Brett Herzog is a seasoned product development and technology professional – having served at industry-leading companies such as Thomson Reuters, Follett Corporation, and LexisNexis for the past 20 years. He brings a unique perspective to his role (product leader for Nexis® for Development Professionals) based on his experience working on the client and vendor side in legaltech, edtech, and most recently in non-profit and faith-based markets. He lives in Greenville, SC with his wife where they have become obsessed with pickleball as they transition to empty-nesters.

Margaret Hart has worked with thousands of philanthropic organizations, academic institutions, and businesses during her tenure at LexisNexis. As a Client Success Manager, she combines the knowledge gained as a prospect researcher and non-profit development officer, with an understanding of how development professionals need to use information to maximize donations and nurture relationships.

Michael has worked with higher education institutions as a trainer and strategic consultant for the past six years. Michael has over 12 years of experience in the world of fundraising holding a variety of roles, from director of development to grant writer to donor relations, but the majority of her time was spent in the prospect research/manager role. She has also worked with a variety of organizations, ranging from non-profits to faith-based to higher education. Taking a break from fundraising before coming to Blackbaud, she taught Information Literacy and Research Skills at the community college level. With her background in library and information science and prospect research, Michael has honed the skills of organizing information and resources to help create more streamlined processes. Throughout her career, she has remained passionate about empowering people to use technology and information to make better decisions and drive towards improved results. Michael holds a B.A. in communications from Saginaw Valley State University and Masters in Library and Information Science from Dominican University/St. Catherine University.

Katie Pierce has a B.A. in Physics from Hamilton College and is currently in the Applied Data Science M.S. program at Syracuse University.  She is the Assistant Director of Data Analytics in the office of Prospect Development and Analytics at Syracuse University where she develops analytic tools for pipeline analysis, forecasting, predictive analysis and data visualization reporting for both senior leadership and school/unit officers.

Lindsay Scheuer joined Syracuse University's Prospect Development & Analytics team in 2017, having previously worked in relationship management roles in secondary education and professional theater. She leads a team that directly supports advancement operations through strategic planning, goal setting, prospect pool development, and portfolio review.

Melissa Yale (she/her/hers) is a Prospect Research and Management Developer. She has been in prospect development for 4 years and at Oregon Food Bank (OFB) for 8 years. Prior to joining the prospect development team, she was a frontline fundraiser working with affinity groups to coordinate and manage large annual fundraisers. She was a mechanical engineer developing technology consumer products for 14 years and earned her MBA from Portland State University before finding a profession that fit her purpose.

Her work at OFB has allowed her to take the systems approach from engineering and apply it to evaluating supporters’ potential, allowing for the creation of new processes and evaluation tools while keeping the bigger picture of community centric philanthropy in mind. Plus, she loves data, making it engaging for all, and figuring out how we can use it to inform decisions.

A 20 year Oregon transplant, Melissa enjoys spending time at the theater as a volunteer usher, growing tomatoes, cooking experiments, and planning for the next travel adventure around the Pacific Northwest when her parents visit.

Craig Leonard is the Senior Director of Prospect Development and Analytics at University of Michigan. Craig provides vision and leadership for the development and execution of strategic and operational plans focused on philanthropic pipeline development. He and his team collaborate with all fundraising programs at the University of Michigan and Michigan Medicine to translate institutional goals into actionable plans. They examine industry trends to create insights that are focused on fundraising analytics, prospect identification, prospect and donor research, relationship management, and prospect coordination. In addition, he also has operational responsibility for campus-wide strategy sessions and the prospect coordination policies of the university.

Kelli North is the Assistant Director of Development Research, DEI Initiatives, at the University of Michigan. She assists multiple academic units, as well as the Alumni Association and the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, with prospect research, prospecting, and fundraising strategy. Her current areas of focus are diversity, equity, and inclusion and NextGen fundraising. She is the President and former Advocacy Lead on the board of the APRA Michigan Chapter, a member of the FORUM Planning Committee and former Chair of the Research Committee for the Great Lakes Prospect Development Forum, and is also a founding member of APRA Great Lakes Collaborative.

Mike Vincent is Vice President of Customer Success and Growth at Windfall, where he leads all customer-facing initiatives. The Customer Success team pairs with each of Windfall’s customers to provide data-driven insights, strategies, and recommendations for leveraging Windfall’s products to achieve development goals. Mike’s background is in growth strategy at a variety of nonprofits and Fortune 500 organizations. He has also run a variety of fundraising initiatives including comprehensive campaigns, events, and annual funds as a development leader and board member.  

Liz is an expert development operations; with a focus on automation, workflows and prospect management. She has spent her entire career working in the not-for-profit sector with arts organizations, healthcare foundations, and higher education institutions. She has instructed at both Western University on the topic of technology in the not-for-profit sector and at Georgian College on prospect research. She has shared her knowledge and expertise on prospect research, database management, ethics in prospect development, and using social media for prospect research at numerous Canadian and international conferences including AFP Congress, Apra, Apra Canada, and AHP Canada. She is the co-editor and contributor to the book "Prospect Research in Canada: An Essential Guide for Researchers and Fundraisers". Liz is a Trustee of the Apra Foundation Board of Trustees.

(He/Him) enjoys managing teams dedicated to understanding data and
developing innovative data products to enable strategic decision making. He has
over 12 years of experience conducting quantitative analysis, developing
advanced analytical data products, and leading a professional data team. 
He is new to the non-profit space having previously worked in transportation
and retail.  Alex obtained his Masters Degree in Economics from the
University of Ottawa and holds a Professional Certificate in Data Science.

A Sr. Research Strategist with the University of Washington, Lindsay entered the prospect development field in 2009 as an assistant and prospect researcher with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Foundation. In 2013 Lindsay moved back home to the Northwest, joining the University of Washington Prospect Development team as a research strategist. Lindsay now partners with a large team of UW Medicine major gift officers on prospect intelligence of all kinds, including identification, qualification, strategy, portfolio optimization, and analysis. In addition, Lindsay currently serves as VP/Treasurer of Apra-NW (2017-2023), is a professional actor, and has the distinction of being a proud 2nd-place Jeopardy! alum.

A graduate of Louisiana State University's Manship School of Mass Communication, Jessica O’Connor began her tenure at the LSU Foundation after being in the communications industry for over 12 years.

As Senior Director of Prospect Development, Jessica works closely between Advancement Services and Development to provide robust pipeline insights, nimble prospect identification and hands-on portfolio management in pursuit of LSU's $1.5 billion Fierce for the Future campaign, the largest and most far-reaching advancement campaign ever initiated for higher education in the history of Louisiana.

Prior to her work with non-profit fundraising, Jessica enjoyed nearly a decade  with Louisiana Business Inc. --  local multi-media publisher -- where she lead the Audience Development team through a transformational review of industry practices to grow revenue sources and circulation, drawing on expertise in brand standards, concierge-model customer support, data aggregation and project management. 

When not emerged in lists and data, Jessica's right-brain-pursuits include calligraphy and hand lettering, advising the LSU Delta Gamma recruitment team and leadership development in the Junior League of Baton Rouge.

Jessica is the Senior Director, Prospect Development at the University of Washington. She and her team of research strategists and prospect management strategists just closed out a ten year, $6.3B campaign. She is past president of Apra-NW and is the 2016 recipient of the Apra Distinguished Service Award.