Staff and Board of Directors

Kim Caldwell joined the Center for Best Practices at Share Our Strength in 2011 after completing her Master in Public Service at the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Arkansas. There, she worked with the No Kid Hungry Campaign Arkansas to design and complete a community assessment that mapped resources to end hunger throughout the state. Prior to attending the Clinton School, Kim spent four years at Greenlights for NonProfit Success, a management support organization in Austin, Texas. As a consultant, she worked on capacity building projects for local nonprofits and created new resources for board development. Kim has served many roles on the national board of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, including Treasurers, Vice Chair and Interim Chair. A native of Austin, Kim earned a BS in Public Relations from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dan is a currently a first-year MBA student at the Yale School of Management, where he is learning to apply core management skills to a career focused on maximizing social impact. Before Yale, Dan spent five years in DC helping to grow entrepreneurial nonprofits. As part of College Summit’s national development and growth strategy teams, Dan helped launch new sites, led strategy for engaging the organization’s national network of college partners, staffed senior executives on key projects, and stewarded College Summit’s relationship with the Gates Foundation. Simultaneously, Dan was an active member of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of DC (YNPNdc) Board of Directors, serving as Co-Chair in 2008-09 to round out his three-year tenure. In this role, Dan oversaw a 20-person board that tripled earned revenue and increased membership by 50% and programming by 33% in one year.

Ese S. Emerhi is a Program Officer in the Exchanges Department at Freedom House, where she works closely with the Middle East and North Africa region to provide two-way professional exchanges for human rights advocates and defenders. Prior to that, she served as the Program Manager for the Washington Academic Internship Program of the John Glenn School of Public Policy. Before moving to Washington, D.C., she worked as Legislative Aide to Ohio Senate Minority Leader Senator C.J. Prentiss (D-OH) for five years. In her capacity as Legislative Aide, Ms. Emerhi edited the National Black Caucus of State Legislators white paper entitled ‘Closing the Achievement Gap – Improving Educational Outcomes for African American Students’ 2001. The white paper highlighted the vast disparity in education between black and white students and outlined possible solutions to closing the widening gap in education.

Rachel Herman has worked in the Major Gifts department at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) since 2008, where she is responsible for preparing and implementing a strategic plan for cultivation and solicitation of a portfolio of approximately 200 high level donor prospects. She is also Founder and President of PAWS NY, a nonprofit organization that provides pet care assistance to needy New Yorkers who are at risk of losing their pets. PAWS NY focuses on helping low-income seniors, individuals with disabilities, and people suffering from illness. Ms. Herman received her B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Crime and Justice from the University of Michigan and her Master of Public Administration from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where she specialized in Nonprofit Management and Policy.

Danielle Holly serves as the Marketing Consultant at Common Impact. In this capacity, she works with nonprofit organizations to develop a strategic approach to their messaging and overall marketing efforts. Her client work includes facilitating conversations about organizational identity, conducting market research, and assessing the effectiveness of marketing materials. Danielle also manages teams of volunteer-consultants who help to implement capacity building projects for her nonprofit clients. Danielle has an MBA from Boston University focused on nonprofit management and marketing. Before joining the YNPN National Board, she served on the YNPN Boston board for three years, and as board chair in her last year.

As Executive Director, Lydia has led the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition’s efforts to promote vaccination through education and advocacy since 2007. Lydia previously worked as Capital Campaign Coordinator for The Gathering Place- a homeless women’s shelter in Denver- and has experience working in fund development and program management for art education, public radio, and child welfare nonprofits in New Orleans and Denver. Lydia has a BA in Political Science from Tulane University and Master of Nonprofit Management from Regis University. Recently, she has served on the Strategic Planning Committee for Regis University’s MNM program, the Leadership Advisory Council for the Colorado Nonprofit Association, was a Fellow with Social Venture Partners Denver, and participated in the El Pomar Nonprofit Executive Leadership Program. She currently sits on the Governor’s Vaccine Advisory Committee for Colorado, on the Board of the Colorado Nonprofit Association, and is past President of YNPN Denver. She also enjoys the occasional onomatopoeia. Pow!

Tera is a Program Coordinator at the Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University. In her work, Tera manages the website npgoodpractice.org, manages marketing and communications for the Center, co-facilitates the Encore Coming of Age Learning Lab, and provides technical assistance to local nonprofit organizations in the areas of social media, volunteer management, capacity building, strategic planning, and governance. As a member of the community Tera is currently serving as the Vice President of the League of Women Voters Grand Rapids, is founder and co-chair of YNPN of Greater Grand Rapids, and is a member of the Independent Sector NGen Planning Committee. Tera has her B.S. from Grand Valley State University in Public and Nonprofit Administration with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management and is currently working on her MPA at Grand Valley in Nonprofit Management. A proud citizen of Michigan, Tera has lived in West Michigan her entire life and now resides in Grand Rapids with her husband Rob, their great dane Penny, and cat Lucy.

In her role as the Minnesota Jaycees executive director, Trisha supports the implementation and direction of the strategic plan, communications, fundraising, and new program development. The Minnesota Jaycees is a statewide membership organization that focuses on leadership development for young adults through project management in the community. Trisha has a background in leadership development programs for young professionals. Trisha managed the Partners Internship Program at HECUA – the Higher Education Consortium of Urban Affairs, an undergraduate internship program for young people interested in working in nonprofits. Before joining HECUA, she worked for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits assisting with membership management, event planning, and marketing coordination. She currently serves as a Minnesota Rising council member and supports efforts to connect and build collaboration among the young professionals organizations in the Twin Cities. Trisha graduated from St. Olaf College with a degree in political science and recently finished her M.A. in Nonprofit Management at Hamline University.

Yesenia Sotelo was named after a Spanish-language soap opera from the 1970s. Yesenia is Director of New Media at Jasculca/Terman and Associates, a strategic communications firm. She previously served as Heartland Alliance’s first Manager of Interactive and New Media and as Director of Technology and Membership for the ACLU of Illinois. Yesenia has worked for nonprofits since 2001 in technology, development, communications and advocacy. She also serves as the ex-oficio board member for YNPN Chicago, where she previously served as executive co-chair. Yesenia is fond of Indian food, BBC television, National Public Radio, Unibroue beers, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Battlestar Galactica, National League baseball, Superdawg, Doctor Who, blue states and cherry pie.