Leah Payne is the Director of Prospect Management & Research at Longwood University, a small comprehensive public university in Virginia founded in 1839. Leah has served in her current role for over 15 years and has a breath of higher education experience. She spearheads moves management, prospect research, major gift pipeline development, internal prospect giving analytics and external wealth screenings.

Before finding her latest passion in fundraising, Leah served as an assistance dean of students. Her exposure to financial aid, admissions, student conduct and student advocacy deepened her appreciation for the crucial role philanthropy plays in the success of higher education and non-profit organizations in general. Leah earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Longwood University and a Master of Education from Virginia Tech. 

Adri Viswanatha is the Director of Donor Research at Macalester College, where she is responsible for prospect strategy and portfolio management. Prior to joining the team at Mac, she worked as a prospect researcher at Children’s Cancer Research Fund. Adri began her fundraising career in Wisconsin where she worked on political campaigns at the state and national level. Adri is the current president of Apra-Minnesota.

Vidya Kagan has worked in development for 20 years, specifically in higher education and independent schools. She started her career in Harvard Law School’s development office, where she was responsible for annual giving, reunion fundraising, volunteer management, donor relations, and events.  At Noble & Greenough School, she served as the Director of Annual Giving for 3 years and as the Director of Major Gifts & Campaigns for 2 years. Her responsibilities included leadership solicitations, campaign planning, and volunteer management. She joined Menlo School’s development team in 2013 and is responsible for advancement services, which includes their Salesforce implementation and use, prospect research, and gift processing. Vidya has volunteered for and presented at many industry conferences and webinars, and has written articles related to data, databases, and research. She has collaborated with iWave, Salesforce, Cloud for Good, aasp, CASE, AFP, and Women in Development (Boston, MA).

Karl Sissman currently serves as the Director of Philanthropic Strategy at the Latin School of Chicago. In this role he oversees the annual fund, development operations, and special events. Prior to Latin, Karl held multiple roles supporting fundraising at some of Chicago's most beloved performing arts institutions including Grant Park Music Festival and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Karl began his career as a licensed educator following the completion of a BM in Music Education from Miami University. Additionally, he is nearing the completion of his MBA at The University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. Outside of work and school, Karl loves exploring Chicago's rich food and beverage scene, seeing live theater, and traveling to see friends and family around the world.

Katelyn Martin is Managing Director, Strategic Information Services, at Campbell & Company, a national nonprofit consulting firm that helps organizations create greater impact through fundraising, communications, executive search, and strategic information services. In her 10 years with the firm, Katelyn has counseled clients across all sectors in roles ranging from strategic campaign counsel to interim development staff support. As the leader of the Strategic Information Services practice, Katelyn leverages her fundraising expertise and the advanced technical skills of her team to build the internal capacity of our clients to make data-driven decisions and build stronger donor relationships. 

Prior to joining Campbell & Company, Katelyn worked in frontline and database roles with youth-serving organizations. Katelyn graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Arts Management from Northwestern University. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two children. 

Courtney has helped build comprehensive due diligence programs at MIT and UC Berkeley, and most recently worked with Stanford University to assess and refine their existing due diligence processes. Prior to due diligence, Courtney worked in prospect development at MIT and the Appalachian Mountain Club in Boston. They currently split their time between Colorado and Idaho and can often be found climbing or running through the mountains with their dog, Stanley.

Molly Johnson is the Senior Director of Prospect Development at MIT where she leads the prospect research, prospect management, and philanthropic due diligence functions.

Her journey in higher education fundraising has been iterative, from prospect researcher to campaign volunteer manager to fundraiser to AI start up to her current role at MIT. The hallmark of Molly’s career is her ability to employ design thinking to identify problems, develop unique solutions, and co-create value. This highly collaborative style enabled Molly to tackle several complex organizational challenges, including individualized performance metrics with the School of Engineering, which culminated in the Leader of the Year award.

Today Molly is excited to share her expertise in creating, developing, and sustaining a responsive program to help you assess risk and make decisions that support your organization’s mission.

Beca is an Account Executive at Xapien, having worked across customer success, sales and product development, all focused on the non profit and fundraising sector. She now leads on the higher education sector at Xapien.

During her time at Xapien, Beca has been involved in various aspects of developing the product to better serve universities and nonprofits, acting as a liaison between customers and the product team. Her work has often been focused on adapting the product to the changing world, including integrating fully up-to-date sanctions and watchlist data after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and adapting adverse media categories to align with the reputational risks universities and nonprofits face in a changing world.

Beca has a background in research and higher education, with a first class degree in English Literature and an MA in Literature, Criticism and Culture from the University of Cambridge.

Catherine Flaatten, MPH, CFRE, is the associate vice president of prospect development at BWF where she partners with clients to develop creative solutions to their prospect development challenges. Previously, she served in various roles at The George Washington University, most recently as the managing director of research and relationship management. Catherine has also worked in prospect development at Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry, the National Psoriasis Foundation, and the BrightFocus Foundation. A regular speaker and author, Catherine currently serves on Apra’s Board of Directors, Fundamentals Committee, and Foundation Board of Trustees. Former volunteer roles include serving as president and programming chair of Apra Metro DC, chairing the aasp Best Practices in Prospect Development and Apra Membership Committees, and serving on Apra’s Body of Knowledge and PD Curriculum Planning Committees. Catherine holds a BA in International Affairs and an MPH in Maternal and Child Health, both from The George Washington University.

Currently the Senior Research Analyst specializing in Principal Gifts ($10M+ capacity) for Duke Health Development and Alumni Affairs, I have been a prospect researcher for nearly two decades, having started my career at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, PA in 2007. I joined Duke Health in 2014.  In 2021, working directly with the Vice President, I developed a presentation on reputational risk and due diligence in response to incidents at peer and other institutions, and am currently collaborating with our Stewardship team and Duke University’s development team to craft a robust program for identifying “red flags” and protecting the reputation of Duke Health. I received my B.A. in English w/Cultural and Community Studies with honors from the University of Sussex in Brighton, E. Sussex, UK. I reside in Durham, NC and like to play music in my free time and to practice target archery with my English longbow.

Kerry is the Chief Executive of Prospecting for Gold. She has over 30 years’ experience in research, policy and management. She joined Prospecting for Gold in 2012 and currently leads our research consultancy and data protection work. She also runs our training programme, sharing her expertise in webinars and seminars. Before she moved to the UK from Australia in 2005, Kerry worked in the water industry then ran her own research and communication consultancy, supporting leading companies within the research industry. A career highlight was providing customer insights to help determine the future of Australia’s largest water company. Kerry also ran an independent film production company and wrote and produced a feature film that was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. Kerry has written hundreds of user-friendly reports and presented to wide-ranging audiences at national and international conferences, seminars, and board meetings. Kerry volunteers both within the charity sector and in her local community. She is a trustee of Cure Parkinson’s and sits on the Chartered Institute for Fundraising’s Consultants Special Interest Group committee. She is a member of the Market Research Society and president of the UK branch of the University of Melbourne’s Alumni Association. Closer to home, Kerry is a volunteer citizen scientist, helping to protect her local river, the Chess.

Maria started her career in the financial sector as a risk-based researcher and due diligence specialist. After 10 years at Dow Jones she moved to the charity sector as an independent consultant to support charities on their ethical fundraising and conducting ethical checks.

Thanks to her background in translation she is fluent in five languages and specifically trained in conducting due diligence across different jurisdictions.

She joined Prospecting for Gold in June 2024 as a Researcher to add to the company’s due diligence and corporate and trust research services. As a polyglot and food lover, she enjoys travelling to practise her language skills and exploring new cuisines.

Bethany Andorfer Morley works at the West Chester University Foundation as the Director of Prospect Strategy and Research. Driven by a passion for learning new tools and creating innovative systems and strategies, she enjoys collaborating with fundraisers and prospect development professionals. With nearly 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector, including a decade as a frontline fundraiser, she has worked in higher education, health and human services and arts and culture.

Peggy DeAngelo is a results-oriented leader with 8+ years of experience partnering with nonprofit organizations toward transformational change. Her expertise spans System/CRM Design (including Salesforce and Blackbaud), System/CRM training, UX Design, Change Management, Communication Planning, Fundraising and Campaign Management, and Data Governance.

Peggy has worked with partners of all sizes and levels of complexity, from global federated nonprofits to hospitals, universities, think tanks, and museums. Her extensive nonprofit experience includes roles as a frontline fundraiser, grant writer, marketing and communications coordinator, direct support staff member, and fundraising and systems consultant, providing her with deep operational insights.

She holds an MBA from Temple University's Fox School of Business, a JD from Rutgers-Camden School of Law, and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. Currently based in Morgantown, WV with her husband Jeffrey, Peggy enjoys hiking, bird watching, and kayaking.

Kevin Vaughn is a Research Analyst in the Department of Development at the University of Notre Dame, where he specializes in prospect research and strategy for the Corporate and Foundation Relations team. He also plays a key role in developing due diligence policies and procedures in collaboration with other university departments. Prior to joining Development, Kevin held administrative roles in graduate programs across the humanities and global affairs. Alongside his expertise in higher education, he holds advanced degrees in music performance.

Michael (Mike) Foote joined Dartmouth’s Advancement team in 2001 and currently serves as the Assistant Vice President of Development Operations and Performance. In this role, Mike collaborates closely with senior leadership to drive strategic initiatives that enhance fundraising effectveness and operational excellence. He plays a key role in shaping best practices across the department to maximize the impact of Dartmouth’s fundraising efforts.

Mike also leads Dartmouth’s Research and Prospect Management team, overseeing the identification and cultivation of high-potential donors in alignment with the college’s fundraising priorities. He has held
Additional roles in his time with Dartmouth included oversight of donor engagement and interim director of Dartmouth’s recognition and stewardship team, where he strengthened the college’s donor-centric approach to relationship-building and stewardship.

Before transitioning to the non-profit sector, Mike spent five years with the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he directed research initiatives and provided strategic insights for marketing and media sales teams. His work supported the NBA’s domestic and global positioning through client-targeted research. Prior to the NBA, Mike held various roles at Nielsen Media Research, where he focused on television ratings and audience analysis.

Mike earned a Bachelor of Arts in Quantitative Analysis from St. John’s University and an MBA from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University. He is an active speaker in the development research community, has contributed to the APRA International Conference curriculum committee, and is a member of both APRA and NEDRA.

Megan Tedeschi is the Managing Director, Prospect Development for UNICEF USA where establishes the priorities and vision for the prospect development area including moves management, pipeline development, prospect research, data hygiene and reporting standards to drive data-informed fundraising. Working in Prospect Development for over 10 years, Megan has gained expertise in due diligence best practices, corporate and institutional research, philanthropic trend analysis, team building and project management. She previously held Prospect Development roles at The George Washington University, Johnson & Wales University, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Megan holds a BA in Art History from Boston University. She lives in Portland on an apple orchard with her family.