A dynamic group of leaders & visionaries

Barbara L. Ciconte, is Senior Vice President, Consulting Services, Donor   Strategies, Inc., a consulting practice she founded in 2001. With more than 35 years of experience in all facets of nonprofit management and strategic resource development, she has worked with local, regional, national and international organizations and associations assisting them in developing strategic plans and building more effective resource development programs in annual, capital and endowment giving, major gifts, planned giving, corporate and foundation relations, chapter/affiliate relations and special events. 

A sampling of her clients include national associations such as the American College of   Osteopathic Internists (ACOI), National Club Association Foundation, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), hospitals such  as Inova Health System Foundation and Sibley Memorial Hospital; and regional education, human services, and arts organizations including McLean Project for the Arts, The Campagna Center, Northern Virginia Family Service, Cornerstones and FACETS. Prior to becoming a consultant in 1999, she spent thirteen years at American University. 

Among her notable accomplishments – as American University’s Director of Annual Giving she was a   member of the university’s Centennial Campaign team that raised $100 million. As the Director of Development for AU’s law school, Barbara was responsible for directing the law school’s successful $20 million campaign for a new law school facility and scholarships. As a consultant, she established the first-ever development program for NAEYC and ACOI, served as Development Counsel for the National Club Association Foundation’s major gifts campaign which exceeded its goal of $500,000, and as Campaign Counsel for ACOI’s 75th Anniversary Campaign helped them to raise $1 million. Barbara has designed successful development initiatives and campaigns for her association and charity clients that helped them advance their development programs to the next level and meet or exceed their goals. For her healthcare clients, Barbara served as a major gifts officer assisting them with special campaigns. 

A leading national educator on fundraising and board development, Barbara is the co-author of Fundraising Basics: A Complete Guide, Third Edition 2009 published by Jones and Bartlett Learning, considered one of the preeminent books on fundraising used by colleges and universities for nonprofit courses and on the office bookshelves of many practitioners. She has served on the boards of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP International), the Association Foundation Group, and the AFP DC Chapter serving as its president. As a volunteer, in 2002 Barbara helped found Take Heart Association Project (THAP) in the U.S., now known as Care for a Child’s Heart (CFACH), an organization that helps children and young adults in East Africa get the life-saving heart surgery they need. She is a Past President of the THAP Board and now serves as Secretary of the CFACH Board.

She has taught fundraising and nonprofit management courses at George Mason University and American University. Barbara is a recipient of the AFP/DC Chapter’s Outstanding Fundraising Professional Award for her leadership and service to the profession. 

She lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland with her husband, Tony.

Stephanie Karsten is a Certified Management Consultant with expertise in public health program and policy management. She has directed projects for Federal and nonprofit public health organizations for 40 years, specializing in US Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service programs. Her clients for this organization have included the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. Her expertise in planning, organizing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating public health initiatives underpins the practical, how-to approaches her teams have recommended. Ms. Karsten is particularly skilled in collaborating with clients and the populations they serve to fashion useful, usable results. Products of the contracts and grants she has managed have run the gamut from print materials (such as reports and educational aids) to software solutions and conferences. She has served as Vice President and Principal in charge of initiating and building successful public health consulting practices for three small businesses over a 40-year period. Ms. Karsten’s special interests in the public health arena are primary prevention, child health, and minority health issues.

Prior to her consulting career, Ms. Karsten was a community organizer for the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. As Research Associate in the nation’s first Office of Child Health Advocacy, she led an award-winning organization to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in Washington, D.C. This Committee for Lead Elimination Action in DC (LEAD), comprising 65 representatives of 35 local public and private organizations, successfully addressed housing, health, education, and environmental aspects of the problem and was named Organization of the Year by the Washington Area Public Health Association. Before this assignment Ms. Karsten worked in publications and public relations capacities for the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Center and the American Medical Association.

Ms. Karsten earned a BS in Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, and a Masters in Health Services Administration from the George Washington University. She was designated a Certified Management Consultant in 1991 by the Institute of Management Consultants and currently serves as CMC Emeritus.

Ms. Karsten is married to David Karsten and lives in Washington, DC, and Belfast, Maine. Her daughter, Amanda Karsten Hirsch, and her family live in Brooklyn, New York.

Donna has been a leader throughout her life as an innovative organization builder.

As a teenager, Donna was active in her church community, organizing regional fellowship youth events in NE Ohio.  This experience built the foundation for providing her own children with positive experiences by forming play groups and leading Girl Scout troops. Donna carried this ability into the commercial spectrum, starting and running profitable homebased businesses.

Donna started and ran two successful businesses, an in-home daycare business and a landscaping business.  Each entrepreneurial experience added more insight to innate human nature and smart business practices and the realization that every job entails selling a quality product or service.

Currently Donna is an owner and director of marketing of the largest inspection business in the DMV.  In starting on the ground floor, Donna has assisted on inspections, coordinated the scheduling and daily operation of the business, culminating to Director of Marketing. Currently, as a member of the Board of Directors, Donna is instrumental in the company’s growth and profitability. Donna is ready to share her skills with a non-profit organization.

After hearing L.Y. speak in August, 2019, Donna, who is not a stranger to domestic abuse, was motivated to contact L.Y.   This precipitated an immediate relationship, culminating with L.Y. requesting that Donna serve as ‘Champion’ of the newly formed ‘Friends of Promise’.  Donna has worked closely with several members of the Board and welcomes the opportunity to continue by becoming a member herself.

Tekedra N. Mawakana is the Chief Operating Officer at Waymo, a self-driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to move around.

As COO, Tekedra oversees business strategy, operations, business development, global public policy, public affairs, marketing, communications, and corporate social responsibility. She is responsible for ensuring Waymo’s transformational technology is commercialized and widely adopted.

Tekedra has more than two decades of experience advising some of the best-known consumer technology companies on how to advance their business interests around the world and is an expert in navigating complex high-profile issues. She began her career focused on transactions within the regulated technology and telecom industries, and has served as a trusted advisor to CEOs navigating growth and turnaround strategies. Tekedra was responsible for ensuring the successful launch of Waymo’s first commercial service, Waymo One, in December 2018.

Prior to Waymo, Tekedra led global teams at eBay, Yahoo, AOL and Startec Global
Communications. She started her career at the DC-based law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP.

Tekedra is an active, social impact-focused angel investor, and currently serves on the Board of Industry Leaders for the Consumer Technology Association, and as a member of the Executive Committee on the Board of Saving Promise. Previously, she served as the Chairman of the Board of the Internet Association, and on the Global Network Initiative’s Board of Directors.  In 2019, Tekedra was recognized as one of the most influential women in corporate America by Savoy magazine. She was named a Visionary Leader by ALM and InsideCounsel in 2016 and a Tech
Titan by Washingtonian magazine in 2015.

Tekedra received her JD from Columbia Law School and her BA with honors from Trinity College.

Sherryl is a technology marketing executive with over thirty years of experience defining market strategy to drive company growth, building customer satisfaction, and consistently delivering quantifiable results. She is currently the Senior Director of Marketing for Swish Data, a provider of technology solutions for government agencies.  In this role, Sherryl is responsible for the creation and implementation of an integrated marketing strategy that drives market awareness, generates demand, and accelerates sales.

Sherryl’s experience spans startup companies to companies with revenue over $1B in both commercial and government markets. Sherryl has worked with numerous software technology solutions, most recently, focused on cybersecurity. Prior to Swish Data, Sherryl had a consulting practice, where she did strategic marketing for technology companies, resellers and non-profits. Before that, she served as Vice President of Marketing for Raytheon Cybersecurity.  She is proficient in product marketing, branding, social media, public relations, industry analyst relations, product launch, and pipeline growth.

Sherryl is an active volunteer in services and fundraising within her community.  For five years, she served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for abused and neglected children in Fairfax County.  As a CASA, Sherryl worked with multiple families, serving as the children’s advocate in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.  In this role she met regularly with the children, their social workers, teachers, therapists, guardian ad litems and counselors.  She accompanied the children to all court hearings and provided a Court Report to the presiding Judge. The Court Report provided deep insight into the children’s status which the Judge used in determining the case outcome.  She served a three-year term as a member of the Vestry of Church of the Holy Comforter where she led the Stewardship Committee.  She has also managed social and fundraising events for the organization and is currently in her third year serving as the Volunteer Coordinator. In this role, she schedules multiple volunteers for the church’s annual 240+ services.

Sherryl received a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Marketing from the University of Georgia.

Eileen Walker serves organizations primarily in the areas of education and public health through the lens of an organizational behaviorist. Using her experience and skills from both her formal education and professional experience, she works with not for profit organizations in board or leadership roles to advance their missions.

Eileen serves on the Advisory Council of the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury (Danbury, CT), an organization working to end domestic violence against women, children & men. She also serves on the board of Kids in Crisis (CosCob, CT), an organization that provides round the clock support services to children, teens and their parents for all kind of crises.

Eileen is a director of The TEDMED Foundation, which focuses on advancing knowledge, communications and collaboration on the broad topics of health and medicine.

Ms. Walker is currently Chair of the Board of Trustees of her children’s former school, The Harvey School. In addition, she is a Director of the Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association, and was Chair of the board from 2009-2013. She serves on the Western Connecticut Health Systems Research Institute Advisory Council in Danbury, CT. She also works in an advisory capacity with Wildlife in Crisis, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Weston, CT.

Eileen has been a trustee of Cornell University since 2009. She serves on the Executive Committee, and chairs the Compensation Committee. She is also a director of eCornell, Cornell’s online education subsidiary. Ms. Walker received her BA and MBA from Cornell.

Ms. Walker is a former IBM human resources executive. During her 18 year career at IBM she successfully engaged in all aspects of human resource management while developing her organizational management skills. She has transferred those skills and tools to the organizations she serves in the not for profit sector.

A lover of gardening, animals and a collector of textile crafts, she is actively engaged in supporting organizations related to wildlife, education and health.

Ms. Walker is married to Jay S. Walker, BS ILR ’77, Chair and CEO of Upside, Curator of TEDMED, the founder and Chairman of Walker Digital and founder of Priceline.com. The Walkers reside in Ridgefield, Connecticut.