January 12, 2024 | 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM ET | Virtual Event
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Session 1 Speaker Bios
Keesha Ceran, Associate Director | Teaching for Change
Nakeesha “Keesha” Jeanne Ceran serves as the Associate Director of Teaching for Change and is motivated by her passion for social justice to positively impact and influence her circles, both domestically and globally. She strives to present a mindset that focuses on equality and equity and is actively involved in community development, particularly as it relates to education policy, Haitian advocacy, and women’s interests in politics and racial reconciliation at the intersection of faith. A first-generation American of Haitian immigrants, Keesha has lived in many parts of the U.S. An Ohio native, Keesha grew up in a college town, spent her adolescence and first few years of college in California, and a year with family in New York before settling in the D.C. Metro area since 2008.
Keesha holds three degrees in Political Science and is a proud community college graduate and a double alumna of American University. Keesha represented Teaching for Change at Busboys and Poets by interviewing political sportswriter, Dave Zirin (2021 interview), and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Nikole Hannah-Jones (2021 interview). Keesha is also the American University 2023 MLK Jr. Visionary Award recipient.
A lover of words, you’ll often find Keesha with a book in hand, taking notes with her colorful pens. Keesha enjoys running, listening to music, and traveling, among many other interests.
Nina Stein, Investment Analyst | The Nature Conservancy
Nina Stein joined The Nature Conservancy in July 2021 and serves as an Investment Analyst. Her primary responsibilities include assisting with manager selection, monitoring and maximizing impact within TNC’s impact and diversity strategies. Nina also supports the endowment’s co-investment program where they invest directly into mission-aligned, venture-backed climate companies.
David Mallory, Director of Annual Giving & Community Engagement | Whitman-Walker Foundation
David Mallory is the Director of Annual Giving & Community Partnerships at Whitman-Walker, a community health center with multiple locations in Washington, D.C. recognized nationally as a leader in providing affirming quality care to all with a specialty in LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS care. Now in his 19th year at Whitman-Walker, Dave manages direct response fundraising including mail and digital, planned giving, corporate engagement and special events. Prior to Whitman-Walker, Dave was an event director & volunteer manager for multiple non-profit peer-to-peer fundraisers. His decades of work in the local community as an organizer, volunteer, fundraiser, and advocate have included leadership roles such as director of both Capital Pride and AIDS Walk Washington. Born and raised in Northern Virginia, he has called Arlington home for over 30 years.
Erika Debrick Kelly, Chief Government and External Affairs Officer | Meals on Wheels America
Erika is the Chief Government and External Affairs Officer at Meals on Wheels America. In this position, she oversees all advocacy campaigns and initiatives designed to support and strengthen the nationwide network of senior nutrition programs and the individuals they serve. Erika is responsible for building partnerships and coalitions and representing Meals on Wheels America and local programs before Congress, the Administration, anti-hunger and aging advocates and other audiences to achieve legislative and policy priorities. In short, Erika works each day to raise awareness about the issues of senior hunger and isolation and turn our vision of an America in which all seniors live nourished lives with independence and dignity into a reality.
Prior to joining Meals on Wheels America in January 2011, Erika worked as a Legislative Assistant for Congressman Ike Skelton of Missouri. Her legislative portfolio on Capitol Hill focused on hunger, poverty, welfare and human services, education, among others. Erika graduated from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, with a BA in Social Sciences and completed minors in politics, economics and secondary education.
Session 2 Mentor Bios
Dustin Kight, Senior Vice President | M+R
Dustin came to M+R in 2012 from the marketing and communications teams at AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts and Family Equality Council, a national LGBTQ family rights organization. His clients are Planned Parenthood, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Trust for Public Land. He previously worked with Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Mercy Corps, The Nature Conservancy, AARP, CARE, National Geographic Society, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, The Humane Society of the United States, McKesson Foundation, Oxfam America, and Human Rights Campaign. A South Carolina native, Dustin now lives in Portland, OR.
Monica Muten, Senior Director, Direct Response Marketing | Special Olympics
Monica Muten is currently the Sr. Director, Direct Response Marketing at Special Olympics and has been a fundraising professional with more than fifteen years of experience. She recently joined Special Olympics in 2018 and is focused primarily on developing and driving strategy for the direct mail, telemarketing, and sustainer programs.
Prior to Special Olympics, Monica spent ten years with the National Wildlife Federation in a range of roles specializing in monthly sustainers, telemarketing, donor appeals, acquisition, and renewals. She also spent several years working at a direct response fundraising agency where she executed campaign strategies for non-profit organizations like Amnesty International, Environmental Defense, Children’s Defense Fund, Public Citizen, along with many others. Monica has dedicated her career to the non-profit sector and enjoys working on all aspects of direct response but is most passionate about building strong monthly donor programs.
Preeti Desai, Senior Director, Social Media & Storytelling | National Audubon Society
Preeti Desai is a creative communicator with over a decade of experience working with organizations and brands in both nonprofit and for-profit spaces. Currently, she is the Senior Director of Social Media & Storytelling at the National Audubon Society where she leads the effort to help birds and the places they need by telling Audubon’s story across a contemporary social media ecosystem. This includes setting the social media vision and strategy for the nonprofit’s conservation, advocacy, and engagement efforts, as well as acting as a resource for Audubon’s nationwide network of chapters, centers, and regional offices.
Prior to joining Audubon, Preeti managed social media for Greenpeace USA, and also has extensive experience in consumer and social media research through stints at companies such as 360i and Nielsen. Her experience also includes change management consulting at both boutique and large-scale consulting companies. She is on the board of Wild Bird Research Group, a New Jersey-based nonprofit that is dedicated to conducting science, building knowledge, and fostering appreciation for the conservation of wild birds. When she’s not working (and sometimes even when she is), Preeti enjoys photography, reading, and traveling.
Mark Micali, Vice President, Government Affairs | The Nonprofit Alliance
Mark supports TNPA’s advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill. He has a long career in government affairs, including serving as the Direct Marketing Association’s Vice President, Government Affairs from 1992 to 2008. During his tenure at DMA, Mark represented the Association on its full range legislative issues before Capitol Hill. Mark also created and coordinated DMA’s “Capitol Hill Days” program, which brought industry executives to Washington to lobby members of the House and Senate important to the direct marketing industry. Earlier in his career, Mark worked for six years on Capitol Hill for the late Congressman Dan Rostenkowski of Illinois, the then-chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee. In 2020, Mark was named Leading Lobbyist by Association TRENDS for his work with TNPA to promote and protect nonprofit interests on the Hill. Mark’s not one for sitting still and is often spotted on a tennis court with his wife, the Colorado ski slopes with their two sons, or in an airport en route to their next travel adventure.
Diane Renaud, Executive Director & CEO | St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center
Diane Renaud has worked in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors for more than 37 years, developing a unique perspective and history of effective and cost-efficient community programs. Ranging from national marketing programs to grass-roots efforts, Renaud has a strong history in developing and managing strategic partnerships between community organizations and the for-profit sector, as well as learning and respecting the various components of an organization’s operations. Having worked in several non-profit sectors, she has extrapolated management lessons that have been extremely beneficial to her organization’s culture. And she shares those insights and tools to mentor and support colleagues, as well as those entering the non-profit field. A strong advocate for collaboration, Renaud believes that no organization can work in a silo and that relationships are paramount to success. Renaud received both her Bachelors (Major – Psychology, Minor – Criminal Justice) and Masters (Hybrid MBA/MSW) degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit. Since 2010, she has managed an educational non-profit in Detroit, serving the low-income community.
