ABOUT US

Rashaunda Williams is a United States Air Force Veteran, and has extensive company management, marketing, and activism experience. She started her first business, In The Black Studios (photography and graphic design) in 2010. In 2017, she founded a nonprofit organization and formed Collective Impact in 2020. Collective Impact is an organization that brings together nonprofits and for-profits to collectively make an impact. With a proven track record of empowering organizations and people to create social impact, Rashaunda is leading the way in creating a new model for social change. Rashaunda Williams has designed, implemented, and managed various grassroots campaigns, including fundraising, public relations strategies, social media management, event planning,

Joan Kessler, MPA, has worked for not-for-profit healthcare organizations for more than 20 years. Her experiences in PR & Marketing for two international relief organizations and a hospital system led her to a career in philanthropy communications and the opportunity to support the capital campaign for a newly built $350M hospital in West Michigan. Today, Joan oversees the philanthropy communications plans and strategies for two Trinity Health hospital systems. She is passionate about strengthening the donor/organizational relationship through authentic, heartfelt storytelling. As a West Michigan native, Joan loves sandy beaches and the sun. She has been a Toastmaster for 15 years, has four adult children, and has a beloved Springer Spaniel named CJ.

From local to global markets and working for and with cooperatives, Certified B Corporations, non-profit and social enterprise organizations, Sara has more than two decades of experience in marketing communications for mission-driven organizations. She has also lived in Germany, and spent a year teaching English in Japan. Sara obtained her bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College.

Erik Tomalis is a proven fundraising professional that is forward-thinking, people-driven, and, most of all results oriented. With over 20 years of professional fundraising experience, he made over 4,000 donor solicitations, where he has raised millions of dollars for many non-profit organizations.

Jessi L Montgomery, Chief Development Officer, KCEOC Community Action Partnership, As a Kentucky native Jessi witnessed firsthand the devastating effects that generational poverty had on her community and has dedicated her professional career to fighting poverty in rural Appalachia.  Jessi has almost 15 years of nonprofit experience ranging from case management, community, and behavioral health, program director/developer, executive director, and her current role as Chief Development Officer within the Community Action Network.  Jessi received recognition as a distinguished alumnus of the University of the Cumberlands, where she earned a Bachelors in Human Services and a Master of Business Administration, graduating Summa Cum Laude and an inducted member of the JT Vallandingham Honor Society, and holds certifications in Nonprofit Management, Professional Grant Writing, and is a current Certified Fundraising Executive Candidate (CFRE).  In her spare time, Jessi loves spending time hiking with her English Pointer, Lily; she is also an avid cyclist and is classically trained in ballet.