Contributor

Caren Yanis is a philanthropy sherpa, helping families plan a philanthropic journey that brings them together, ensures they have the tools they need, and prepares them for collective success. She honed her skills running the Oprah Winfrey Foundations during the period of Oprah’s Angel Network. The Oprah Winfrey Foundations partnered with the Nelson Mandela Foundation on Oprah’s school building projects… Read More

Broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff is the Co-Anchor and Managing Editor of the PBS NewsHour with Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff. She has covered politics and other news for more than three decades at CNN, NBC and PBS. For 12 years, Woodruff served as anchor and senior correspondent for CNN, where her duties included anchoring the weekday program, “Inside Politics.” At… Read More

Lowell Weiss is President of Cascade Philanthropy Advisors, Inc., where he provides personalized guidance to foundations and individual donors seeking to deepen their impact, with services ranging from designing new initiatives to implementing focused advocacy efforts to engaging next-generation family members. Previously, he served in a leadership role at one of the world’s foremost change-making institutions, the Bill & Melinda… Read More

Maria Lopez Vento is Vice President of Programs and Partnerships at the Helen Bader Foundation. A Foundation team member since our first year of operation, Maria provides strategic guidance to program staff working on aging, employment, youth, and other key program interests. In addition, she directs various Foundation efforts to enhance Milwaukee education, bring arts to underserved audiences, and support… Read More

Jackie VanderBrug is a Senior Vice President in the Portfolio Analytics, consulting and Institutional Group at U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management. She is responsible for formulating and developing the firm’s values based investing strategy as well as the product offerings across asset classes that align with our client’s objectives. Prior to joining U.S. Trust, Jackie was Managing… Read More

Lucas St. Clair was born and raised into a subsistence living family in the North Woods of Maine. He had no running water and no electricity for most of his child hood. He left that lifestyle to attend a boarding school in the Western Mountains of Maine. He went on to study aboard and pursued a Culinary Arts degree at… Read More

Tom Tierney is a recognized leader in serving the nonprofit sector. In 1999, he co-founded The Bridgespan Group, an independent, nonprofit organization that collaborates with mission-driven leaders and organizations to help accelerate social impact. During 2000, he stepped down as Bain & Company’s chief executive to concentrate solely on Bridgespan- related activities. Tom frequently speaks and writes on a variety… Read More

Kristy Teskey is Executive Director of the John M. Belk Endowment and a strong education champion. Over the past 22 years she has worked on vital issues across the education and workforce development continuum, ranging from early childhood development to postsecondary access and completion, with a concentration on community colleges and first- generation students. Kristy joined the Endowment in August… Read More

Bradford K. Smith is president of the Foundation Center, the leading source of information about philanthropy worldwide. The Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. and, increasingly, global grantmakers—a robust, accessible knowledge bank for the sector, together with research, education and training programs designed to advance knowledge of philanthropy. Before joining the Foundation Center in 2008, Mr. Smith was… Read More

Amy Segal Shorey is a senior grantmaker and philanthropic advisor at GMA Foundations. As an advisor, she supports boards of trustees in strategic development and governance. Her experience as a member of Yale’s first coed freshman class, and being the mother of two daughters inspires her continuing interest in girls’ empowerment… Read More