Meet the 2019 Speakers!
Keynote Speakers:
Diana Bucco is the President of the Buhl Foundation where she has led the revisioning of the Foundation’s new strategy and approach to philanthropy, including its focus on community-driven neighborhood revitalization. Prior, she was the President of The Forbes Funds, a Pittsburgh based organization that supports nonprofit capacity building through grantmaking. During her tenure, The Forbes Fund became a leader in supporting Strategic Restructuring, Fiscal Modeling, and Advocacy on behalf of the nonprofit sector. She also launched the Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership, a coalition of 350 nonprofit organizations that have joined together to create a unified voice for the sector. Read MORE…
Kathleen Enright is the President & CEO of the Council on Foundations. Widely respected for her role in creating a more robust, effective philanthropic and nonprofit sector over two decades as a mission-driven leader and coalition builder, Kathleen joins the Council after 17 years as President & CEO of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO). During her tenure, she guided GEO to a programmatically strong and financially healthy position, an experience she brings to her new role leading the Council on Foundations. Read MORE…
Dr. Michelle Foster is the President & CEO of The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation (TGKVF). Before joining TGKVF, Michelle was the CEO of the Kanawha Institute for Social Research & Action, Inc. (KISRA), a community based, a non-profit organization that strengthens West Virginia Families through health, employment, asset development, and learning initiatives. Michelle’s original career was as a chemical engineer, most recently at Union Carbide Corporation. Read MORE…
Breakout Session Speakers:
Ellen Allen
Appointed by Governor Manchin, Ellen has served on the WV Human Rights Commission and the WV Women’s Commission. Before joining Covenant House, Ellen served as the director of the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program in Charleston and the Executive Director of the Family Refuge Center in Lewisburg. Read MORE…
Sarah Barton
Sarah is the Senior Projects Manager for Coplin Health Systems, a nonprofit federally funded health care center serving Jackson, Wirt, and Wood Counties, WV and Meigs County Ohio. Her role is to identify and support partnerships throughout the region and to identify funding opportunities to expand and enhance services. Read MORE…
Kelly Castleberry, III
With over 30 years of experience, Kelly takes a holistic approach in consulting to high net worth families. He understands that more than a strictly investment-centric approach is required to help meet the multi-generational needs of wealthy families. He brings advanced competencies to the table that address wealth transference, gifting, and philanthropic services, family governance and dynamics, and trust services. Read MORE…
Amber Davis
Amber Davis is the Co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and Supervised Psychologist for Harmony Mental Health, Inc.. In 2005 Amber earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from West Virginia University, where she was a McNair Scholar and was awarded the Eberly College of Arts and Science Outstanding Senior in Psychology Award. She obtained her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Marshall University in 2012. Read MORE…
Stacy DeCicco
Stacy is an alum of West Virginia University and has a background in Early Childhood Education. She spent nearly 20 years in the classroom and as a small business owner before crashing into the non-profit world. She has served as a board member and director of small non-profits before coming to the United Way. Read MORE…
Amy Elliott
As a native of Williamstown, West Virginia, Amy comes to Nonprofit LEAD with an extensive background in facilitating organizational and personal change and development, as well as experience in almost every aspect of nonprofit structure and leadership. She has owned and operated her own company, serving as an ISO 9000 consultant for businesses and as a public speaking instructor on the collegiate level. Read MORE…
Senta Goudy
Senta returned to her hometown of Parkersburg in 2014 to work with her alma mater, West Virginia University at Parkersburg, formerly Parkersburg Community College. After graduating from there, and then Marshall University in 1979, she worked briefly as a newspaper reporter at the Parkersburg Sentinel and then moved to Florida to work for the Daytona Beach News Journal. Read MORE…
Marten Jenkins
Martin leads the Natural Capital Investment Fund, a subsidiary of The Conservation Fund. In addition to his work for the NCIFund, Marten serves on the board of Appalachian Community Capital and CEI Capital Management, LLC and on the WV Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s Advisory Board. Read MORE…
Rebekah D. Mathis-Stump (Becky) is the Chief Operating Officer of Ethos Leadership Group, LLC. She has a rich background in leadership, strategic analysis and planning, organizational development, governance, and communication. Becky earned a life membership in The Order of the Barristers, a national honor society recognizing excellence in oral advocacy, while completing a doctorate of jurisprudence at West Virginia University College of Law. Becky is married to West Virginia native, Jeff Stump, and spends a good portion of her free time with him – golfing or cheering on the Mountaineers.
George Montgomery, II
George is a federal employee working at West Virginia State University in Institue, WV. His academic background is root in Agricultural Studies. He received a B.S. degree in Agronomy at Alcorn State University and M.S. degree in Soil Science, concentrating in Soil Physics, from the University of Arkansas. He has served the public through the United States Departement of Agriculture for 21 years. The various academic and professional achievement experiences are the results of a community’s input of key standards and work ethic. Read MORE…
Tres Ross, Executive Director with The Ross Foundation
Melissa Sines
Melissa Sines is Programs and Knowledge Director at PEAK Grantmaking. This position leads PEAK Grantmaking’s work to identify effective, efficient, and equitable philanthropic practices and advocate for their adoption by grantmakers. This role combines two important functions: Developing strong strategies and partnerships in order to raise awareness of our practice work and increase our impact in the sector and to develop our knowledge base of the current and changing state of practice in the field. Melissa started at PEAK Grantmaking as the Effective Practices Program Manager in 2018. Read MORE…
John Tyler
John Tyler joined the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in 1999 as its general counsel and secretary. In 2004, he became (and remains) its first chief ethics officer. The Foundation fosters economic independence by advancing educational achievement and entrepreneurial success through its grantmaking and by directly operating programs, including a charter school and a program to facilitate access to capital for certain entrepreneurs. Read MORE…
Dr. Usha Vasan
Usha Vasan obtained her medical degree from Mysore Medical College, India in 1974 and moved to the United States in 1975 where she did a residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric hematology and oncology. Prior to moving to Parkersburg, Usha did lab research for three years at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD. Usha keeps busy doing volunteer work in both India and the US with various organizations. Read MORE…
Jennifer Wells
Jennifer Wells, MSW, is both an experienced organizer and a social worker. With an extensive background working in child welfare, juvenile justice, community services, program development, and fundraising, Jennifer brings a skilled and multi-layered lens to her social justice and organizing work. Read MORE…
Michael Whalton, Executive Director with the Eastern WV Community Foundation. Michael is orginally from Key West, Florida where, in the 1980s, he as the general manager of Sloppy Joe’s Bar and the founder of the Hemingway Days Festival. He and his wife Susan moved to Hedgesville, in the Eastern Panhandle of WV, 24 years ago and have lived quitely on a 54-acre farm ever since. Read MORE…
Brett White
Brett is the 15th Executive Director of the United Way of Marion & Taylor Counties. Prior to his current role, he was the Director of Development and Communications at the United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties, where he oversaw the $1.5 million dollar fundraising campaign. Before joining the United Way family, he was the Program Coordinator at the WVU Center for Civic Engagement. Read MORE…