Ask The Experts 2026 Speakers & Sessions
More session information will be added as we receive it!
BREAKFAST KEYNOTE (9:00 - 10:00 a.m.)
BREAKOUT SESSIONS (10:30 - 11:30 a.m.)
Option #1
From Burnout to Breakthrough: Emotional Intelligence for Sustainable Nonprofit Leadership
Speaker: Jeff Frey, PhD, FurtherFaster
Nonprofit leaders and development professionals work in emotionally demanding environments where mission-driven work, donor expectations, and constant urgency can lead to burnout and compassion fatigue. This session explores how emotional intelligence can help nonprofit professionals sustain energy, resilience, and effectiveness while continuing to serve their mission. Drawing from research and leadership experience, participants will learn practical strategies to manage stress, strengthen relationships with donors and colleagues, and lead in ways that support long-term wellbeing and impact.
Option #2
Using AI as Your Alignment Tool, Not Your Autopilot
Speaker: Kim Torres, Thrive Nonprofit Solutions
This session will reframe AI as a strategic intelligence tool rather than a shortcut for drafting proposals. As funders and grant reviewers report an increase in generic, AI-assisted applications, grant professionals must learn to use AI not to simply write more proposals, but to craft increasingly aligned and competitive stories.
Participants will explore how to use AI to analyze funder giving history, stated priorities, board affiliations, public communications, and broader community or sector gaps. The session will demonstrate how to prompt AI to analyze funder interests, anticipate reviewer concerns, and generate candid, reviewer-style feedback. Participants will also learn how to use AI-generated language to identify generic phrasing and overused wording so they can intentionally differentiate their proposals from competitors. The format will include live demonstrations and guided walkthroughs of prompts. Attendees will leave with templates for prompting that can be applied immediately. Importantly, we will also address ethical data practices and safeguards when using AI. We will discuss confidentiality considerations and responsible handling of organizational and funder data. By the end of the session, participants will have a clear framework for using AI to enhance the competitive edge of their grant proposals without sacrificing authenticity, specificity, or integrity.
Option #3
Scaling a Small Development Office - Using Responsible AI to Increase Capacity and Results
Speaker: Denise B. Lawrence, Denise B. Lawrence & Associates, LLC
Many nonprofit organizations rely on a single development professional to manage the full scope of fundraising—grants, donor relations, events, and strategy—often with limited time and resources. This “one-person shop” model creates significant pressure to deliver results while maintaining quality, consistency, and donor trust. This session provides a practical framework for how solo fundraising professionals can responsibly integrate artificial intelligence into their daily operations to expand capacity, reduce administrative burden, and improve fundraising outcomes. Rather than replacing the relational core of fundraising, AI is positioned as a strategic support tool to streamline prospect research, accelerate grant development, and enhance donor cultivation and stewardship.
Participants will explore real-world use cases tailored to internal nonprofit roles, along with clear guidance on ethical considerations, data integrity, and the maintenance of authenticity in donor engagement. The session focuses on realistic implementation, what can be done immediately within existing constraints, to help development professionals move from overwhelm to a more sustainable and effective model. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to strengthen performance, improve efficiency, and build a more resilient fundraising function without increasing headcount.
Option #4
Hear Now, Decide Better: A Foresight Framework for Fundraisers
Speakers: Ashley Chiarelli, Kirksey; Janis Brackett, Partner & Managing Director, Community Practice, Kirksey
Your donors, volunteers, board members, and community all have something to tell you about the future of your organization — but most of us don't have a structured way to hear it, synthesize it, and turn it into a decision. This session introduces strategic foresight as a practical methodology for doing exactly that: gathering stakeholder and community voices, making sense of what they're signaling about the future, and translating those signals into decisions your leadership can actually commit to.
Attendees will learn how to design stakeholder engagement that goes beyond surface-level feedback — asking not just what people need today, but what they value, what they fear, and what they see changing. They'll explore how to synthesize those inputs across competing priorities and use them to build shared organizational direction, not just for the next campaign, but across multiple possible futures. And they'll see how this approach has worked in real organizations — from community colleges redefining who they serve, to institutions aligning hundreds of stakeholders around a single preferred future — with direct implications for how fundraising professionals can strengthen donor relationships, build the case for campaigns, and lead through uncertainty. This is not a theoretical session. Attendees will leave with a framework they can apply immediately, whether they're preparing for a major gifts campaign, navigating a leadership transition, or simply trying to understand what their community actually needs from them right now. Because the organizations that will thrive aren't the ones that planned for what was likely — they're the ones that prepared for what was possible
This session, while open to anyone, has been identified as part of an Advanced Professionals (15 years + of fundraising) education track.
Lunch Discussions (12:15 - 1:00 p.m.)
BREAKOUT SESSIONS (1:15 - 2:15 p.m.)
Option #1
Score the Winning Goal: Gaining Buy-in to Grow Your Development Team
Speakers: Matt Pham, MPA, CFRE, Dini Spheris; Peggy Rhoads, CFRE, Sr. Director of Development, The Health Museum
As fundraising programs mature and ambitious organizational goals take shape, the question often becomes: what team capacity do we add next, and how do we make the case for it? This session focuses on practical, board-ready ways to plan strategic additions to a development team so organizations can scale major gifts, strengthen cultivation and stewardship, and build sustainable momentum.
The presenters will share a simple framework for: (1) recognizing “growth signals” that indicate it’s time to add capacity; (2) translating fundraising strategy into clear role additions (portfolio management, stewardship, operations, communications, events, etc.); (3) identifying the infrastructure that makes new hires successful; (4) crafting job descriptions and onboarding priorities that set teams up to win; and (5) empowering CEOs/Executive Directors to advocate for board approval of expanded budgets. Attendees will leave with language, decision tools, and examples they can adapt immediately, whether they’re adding their first development hire or rounding out a multi-person team.
Option #2
Legacy Giving Simplified: A System Any Fundraiser Can Activate
Speakers: Jeff Grandy, Catapult Fundraising; Hadia Mawlawi, CAP®, CFRE, Houston Symphony
Planned giving should not feel complex, intimidating, or reserved for specialists. Every nonprofit can secure legacy gifts using a clear, simple system rooted in donor loyalty. In this session, you will learn a practical 10 step framework that any fundraiser can implement to qualify prospects, deepen stewardship, and expand future major gift potential. We will explore segmentation strategy, activation techniques across phone, mail, and email, and walk through a real case example that documented $4.6M in planned gifts in 5 months. The session concludes with scenario practice to build confidence and fluency engaging legacy prospects.
Option #3
Story Building Gym: Train Your Story. Strengthen Your Impact.
Speaker: Nicole McWhorter, CFRE, YMCA of Greater Houston; Chloe Hotze, YMCA of Greater Houston
Stories are what turn impact into connection—and connection into giving. In this interactive session, we’ll practice how to take real experiences from nonprofits and shape them into stories that humanize our work, strengthen our case for support, and resonate with donors. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s building the confidence and skill to tell stories that stick.
Option #4
Sustaining the Base: Strengthening Annual Giving During Campaigns
Speakers: Mary DeLay, Senior Vice President, CCS Fundraising, and Lisa Arrington, Director of Advancement, The Fay School
Capital and comprehensive campaigns create transformative opportunities—but can strain annual fundraising programs that provide essential stability. This session explores practical strategies to ensure annual giving remains strong, and even grows, during a campaign. Participants will learn how organizations are reframing annual giving as a key pipeline for major gifts, a driver of retention, and a foundation for broad-based engagement. The session will highlight integrated messaging, donor segmentation, and stewardship approaches that sustain momentum without overwhelming supporters.
Through real-world examples, attendees will gain tools to align internal teams, clearly communicate giving options, and position annual support as both urgent and complementary to campaign goals.
This session, while open to anyone, has been identified as part of an Advanced Professionals (15 years + of fundraising) education track.
BREAKOUT SESSIONS (2:30 - 3:30 p.m.)
Option #1
Raising Big Money to do Big Things: Campaigns in Small- to Mid-Sized Nonprofits
Speakers: Rhonda Horn, Sterling; Kate McCarty, Principal Consultant, Sterling
Panelists: Lauren Day, Development Director, Camp Allen; Bevan Koch, Ed.D., Head of School, The Westview School; Mary Vitek, CEO, Girl Scouts San Jacinto Council; Peggy Haney, Senior Director, Foundation Services, Dan L Duncan Family Foundation; Elizabeth Graves Love, CEO, The Jacob and Terese Hershey Foundation
Capital campaigns are a powerful tool for elevating the impact of your nonprofit and often an essential funding source to ensure that you have the facilities you need to meet strategic goals. They are a BIG LIFT for nonprofits of any size, but perhaps especially so for small- to mid-sized nonprofits. Organizations of this size often operate with resources (including and especially human resources) that are stretched, and adding a capital campaign to the mix can sometimes feel like a spaceship has landed in the middle of your operation! Careful planning and intentional prioritization and sequencing of campaign solicitations are key success factors in shops where resources are already stretched - among many others.
Option #2
Fundraising Isn’t Broken. Your Infrastructure Is. Why organizations struggle to raise money isn’t about donors – it’s about systems, clarity, and internal alignment.
Speakers: Nicole Cassier, CFRE, Avenue Community Development Corporation; Michael Carpenter, Manager of Corporate Relations, Avenue CDC
When fundraising falls short, the default assumption is often “we need more donors” or “we need a better pitch.” But what if the real issue isn’t external—it’s internal? This session challenges the narrative that fundraising is broken and instead examines the organizational infrastructure that drives (or derails) results. From unclear strategy and siloed teams to inconsistent messaging and lack of accountability, we’ll unpack the common internal barriers that limit fundraising success. Participants will walk away with a practical framework to strengthen their fundraising foundation—aligning strategy, systems, and people—to build more consistent, sustainable revenue and deeper donor engagement.
Option #3
Communicating with Care: Managing Challenging Donor Dialogues
Speakers: Lauren Futch, CFRE, & Lauren Thomas, CFRE, MD Anderson
This interactive session equips fundraising professionals with practical strategies to confidently navigate some of the most challenging donor conversations. Through real-world scenarios—including donor loss or illness, ethical dilemmas, and complex “gray-area” relationships—participants will explore how to communicate with empathy, clarity, and professionalism while protecting donor relationships and institutional integrity. Attendees will engage in case-based discussions, learn language that leads with care and confidence, and collaborate with peers during a live brainstorming segment focused on participant-submitted donor situations. The session emphasizes thoughtful communication, ethical decision-making, and turning uncomfortable moments into opportunities for trust and connection.
Option #4
If They Don't Outperform You, You're Doing It Wrong
Speaker: Kelly Nicholls, The Montrose Center; Madeline Sebastian, Director of Development at The Rice University Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies
Outlast, outperform, and outscale. A highly interactive session on leadership, coaching, and developing fundraisers who become the benchmark not the shadow. "If They Don’t Outperform You, You’re Doing It Wrong" will be a candid, experience‑driven session that challenges traditional measures of fundraising success and reframes leadership around impact, sustainability, and team development. Presented jointly by a Chief Development Officer and a Director of Development who advanced from frontline officer to leader, the session models what it teaches: intentional coaching, skill transfer, and the courage to let others lead while leaving egos at the door. Together, the presenters explore how high‑performing organizations are built not only on standout individuals, but on leaders who actively develop fundraisers capable of surpassing them.
This session focuses on coaching versus managing, establishing clear standards for high performance, and redefining “team” as shared ownership rather than individual production. Through real stories of securing gifts and upgrading donor portfolios, leadership tradeoffs, and organizational lessons learned, participants are challenged to reconsider how their behaviors either create dependency or build capacity. The core takeaway is simple but powerful: a leader’s legacy is not what they raise personally, but what their team is able to achieve, together.
This session, while open to anyone, has been identified as part of an Advanced Professionals (15 years + of fundraising) education track.
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