and constituents via social media tools and applications.

At Embolden, she has created a progressive work culture. The company has been awarded, three times, the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility, ranking it as one of the top 20% of employers nationally in terms of flexible work programs, policies and culture, and establishing Embolden as one of the best places to work in Rhode Island.

She is a member of the Rhode Island Commodores, a nonpartisan, private-sector organization that works to enhance the state’s economic-development initiatives; a Rhode Island Business Plan competition sponsor and judge; and a Brown Forum for Enterprise partner.

Ann-Marie also is a board member of Youth Pride Inc.; on the Equity Action Campaign Committee; on the National Alumni Council at Bryant University; a member of the Rhode Island College School of Management Advisory Board; a member of The Pawtucket Foundation Board of Directors; and a member of Social Venture Partners Rhode Island.

Simone Joyaux and Tom Ahern are recognized internationally for their work in the nonprofit sector, and both speak at conferences around the world. Both were recently recognized in a list of nine “leading practitioners” worldwide for their contributions to the professional literature and for bringing a “wealth of practical experience, a spirited enthusiasm for the craft, and a willingness to share their knowledge with others.”

Simone is an expert in fund development, board development/governance, and strategic planning. She builds comprehensive fundraising programs for all types and sizes of organizations. She helps organizations plan for the future and measure their performance. She fixes broken boards and makes good boards better. Simone has written two books and chapters in a couple of books, She is a web columnist for Nonprofit Quarterly and blogs regularly on her website, offering tips, pet peeves, and personal rants.

MJ Kaplan Founded Kaplan Consulting in 2000 to align strategy, leadership and process into vibrant results. Her nationwide client base includes corporate leaders, entrepreneurial enterprises, non-profits ranging from universities to neighborhood-based advocacy agencies, and government. She specializes in multi-sector collaborative initiates that work through sustainable shared agreements to complex community challenges.

Ms. Kaplan, an active conference presenter and writer, graduated with a B.A. from Brown University and a master's degree focused on organization development from Harvard University. She resides in Providence, RI with her husband and three children. She currently serves as a trustee for a hospital and school and has devoted extensive time and resources to pro bono work and community service.

David Karoff has more than two decades of experience in the nonprofit sector in Rhode Island, including 13 years as the executive director of three different organizations, including two start-ups: Stop Wasting Abandoned Property (SWAP), Thresholds, Inc., and the Rhode Island Commission for National and Community Service (now the RI Service Alliance). He spent nine years at The Rhode Island Foundation, most recently as vice president for grantmaking. As an independent consultant his practice includes:

• Organizational development assessment
• Management systems development
• Strategic planning
• Organizational, board, and leadership development
• Problem-solving meeting facilitation
• Program development, planning, and evaluation
• Staff development
• Executive search
• Executive coaching

Deborah Linnell has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector as consultant to philanthropic institutions, evaluator, nonprofit executive director, and board member. She joined Third Sector New England in 2003 and is currently the director of programs. Deb lead the design of TSNE’s current Capacity Building Fund which intentionally funds groups to build capacity to learn and work together and provides grants in Rhode Island. She is also the lead author of the executive director’s guide, The Guide for Successful Nonprofit Management and Evaluation of Capacity Building: Reflections from the Field, and is a board member of and frequent contributor to the Nonprofit Quarterly.

Sandi Clement McKinley, Manager, National Advisory Services, Nonprofit Finance Fund, joined NFF in February 2007 and is responsible for overseeing the delivery of NFF advisory services to both nonprofits and foundations. She has a passionate interest for nonprofit finance and for helping nonprofits and funders make better use of financial information in strategic decision making.

Ms. McKinley brings more than 16 years experience to NFF. Immediately prior to joining the organization, she was a consultant providing strategic planning and philanthropic advice to major foundations, corporations and nonprofits. Ms. McKinley also has served in a senior administration capacity for the Institute of Contemporary Art, American Repertory Theatre at Harvard University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. 

She is active in the nonprofit community, serves on several nonprofit, foundations and community boards and regularly speaks and writes about the role of nonprofit institutions in the community. Ms. McKinley has an MBA from the Simmons School of Management, an MA from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Rosemont College.

Frank A. Monti, CPA, is a principal at Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co., LTD. Frank has over 35 years of experience in the accounting and finance industry. He has made a personal commitment to serving the needs of not-for-profit organizations and closely-held businesses in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Mr. Monti received his BS Degree in 1970 from Providence College and his Master of Arts, Ad Eundem, in 1984 from Brown University. Mr. Monti also completed the Harvard University Intensive Program for Business Executives in 1979. He is a frequent speaker and author.

William H. Pinakiewicz, director, New England Program, Nonprofit Finance Fund, manages the Fund’s financial services, advisory services and new business development activities throughout the six-state New England region. His professional experience includes more than 35 years in management and finance in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. In his nearly 20 years at Citigroup, Bill’s finance experience included senior banker roles in public finance, corporate finance and private banking, both domestically and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Both before and after Bill’s career in finance, he has been involved in education and other mission-driven nonprofits as an educator, administrator, financial advisor, fundraiser and trustee. Bill completed both his MA in educational administration and MBA in finance at Columbia University and holds a BA in psychology from Williams College.

Kim is a talent management professional specializing in learning and development. She is currently a human resources manager at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, leading efforts in leadership development and succession planning. Kim's background and experience include training and consulting for clients in a variety of industries, professional coaching, and customizing development opportunities for work teams. She holds a B.A. in psychology and an MSW.

Robbie Samuels has extensive community organizing, event logistics and fundraising experience. He currently is special events manager at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), an adjunct professor at Lesley College teaching “Activism and Change in Communities,” and works with the National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS-Boston).

In 2006, he co-founded Socializing for Justice (SoJust), a grassroots, volunteer-run, member-supported group, to build a cross-issue progressive community, network, and movement in Boston based on the philosophy of abundance. Since then, as SoJust's co-organizer, Robbie has been the visionary behind their success - growing the group to almost 1700 members, hosting more than 90 events, and creating a hub of progressive events and resources.

In 2011, he was selected as a connector for the Boston World Partnership, a high-caliber, heterogeneous network of innovators, entrepreneurs, business influencers, and thought leaders. In 2010. he was selected to be a fellow at the New Leaders Council Institute, the premier political entrepreneurship training program for young professional, progressive leaders and won ServiceNation's Boston Service Hero Contest. In 2009, he was the recipient of the inaugural Lavender Rhino Award presented by the LGBT History Project and the Gender Hero award presented by The Theater Offensive. He received his MSW and a BA in sociology and political science from SUNY Stony Brook on Long Island, where he was raised.

Robbie identifies as a white, queer, feminist, trans man and lives in Jamaica Plain with his partner, Alison Brill.

Dr. Seltser is a researcher, consultant, and manager with 25 years of experience in government and nonprofit organizations. He has extensive expertise in the assessment and development of performance measures as well as project management and evaluation. Dr. Seltser is the former director of Center for Design, Methods, and Analysis at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the former vice president for research and evaluation at the National Center on Family Homelessness. As an independent consultant and researcher, he has provided design and analysis assistance to organizations including the Office of Personnel Management, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Internal Revenue Service, Parenting Resource Associates, National Cathedral School, and Advocates for Human Potential.