Professional Training on Grants & Funding

Anthony Sharp

Anthony Sharp is a Los Angeles Native who possesses 10+ years experience providing Career Counseling to individuals from various backgrounds, such as those on welfare, ex-offenders, students, and adults who are in employment transition. Anthony obtained both his Masters and Bachelors degrees from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, LA. Anthony possesses an extensive work history with professional, personal, and academic experience ranging in various fields, such as research; class instruction; leadership; public speaking; counseling; community involvement/representation; spiritual/social encouragement.

In recent years, Anthony was a Career Development Specialist at the Southeast Los Angeles County Workforce Development Board located in Cerritos, CA.

Currently, Anthony is continuing his legacy of advisement/training as the Director of Academic and Professional Development for West Coast Ultrasound Institute, Beverly Hills Campus. In his spare time, Anthony can be found serving in ministry at his church, dancing in a flash mob, and depositing into the lives of others from diverse backgrounds by way of encouragement, empowerment and lending a listening ear.

Arthur Werner

Arthur Joseph Werner, JD, MS (Taxation), is the president and is a shareholder in the lecture firm of Werner-Rocca Seminars, Ltd. Mr. Werner’s lecture topic specialties include business, tax, financial and estate planning for high net worth individuals.

Mr. Werner received his B.S. in Accounting and his M.S. in Taxation from Widener University. He holds a J.D. in Law from the Delaware Law School.

Mr. Werner lectures extensively in the areas of Estate Planning, Financial Planning, and Estate and Gift Taxation to Certified Public Accountants, Enrolled Agents, Attorneys, Insurance Agents, and Financial Planners, and has presented well in excess of 2500 eight-hour seminars over the past twenty-five years as well as numerous webinars and video presentations. Mr. Werner has been rated as having the highest speaker knowledge in his home state of Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, was awarded the AICPA Outstanding Discussion Leader Award in the State of Nevada, the Florida Institute of CPAs Outstanding Discussion Leader Award, and the South Carolina Association of CPAs Outstanding Discussion Leader Award.

Bo Mitchell

Bo Mitchell, President/Founder 911 Consulting, CEM, CPP, CBCP, CHCM, CHSP, CHEP, CHS-V, CSSM, CSHM, CFC, CIPS, CSC, CAS, TFCT3, CERT, CMC was Police Commissioner of Wilton, CT for 16 years. He retired in February 2001 to found 911 Consulting which creates emergency plans, training and exercises for organizations like GE HQ, MasterCard HQ, Hyatt HQ, Goodrich, plus 25 secondary schools and four colleges/universities. He serves clients headquartered from Boston to LA working in their facilities from New York to San Francisco. Bo has earned 16 certifications in homeland security, organizational safety and security. He also serves as an expert in landmark court cases nationally.

 Bo is a Certified Emergency Manager, Certified in Homeland Security and a Certified Business Continuity Professional.

Carol Barnard

Carol Barnard, CPA, CFE, MBA, is a Senior Manager in Aronson LLC’s Association Industry Services Group. With more than 10 years of industry experience, Carol has extensive experience with nonprofit audit and accounting issues including federal funding and related Single Audit requirements, cost principles, and compliance issues.

As a strong proponent for the nonprofit industry, Carol shares her expertise through webinars and training sessions. She was a contributing author and editor of The Financial Management Handbook for Associations and Nonprofits, published by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). Carol also serves as editor-in-chief of and is a regular contributor to Aronson’s Nonprofit Report blog.

Carol is a CPA licensed in Virginia and Maryland. She earned her MBA in Accounting in 2003 and her CFE designation in 2012. Today, she plays an active role in both the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

Colleen McGreevy

Colleen McGreevy has worked in healthcare for over thirty years. She has dedicated almost 20 years to improving access to the Medicare Hospice Benefit. Her work has taken her to large metropolitan areas such as New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Houston as well as dozens of rural communities in over forty states. Colleen has served in national roles at several large, multi-state organizations. She also has a background in hospital, skilled nursing and home health, which provides her with the expertise to see the opportunities of the full healthcare continuum.

Colleen has spent the past year and half helping hospices keep up with the demands of the Affordable Care Act, focusing on growth and access and opportunities for positioning for success in the next decade. She has a BS in Psychology from Fairfield University in Connecticut and recently acquired a certification in Transitional Care from the University of Colorado, Denver.

Cyndi MacKenzie

Cyndi MacKenzie is a Grant Professional Certified who has twelve years’ experience in the non-profit field with over $15 million in grant awards in that time. Cyndi works out of her offices in Brooksville, Florida and Naples, Maine providing board development, strategic planning, and a full array of grant services to her clients. As a Grant Professional Association Approved Trainer, Cyndi has trained at national and regional conferences since 2011, including the GPA Conference in 2015 and 2016. Cyndi has been a reviewer for federal and state grants, as well as local proposals.

Dana Ostomel

Dana is the founder and Chief Gifting Officer of Deposit a Gift.com, a crowdfunding platform that allows anyone to easily create an online fundraising campaign for any organizational, school or personal need. Whether you're a nonprofit or school looking to get into crowdsourced fundraising, or an individual looking to raise money for a personal project, business, disaster relief, memorial fund or help with medical bills, Deposit a Gift makes it easy.

Dana is a marketing and branding expert with over a decade of experience developing integrated marketing solutions for brands in a wide range of industries, from Snapple and CENTURY 21 to The Home Depot, DIRECTV and MasterCard before she left to launch Deposit a Gift 8 years ago. Since then she has been advising organizations, schools and individuals on the best approach to setting up and marketing their campaigns. She has a Bachelor's degree in communications from U.C.L.A. and has also studied in Israel and Spain. Dana is a frequent conference speaker and webinar presenter in the nonprofit sector.

Darian Rodriguez Heyman

Darian Rodriguez Heyman is a serial social entrepreneur with a history of creating community and impact. Heyman previously served as Executive Director of Craigslist Foundation, co-founder of Beyond Interactive, the fastest growing Internet advertising agency during the early dot com days, a Commissioner for the Environment for San Francisco, and co-founder of the only conference series devoted to social media for social good, Social Media for Nonprofits. Heyman is also the best-selling author of Nonprofit Management 101 (Wiley + Sons), and is currently working on his next book, Nonprofit Fundraising 101. He currently serves as Co-Founder of BetterWorld Wireless, which partners with U.S. nonprofits and government agencies serving the poor to power their mobile impact campaigns.

David Kittross

David Kittross has more than 30 years of writing about and reporting on federal and foundation grants, in areas ranging from community health to housing and community development to education. Dave was the founding and long-time editor of Federal Assistance and Foundation Monitor, a national newsletter which covered grant opportunities, regulatory changes and the latest congressional developments involving federal and private grant programs. Dave has also served as editor for Community Health Funding Report, Native American Report and Development Director's Letter.

Dave also has hands on experience in the area of grantwriting, having written federal, state and foundation grant proposals that have raised more than $4 million for a variety of public and private nonprofits. Dave has conducted numerous audio conferences on grant programs and opportunities, and has provided training to nonprofit personnel on how to look for and win funding for their program. Dave also has served on staff for a member of Congress and city council, plus provided information to local agencies on available grant opportunities as director of research for a private consulting firm.

Dayna J. Reum

Dayna is currently the Payroll Tax Manager at PetSmart Inc. Dayna has been heavily involved in the payroll field over 15 years. Starting as a payroll clerk at a small Tucson company, Dayna moved on to be a Payroll Team Leader at Honeywell Inc. During Dayna’s time at Honeywell she obtained her FPC (Fundamental Payroll Certification) through the American Payroll Association. She also received several merit awards for Customer Service and Acquisitions and Divestitures. Dayna is no stranger to teaching she has taught at the Metro Phoenix American Payroll Association meetings and at the Arizona State Payroll Conference. Topics including Payroll Basics, Global/Cultural Awareness, Immigration Basics for the Payroll Professional, Multi-State and Local Taxation and Quality Control for Payroll, international and Canadian payroll. Dayna has her CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) through the APA. She also serves on the National American Payroll Association on the national Strategic Leadership Task Force, Government Affairs Task Force (PA Local tax subcommittee). Dayna has received a Citation of Merit for her service along with being a Gold Pin member of the APA. Besides her payroll accomplishments Dayna is certified in HR hiring and firing practices and is a Six-Sigma Greenbelt.

Debbie DiVirgilio

Debbie DiVirgilio is a Certified Governance Trainer and has more than 20 years of experience serving in the nonprofit sector. She is a nonprofit coach, consultant, teacher, facilitator and grant professional committed to helping nonprofits thrive.

Debbie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Behavioral Sciences and a Master’s Degree in Non-Profit Management from Regis University. She is a Grant Professional Certified as conferred by the Grant Professional Institute and has served on the Board of Directors of the Grant Professionals Association for the past seven years. She has also served as President of the Grant Professionals Association and is a certified coach, teacher and speaker with The John Maxwell Team.

Dr. Beverly A. Browning

Dr. Beverly Browning (“Dr. Bev”) brings over four decades of experience to her speaking events.  She has assisted clients and event attendees in strengthening the capacity of their professional acumen and organizational capacity.  As a high profile grants consultant, Dr. Bev is credited with more than $430 million in contract and grant awards.  She is the author of 42 publications and is in high demand for facilitating training programs and delivering keynote speeches nationwide and internationally.

Dr. Bev is an independent consultant and also the Director of the Grant Writing Training Foundation.  In 2011, she became a member of the eCivis, Inc., family when she was offered the opportunity to start a new services division.  In 2015, Dr. Bev trademarked Be the Shining Light™, a motivational keynote speech theme that is being developed into a workbook and workshops for individuals seeking personal and professional life-changes. In 2016, she was appointed Vice President of Client Capacity Building with eCivis, Inc.

Dr. Susan Strauss

Dr. Susan Strauss, RN, Ed.D. is a registered nurse and a national and international speaker, trainer, consultant and a recognized expert on workplace and school harassment and bullying. She conducts harassment and bullying investigations and functions as an expert witness in harassment and bullying lawsuits. Her clients are from business, education, healthcare, law, and government organizations from both the public and private secr. Susan has a docrate in Organizational Leadership and has been involved in the harassment and bullying arena since 1985.

Susan has conducted research, written over 30 books, book chapters, and journal articles on harassment, bullying, and related pics. She has been featured on 20/20, CBS Evening News and other national and international television and radio programs as well as interviewed for newspaper and journal articles.

Erica Waasdorp

Erica Waasdorp is President of A Direct Solution. Erica lives and breathes direct response and fundraising and can be considered a Philanthropyholic.  Building partnerships and trying to find the best solution for members and donors and thus clients' needs are what Erica does best. Her multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural experience are of added value to those clients interested in raising money internationally and her experience in monthly giving has given her an edge for those clients who are ready to embark on this way of giving.

Erica Waasdorp started A Direct Solution in December of 2003 with more than twenty years of experience in direct marketing, from both sides of the desk, on the client side and the agency side. She has since worked with numerous non-profit clients on and off-Cape Cod.  She has helped several organizations with their annual fund campaigns, monthly giving, grant writing, events and PR.

Erica contributes to various industry publications, both in the US and abroad, and she is an avid blogger, webinar presenter and she has spoken at numerous nonprofit conferences, ranging from fundamentals of fundraising, to international fundraising, to monthly giving. She is also the US Ambassador for the International Fundraising Congress (IFC), held in the Netherlands in October (www.resource-alliance.org)

Erica Waasdorp published one of the very few books in the industry on monthly giving, called Monthly Giving, The Sleeping Giant. For more information, see www.adirectsolution.com or find the book as paperback or e-book on amazon.com and other e-book sites. She is currently working on her second book, due to be published with Emerson & Church in 2015.

Erin E. Dolly

Erin E. Dolly is an attorney at Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP in San Francisco, where she counsels institutions of higher education and other public and private employers on a broad range of legal matters, including labor, employment, student affairs and compliance issues. Erin advises private and public employers on issues relating to discrimination, harassment, disability laws, performance management, employee discipline and termination.

Erin is the former Dean of Students at the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she served for over seven years, with primary responsibility for students and recent graduates.

Prior to working in higher education, Erin worked as an attorney in the global employment group in the San Francisco office of a premier international law firm. She was co-chair of the firms pro bono committee, co-authored an amicus brief in support of an application for Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States in Winkelman v. Parma City School District.

Erin is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Law where she teaches Legal Drafting, a skills-based advanced legal writing course to third year students.

Frank Klimko

Frank Klimko edits Children & Youth Funding Report, a Washington DC area-based publication which covers Congress, the Education Dept. and the various federal regulatory agencies.  It is a national publication that is updated daily on the web site. He also edits Private Grants Alert, which covers the world of private philanthropy. Klimko is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years experience covering federal, state and local government. In California, he worked on a Pulitzer-prize nominated newspaper investigative project. He is an expert on the federal Freedom of Information Act.

A nationally known speech writer/speaker, Klimko co-produces monthly audio-conferences that provide an insiders view to federal regulations, new billion-dollar spending projects and grant making priorities. The audio conferences have helped hundreds of listeners better position themselves for funding, burnish their applications and get a firmer grip on the federal/private money tree.

Hank Vanderbeek

Hank Vanderbeek is an expert in REAC inspections, REAC appeals, REAC repair work, and home and commercial inspections. He has conducted inspections on thousands of residential and commercial properties for HUD (as a former Certified Inspector), insurance companies, banks, and home buyers. Mr. Vanderbeek is currently owner and manager of a commercial and residential property inspection company. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books, including REAC Inspections, Achieving Success Without Breaking the Bank(December 2012).

Heather Stombaugh

Heather Stombaugh, MBA, CFRE, GPC is a grant professional with more than 16 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, programming, communications, and fundraising. She is the founder and principal consultant of JustWrite Solutions, a national nonprofit consulting firm based in Ohio. Heather practices and teaches integrated grant seeking, a process by which the strategies and tactics of fundraising, marketing, and grant seeking are coordinated to increase engagement, donations, and grant awards. Using this philosophy, Heather has secured nearly $75M for nonprofits across the country. She is a published author, a peer-reviewer, a grant reviewer, a sought-after live and webinar presenter, a volunteer, a mentor, a hobby farmer, a wife, and a mother.

Jean Block

Jean Block is a nationally recognized trainer and consultant on nonprofit management, board development, fundraising and social enterprise with more than 45 years of experience as both board and staff leader for local, regional and national nonprofits. She is the author of several nonprofit books and manuals, including "FUNdraising! 180+ Great Ideas to Raise More Money" and "Fast FUNdraising Facts for Fame & Fortune." Her presentations are high energy, entertaining and filled with practical ideas you can put to work immediately. Learn more about Jean at www.jblockinc.com.

Marcia Zidle

Marcia Zidle is a board certified executive coach, business management consultant and keynote speaker, who helps entrepreneurial ventures; small to medium size enterprises and professional firms to leverage their leadership and human capital assets.  She has 25 years of management, business consulting and international experience in a variety of industries including health care, financial services, oil and gas, manufacturing, insurance, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, government and nonprofits.

Marcia is also the host of The Business Edge, a weekly internet radio show on the business channel of Voice America Media giving practical advice to CEO’s, company owners and executive teams that are planning, or are in the midst of, ambitious growth and change.

Natalie Ivey

Natalie Ivey, MBA, SPHR is an HR consultant, professional speaker, author, and educator within the HR profession. She has more than two decades of leadership and HR management experience with Fortune 500 organizations and in working as a trusted advisor and consultant to business leaders both in the U.S. and abroad. She is the founder and CEO of Results Performance Consulting, Inc., an HR consulting practice that specializes in providing HR expertise and guidance to employers doing business in the U.S.

She also provides targeted, result-focused leadership and professional development training programs.

Natalie routinely works with organizations to address destructive leadership behaviors and organization dysfunction. She consults with employers and designs customized training programs to help employers correct poor behaviors, minimize legal exposure, and improve performance and profitability. She is also the instructional designer/author of numerous HRCI accredited HR training programs that are marketed throughout the U.S., as well as the author of the book: How to Conduct Internal Investigations: A Practical Guide for HR Professionals, which has received excellent reviews. Her new book: How to Keep HR from Being the Employee Complaint Department is due to be released in early 2015.

Ms. Ivey is a dynamic and engaging speaker who is known for her sense of humor and 'tell-it-like-it-is' direct approach to teaching HR education. She is a frequent lecturer at university symposiums, is a guest speaker at SHRM conferences, and is a nationally known speaker who travels throughout the U.S. and abroad, speaking on a variety of topics to advance the HR profession.

Paul Flogstad

Paul Flogstad, a Certified Occupancy Specialist, Certified Manager of Housing, Certified Manager Of Maintenance, Site Based Budgeting Specialist, Tax Credit Specialist, Blended Occupancy Specialist, Certified Section 515 Specialist, RHM ( Registered Housing Manager) Professional Designation, Certified Instructor for South Dakota Real Estate Commission, Certified Instructor for North Dakota Real estate Commission and Certified Instructor for Minnesota Department of Commerce, has supervised properties in over 22 different states. He has spent the last 35 years in the real estate industry and has been involved in property development, compliance, marketing and training. Paul enjoys working with people and helping them be the best they can be.

He has also provided training and consulting services for property owners, managers, various real estate associations, as well as city, state and federal agencies.

Philip Vassallo

Philip Vassallo, Ed.D., has designed, delivered, and supervised communication training programs for more than 20,000 executive, managerial, supervisory, administrative, and technical professionals internationally over the past three decades. He is the author of the books How to Write Fast Under Pressure, The Art of E-Mail Writing, and The Art of On-the-Job Writing. He has edited major reports for the US government, City of New York, and the corporate world. He also writes the blog Words on the Line, which offers practical tips for developing writers. Dr. Vassallo has taught internationally, currently as a faculty member of the Beijing International MBA program.

Scot Scala

Scot Scala, M.Ed., GPC, and GPA Approved Trainer has been a fund development professional since 1990.  He is President and Senior Consultant of Scala & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in providing services to non-profit organizations.  With offices in Avon, CT and Fort Lauderdale, FL, the firm provides expertise in grant funding research and proposal design, board training and education, fund development planning, and capacity building.  In addition, Mr. Scala is an instructor for the University of Connecticut ‘Encore Hartford’ program where he trains professionals seeking to transition from the for-profit sector into the non-profit sector. 

Mr. Scala’s work engages him with clientele throughout the United States and organizations in Uganda, Mexico, and in particular, Haiti where he makes frequent visits and conducts mission work in support of K-12 education and nutrition programs.  He is an award winning consultant and highly-regarded lecturer who frequently presents top-rated workshops to regional, national, and international groups such as the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Soroptimist International of the Americas, and Grant Professionals Association.

Susan Fahey Desmond

Susan Fahey Desmond is a partner with Jackson Lewis, LLP, which has offices in over 54 cities across the United States. She has been representing management in all aspects of labor in employment law since 1985. She is listed in Best Lawyers in America and has been named by Chamber USA as one of America’s Leading Business Lawyers for labor and employment law. She is also listed in Mid-South Super Lawyers and Louisiana Super Lawyers.

Tom Esch

Tom Esch has been involved in courageous conversations since 1969 when a whiffle ball game ended badly.  Since then he has become a specialist in challenging situations and has inspired more than 20,000 people around the world with his messages. He has lived extensively in East Africa and spent time living in Guatemala.  He has worked, lived with and befriended people who are upper class, middle class and lower class.

Tom has two master’s degrees, one in Conflict Resolution from the Process Work Institute in Portland, Oregon and the other from the University of Notre Dame in S. Bend, Indiana. He currently is President of Esch Consulting, LLC, a business that helps people prevent and manage conflict especially when it is related to race and culture. See more at www.EschConsulting.com or [email protected].

Vince Marchesani

Vince Marchesani, Ph.D. is the presidentand CEO of Environmental, Health and Safety International  LLC. He also served as VP, Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) at Basell (retired). He has 30+ years of experience in the chemical industry. He obtained his BS and MS degrees from Drexel University and PhD degree from Rutgers University. Vince worked 11 years in the government, writing environmental regulations and holds five copyrights including three for the use of leading indicators to predict safety performance. He developed EHS performance improvement and crisis management systems and published numerous papers on EHS topics and have co-authored a book on air pollution management.

He has also published a book titled, “The Fundamentals of Crisis Management”. Vince has chaired numerous committees at the American Chemistry Council, and the Society for Plastic Industries in Washington, DC. He was instrumental in the design and implementation of EHS governance, management and leadership systems. He is married with three children, and is presently residing in Bonita Springs, Florida

Zach Jones

Zach Jones is an attorney with the firm of Stites & Harbison. Zach is an attorney with the firm of Stites & Harbison with offices serving Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia, greater Cincinnati, and the metropolis of Washington DC. Zach has experience representing nonprofits and government contractors. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Zach served in the United States Army and worked for a government contractor where he spent a considerable amount of time responding to government solicitations. Zach joined Stites & Harbison in 2013. Stites & Harbison traces its origins to 1832 and its members have included a United States Attorney General, State Supreme Court Justice, a Master Commissioner of the United States Supreme Court, and Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and state Attorney General. Stites & Harbison is a full service law firm with attorneys with specific experience in any number of industry and practice groups, including attorneys who serve as outside general counsel for national nonprofit organizations. Zach is a highly sought after author and speaker on a wide variety of legal topics. Zach is regularly asked to speak at national conferences and devotes a considerable amount of his spare time to educating and training non-lawyers on how to manage and avoid legal risk. When not practicing law, Zach can usually be found navigating the rivers and streams with his son and daughter somewhere in the southern states—most recently the Elk River below Tims Ford dam.