Northern California Philanthropy Summit – SESSIONS & SPEAKERS

Meet the Summit Speakers

The Northern California Philanthropy Summit brings together experienced practitioners, consultants, nonprofit executives, and philanthropic leaders for a full day of practical, Bay Area-focused learning.

From major gifts and board fundraising to corporate partnerships, organizational collaboration, AI governance, and long-term financial sustainability, our speakers are bringing real-world experience and tools attendees can put to work immediately.

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Karolo Aparicio, CFRE, CAP®, Development Officer, The San Francisco Foundation

SESSION TOPIC: Using Agency Funds to Build Long-Term Nonprofit Sustainability
Karolo has led fundraising at organizations including GRID Alternatives, Global Fund for Women, International Rivers, and the Sierra Club and serves as a Development Officer at The San Francisco Foundation. Together with Dulce Torres-Petty, he’ll explore how nonprofits can use agency funds at community foundations to strengthen long-term sustainability, manage risk, and grow charitable assets. Featuring Tandem’s experience establishing a $2 million fund following an award from MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving Open Call, the session will provide practical considerations for stewarding transformational gifts for lasting impact.

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Ken Levin, Director of Philanthropy, Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream

SESSION TOPIC: The Best Fundraising Idea I Ever Stole
Ken brings more than 20 years of fundraising and nonprofit leadership experience across early childhood literacy, social services, food security, and the arts, including development leadership roles at GLIDE Foundation and the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.
In this highly interactive peer-learning workshop, participants will exchange proven practices covering stewardship, donor engagement, AI, board partnerships, productivity, and more—and leave with an action plan for putting their favorite ideas into practice.

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Sari McConnell, CFRE, MBA, Founder & Principal Consultant, Donor Boom

SESSION TOPIC: How to Become a Generosity Guide: The Major Gifts Playbook for the OBBBA Tax Law
Sari founded Donor Boom, a data-driven fundraising consulting firm helping nonprofits grow revenue. Her thought leadership on fundraising and becoming a Generosity Guide™ has been featured by organizations including Bloomerang and AFP Global. She also serves as Treasurer of AFP Golden Gate and on AFP Global’s Finance Committee. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is changing charitable tax incentives for major donors. Sari will help fundraisers understand what changed, confidently guide donors toward tax-smart generosity, and use the Generosity Guide™ playbook to move conversations from disposable-income giving toward wealth-based philanthropy.

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Theresa Nelson, MBA, CFRE, Founder & Principal, Theresa Nelson & Associates

SESSION TOPIC: Major Gifts: Everyone – Including Your Board – Has A Role to Play
Theresa brings 30 years of nonprofit experience in campaigns, fundraising, board governance, strategic planning, and executive leadership. Her clients have included Cal Performances, GLIDE Foundation, UC Berkeley, Save the Bay, and the California Academy of Sciences.
Theresa will provide a practical roadmap for major gift solicitation, including how to prepare Board members to become confident partners in face-to-face asks. Attendees will put the process into practice through an interactive solicitation exercise.

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Jennie Winton, Co-Founder & CEO, Mission Minded

SESSION TOPIC: The New Rules of Fundraising: How to Build a Case That Inspires Donors to Act
Sponsored by Mission Minded
Jennie is Co-Founder and CEO of Mission Minded, a nationally recognized brand strategy and creative agency serving nonprofits and independent schools. She has helped hundreds of organizations clarify their purpose, articulate bold fundraising visions, and inspire greater philanthropic investment. Donors haven’t stopped caring—but they’re making decisions differently. Jennie will share what today’s most successful fundraising campaigns do differently and how to build a case for support that earns attention, builds trust, and inspires giving. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for strengthening their messaging, differentiating their organizations, and creating fundraising communications that motivate donors to act.

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Maria Pappas, Facilitator & Trainer, Collaborative Commons

SESSION TOPIC: Radical Collaboration: Breaking Down Silos to Advance Your Mission
Maria brings more than 30 years of nonprofit leadership experience. As Chief Philanthropy Officer at The Tech Interactive, she raised $170 million from more than 30,000 donors and today trains organizations in Radical Collaboration®. This interactive session introduces practical tools from Radical Collaboration® to build trust, reduce defensiveness, strengthen cross-functional relationships, and turn conflict into productive dialogue.

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Shannon Petrello, Founder & CEO, Gravity Collective

SESSION TOPIC: From Obligation to Ownership: A Framework for Effective Board Fundraising
Shannon has raised more than $300 million across 40+ nonprofits, directed a $150 million capital campaign, and trained more than 100 Board members across the country. Through Gravity Collective, she works with nonprofit leaders and Boards on major gifts, campaigns, and fundraising strategy. Shannon introduces the Compass, Competence, Culture framework to help organizations diagnose what is missing and build structures that move Board fundraising from obligation to genuine ownership.

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Gayle Roberts, Principal, Fundraising for Change, LLC

SESSION TOPIC: SMART.AI in 60 Minutes: A Six-Step Governance Framework You Can Start Monday
Gayle is a fundraising and AI strategy consultant, interim executive, Co-Founder of AIxImpact, and OpenAI Forum leader who has helped raise more than $200 million. Gayle introduces SMART.AI, a practical six-step framework for identifying existing AI use, assessing risk, establishing accountability, piloting responsibly, measuring impact, and creating an organizational AI policy grounded in actual experience.

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Dulce Torres-Petty, Executive Director, Tandem Partners in Early Learning

SESSION TOPIC: Using Agency Funds to Build Long-Term Nonprofit Sustainability
Dulce leads Tandem Partners in Early Learning and has spent two decades strengthening early learning and family well-being in communities experiencing systemic inequities. Together with Karolo Aparicio, she’ll explore how nonprofits can use agency funds at community foundations to strengthen long-term sustainability, manage risk, and grow charitable assets. Their session features Tandem’s experience establishing a $2 million fund following an award from MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving Open Call.

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Laksmi Lagares, Vice President of Development, Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY)

SESSION TOPIC: The Mutual Value Audit: Reframing Corporate Partnerships for Sustainable Impact
Laksmi Lagares is a growth and strategy executive with 20+ years of experience across business, financial services, government, philanthropy, consulting, and the nonprofit sector. As Vice President of Development at FLY, she leads revenue strategy and builds donor, foundation, corporate, and government partnerships to expand opportunity for justice-impacted youth. Throughout her career, Laksmi has mobilized more than $400 million in capital across financial services, philanthropic investment, public-sector initiatives, real estate, and strategic partnerships, including helping secure more than $117 million in state funding for community-centered initiatives. She also served as Founding Curator of the Oakland Hub of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community. A relationship-driven strategist, Laksmi brings a cross-sector perspective to fundraising, with a focus on connecting people, resources, and ideas to turn opportunity into measurable impact. Corporate and public partnerships are among the most powerful and most misunderstood tools in a fundraiser’s toolkit. Too often, nonprofits approach these relationships with their hand out rather than their value proposition forward. The Mutual Value Audit changes that. In this interactive workshop, VP of Development Laksmi Lagares introduces a practical framework for building cross-sector partnerships that deliver genuine return for both sides of the table. Drawing on experience cultivating relationships across corporate, legal, government, and philanthropic sectors, participants will leave with a completed audit draft, a tiered partnership structure, and a replicable process for turning one-time gifts into anchor investments.

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