Staff & Board of Directors

Staff

Trish Tchume, YNPN National Director

After almost 8 years of engaging with the network as a volunteer, Trish Tchume is proud to be serving as the first-ever Director of YNPN National. Trish was introduced to the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) in 2004 as a founding board member of an affiliate group called Philadelphia’s Young Nonprofit Leaders. Since then, Trish has gone on to support a broader network of emerging leaders across the country by serving as a YNPN National board member from 2007 through 2011. During this time she held a number of key positions on the board including the role of National Board Chair during her final term.

Prior to becoming Director of YNPN in 2011, Trish served as Director of Civic Engagement for the Building Movement Project where she provided technical assistance, training, and developed publications for the growing movement of social service providers who are integrating social change values and practices into their daily work. Prior to joining the Building Movement Project in 2008, Trish served as a Campus Organizer, a Community Outreach Manager, and the Director of Training forIdealist.org following years spent doing community development work via city government and academia. Over the years, Trish has received a number of awards and recognitions for her engagement of young nonprofit professionals including her selection for the inaugural class of Independent Sector NGen Fellows in 2009.

When not dreaming up various ways to harness the power of emerging nonprofit leaders, Trish likes to help her fellow New Yorkers find their inner voice as a volunteer story coach with the Moth and regularly takes her life into her own hands biking and jogging through the streets of NYC. She equally credits her rich Jesuit education, her strong Ghanaian roots, and a severe case of middle child syndrome for her commitment to engaging as many people as possible in the important work of building a just and equitable society.

You can contact Trish at trish@ynpn.org and follow her on Twitter at @ttchume.

Caroline Bolas, YNPN National Administrative Consultant

has provided consultancy services to YNPN since 2009. Her role includes providing support to start up chapters,answering general queries, book keeping and generally doing a lot of the back end tasks that are so necessary to keep any organization
functioning.

Caroline served for two years on the board of YNPNdc and is still a committed chapter member. During her time on the DC board she introduced a management development program that provides emerging leaders with the opportunity to learn the essential skills
of managing within a non profit.

Caroline is the president of LEVELheaded Inc. LEVELheaded provides management consultancy, program evaluation and training services to non-profit and governmental organizations, supporting them to fulfill their mission and vision more effectively. More information about Caroline and LEVELheaded can be found at www.levelheaded.org.

Caroline moved to the USA from the UK in 2007. Despite living here for over 4 years she is still learning the language and on a daily basis discovers how American English is not the same as English English! However, she does find that her unintentional Briticisms cause much amusement to others!

Caroline can be contacted at info@ynpn.org

Dana Skallman, YNPN National Technology Consultant

Dana worked with YNPN National to setup and transition the website network to WordPress in 2010. She has since been providing ongoing support to chapters. Dana’s involvement in YNPN began in 2007 when she served as Treasurer for YNPN-NYC. She later became Co-Chair and served on the YNPN-NYC board for five years.

Dana works with open source technology to provide solutions to help meet organizational needs. She believes technology offers exciting opportunities for organizations to reach more people. She works with grassroots organizations to understand their goals and develop the information technology infrastructure to meet their needs. Dana coordinates between, designers, developers, organizations and end-users to ensure project goals are met. She enjoys providing individuals and organizations with the freedom to focus on their mission while leveraging what technology has to offer. You can read more about Dana’s work here: www.tadpole.cc

Dana can be contacted at webmaster@ynpn.org

Board of Directors

Lydia McCoy, YNPN National Board Chair

Lydia is committed to advancing a thriving, inclusive, and influential nonprofit community. Originally from New Orleans, Lydia has spent the last ten years engaging with the Denver area nonprofit sector in multiple capacities. She received her BA in Political Science from Tulane University and her Master of Nonprofit Management from Regis University. Lydia most recently served as Executive Director of the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition (CCIC), a statewide health advocacy organization. Currently, she serves as Executive Director of the Raymond Wentz Foundation. Lydia is currently the Secretary of the Colorado Nonprofit Association Board of Directors and Chair of the National Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) Board of Directors. During her career in the sector she has enjoyed the opportunity to work in a range of capacities on a variety of impact areas, including managing staff and volunteers, developing effective programming, and generating revenue for health, homelessness, child abuse, youth mentoring, public radio, and educational nonprofits. She participated in the El Pomar Nonprofit Executive Leadership Program, represented Colorado at the National Nonprofit Congress, and was a fellow with Social Venture Partners Denver, serving on the Grantmaking Committee. She has presented at local and national conferences and has consulted on nonprofit capacity-building, governance, advocacy, and emerging leadership.

Ese Emerhi, YNPN National Board Vice Chair

Ese is currently a knowledge management and community of practice specialist at The World Bank Institute working closing with clients to develop stronger and more effective communities of practice for their business needs. She is also currently serving as an organizational development consultant and strategist for Education for Hope and Vote or Quench respectively. For the past ten years she has worked in the public and non-profit sectors to build communities, develop strategies for human rights defenders and advocates and trained young people on civic engagement. She was worked with such organizations like Amnesty International USA, Freedom House, Independent Sector, and numerous state and national political campaigns. In her capacity as Legislative Aide for Senate Minority Leader C.J. Prentiss (Ohio), she 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. Ese is also a board member for the Washington Peace Center in DC, a board member of The Washington Peace Center in DC, and the founder of Ihreme Consulting.

Dan Blakemore, Fundraising Committee Chair

A passionate advocate for the fundraising profession and the non-profit sector overall, Dan Blakemore is Assistant Director of Development for Individual Giving at International House, a dynamic cross-cultural residential community for international graduate students in New York City. At I-House, Dan primarily works on annual fund appeals, the major and planned gift portfolios and all donor stewardship efforts. He writes a blog focused on fundraising and non-profit management issues, The Good Steward. Dan proudly serves on the boards of the Association of Prospect Researchers for Advancement of Greater New York and the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network. He is also an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Philanthropic Planning Group of Greater New York. When not fundraising, you can find Dan enjoying a good book, looking for a new recipe to try or continuing to trace his family history.

Cat Beltmann

Since June of 2008, Cat Beltmann has worked for the Citizens League, a nonprofit public policy and civic engagement organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota. She currently serves as their Membership and Engagement Manager. In this capacity, she works with their emerging leaders and membership committees on member recruitment and engagement efforts. She is also responsible for planning and executing events as well as serving as the project manager for the Minnesota Idea Open and other online competitions. These online competitions promote engagement among Minnesotans to address issues impacting their communities.

In the community, Cat has served on the board of the Twin Cities chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, and in June of 2012, she served as the Twin Cities City Coordinator for the German Marshall Fund’s Marshall Memorial Fellowship program. Cat has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Minnesota and is currently working towards a Masters in Nonprofit Management at Hamline University.

Kate Capossela, Board Development Committee Chair

Kate Capossela brings over a decade of nonprofit and corporate management experience and a deep commitment to strengthening nonprofit leadership. Currently, she serves as Regional Executive Officer at Playworks, an educational social enterprise using safe, inclusive, healthy play to transform school climate, reduce bullying, and restore teaching time. Kate is passionate about motivating and leading teams, and has worked across marketing, fundraising, finance, board development, and operations in San Francisco, Washington, DC, New York, and Europe, and most recently, in the consumer division of Johnson & Johnson. Kate is a California native and enjoys filling her weekends with hiking, running, discovering new art and theater, and games with friends. She is a long-time advocate for Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN). She lives in San Francisco.

Danielle Holly

Danielle Holly serves as the Executive Director at Common Impact and is spearheading Common Impact through its next phase of growth, innovation and service. Since 2007, Danielle has worked closely with Common Impact’s corporate partners to develop strategic partnerships with nonprofit organizations, maximize employees’ talents, and help them to achieve both their business and community impact goals. Danielle comes to Common Impact after working in the private sector for a brokerage firm in New York City. In this role, she was responsible for managing and maintaining broker and client relationships and overseeing charitable donations. Danielle also has several years of experience in the nonprofit community as a business consultant for multiple organizations. Danielle has earned her B.A. at Fordham University in New York City and an MBA in Marketing and International Management from Boston University. Before joining the YNPN National Board, she served on the YNPN Boston board for three years, and as board chair in her last year.

Lindsay Jensen, Treasurer

Lindsay is currently the Operations Manager for Earth Advantage Institute (EAI), a nonprofit focused on building sustainable

communities in Portland, OR. Before joining the EAI team Lindsay spent over 8 years working in the nonprofit sector in Boston, two of those years serving as an AmeriCorps member. She also served for two years on the YNPN Boston Board of Directors. Lindsay received her BA in Sociology from Seattle Pacific University and her MBA from Boston University with a dual concentration in Public and Nonprofit Management and Finance. She brings expertise in financial management, strategic planning, and community mobilizing. In her down time, Lindsay can be found enjoying Oregon’s microbrew scene, getting rowdy about soccer, singing in a community chorus, or telling hilarious jokes. She joined the YNPN National board in January 2013.

Justin Keller

Since 2012, Justin has worked for the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, where he plans and oversees the recruitment and outreach strategy of summer and afterschool feeding programs throughout Arkansas as part of the No Kid Hungry Campaign. He also acts as a liaison between the campaign and various stakeholders. In previous positions Justin was the Executive Director of the Pope & Yell County Single Parent Scholarship Fund and the State Campaign Director for Repower America. Justin also founded the River Valley Nonprofit Professionals Alliance, an organization committed to the development of and cooperation between nonprofit organizations in the Arkansas River Valley. In his free time he enjoys camping, his dog Dexter, live music, and cheering on the Razorbacks.

Stephanie Lin Miller

Since March of 2012, Stephanie Lin Miller has worked as the Grants Director at the Woodcock Foundation, a family foundation based in New York City. She worked in nonprofit organizations for over five years before coming to Woodcock. Most recently, she was employed by Isles, Inc., a community development/environmental nonprofit based in Trenton, New Jersey, for over two years. There, she held two positions: Business and Grants Manager for Isles’ YouthBuild Institute, the organization’s high school for at-risk Trenton teens; and Senior Financial Analyst. Stephanie also worked on the Development team at the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, the city’s umbrella organization for its 1,100+ food pantries and soup kitchens, for three years. She has also held finance roles at Johnson & Johnson, IDT Telecom, and Lehman Brothers. Stephanie has a BS from Rutgers University and an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business. And last, but certainly not least, from 2004-2007 Stephanie was heavily involved in YNPN-NYC, first as a volunteer, then as Board Secretary and finally as Board Co-Chair. Her time with YNPN-NYC is one of her most valuable and memorable professional development experiences to date.

Kari Mirkin, Chapter TA & Support Co-Chair

Kari Mirkin, Chapter Technical Assistance & Support Co-Chair

Kari Mirkin, a native of Youngstown, Ohio and lifelong history buff and museum junkie, has a passion for discovering innovative solutions to the challenges facing organizations that provide public access to education, the arts, and other historical and cultural assets. She has a bachelor’s degree in History and German Studies from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and a Master’s of Nonprofit Organizations from Case Western Reserve University. Her most recent position was with the Foundation Center’s Cleveland field office, assisting nonprofits seeking to increase foundation support, leading classes on proposal writing and budgeting, and coordinating the office’s own fundraising efforts. Before that, Kari worked as an intern at several organizations, including the Western Reserve Historical Society and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. As co-founder and president of YNPN Cleveland, she helped launch a successful mentor program and helmed the release of the 2011 report, Building a Career in Nonprofit Cleveland: Focus on the Nonprofit Identity. In addition to various volunteer roles, Kari spends time honing her skills as an aspiring chef and amateur television critic.

Darrell Scott

Darrell’s interests lie in creative models for civic engagement in the progressive movement, particularly in communities of color. Currently, he works for Accelerate Change, a civic ventures incubator, supported by the Center for Public Interest Research, that’s looking to scale social change through new models for organizing and social media. Prior to joining the team, Darrell was a Fellow with the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for two years. While there, he helped further social justice grantmaking, co-coordinated its Nonprofit Internship Program, and worked on the racial equity capacity building team. A native of Little Rock, AR, he graduated from Davidson College in 2010 with honors in Sociology and an Ethnic Studies Concentration. For his commitment to public service, Darrell received the Harry S. Truman Scholarship in 2009 and became a Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow. Outside of work, he volunteers with a number of nonprofit organizations and sits on the board of advisors for the Belk Scholarship program at Davidson College. Darrell resides Washington, D.C.

Jessie Singer, Secretary

Jessie Singer is the Executive Director of the San Diego chapter of the American Lung Association in California. Jessie is a new resident to San Diego, but has been involved with YNPN and its Phoenix chapter for the past few years.

Jessie graduated from the University of Arizona in Tucson (Go Wildcats!) with a degree in Spanish Literature and also earned her MBA shortly after that. Jessie’s most proud moment is being the inspiration of the “Singer Award” that is annually passed on recognizing someone’s outstanding leadership abilities at the University of Arizona. She is originally from the suburbs of Chicago before moving to Arizona to attend college and experience life on her own. You can take a girl out of Chicago, but you can never take Chicago out of the girl!

Jessie’s previous role was Executive Director at a Community Center just outside of Phoenix, AZ. She successfully took the Center from a place of nearly closing its doors to becoming a successful operation in just two years.

When she is not working, Jessie loves checking out movies as soon as they hit the theater, traveling to catch up with friends and family around the globe, and ensuring that her social media outlets are always updated with her life adventures. She also enjoys being very active in the community and is excited to jump into her role within the YNPN Board to enhance the platform that young professionals need to reach for the stars.

Qyana Stewart, Chapter TA & Support Co-Chair

Qyana Stewart, Chapter Technical Assistance & Support Co-Chair

A dedicated Board Governance professional, Qyana M. Stewart has worked in the nonprofit sector for nine years almost working exclusively in Board Governance. Previously the Board Administrator for Howard University, she currently serves as the Executive Assistant & Governance Specialist for the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society. Additionally, she works as a tutor with Wyzant, Inc. where she tutors students studying the German language. Qyana holds a Master’s of Science degree in Information Technology, a Graduate Certificate in Project Management from the University of Maryland University College and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Howard University. She is a professional member of the YNPNdc chapter, an Alumni AmeriCorp National Service member and a member of BoardSource. In her spare time, she enjoys all forms of dance, reading, spending time with family, friends and her six year old dog Marley, traveling and discovering new wineries and vineyards around the country.

Afi Tengue, Theory of Change Working Group Chair

As of early 2013, Afi has been working as an Associate with FSG Social Impact Advisors providing Strategic Planning, Evaluation, Shared Value and Collective Impact consulting services to nonprofit organizations. Prior to FSG, Afi worked with multiple philanthropic, nonprofit and government agencies including The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The American Red Cross and Teach For America among others. She received her MPA in Health Policy & Management with an International concentration in 2007 and her BA in Sociology in 2003.