GIVEMN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director, Business Development
If a career could be made out of socializing, Andrea would be the industry leader. She believes that all great ideas start with a great conversation and puts that to use by connecting people and organizations who want to help ignite generosity in Minnesota.
A South Dakota native and Southwest Minnesota State University alum, Andrea joined GiveMN in 2016, bringing a background from the Minnesota corporate and nonprofit sectors. She started and led a corporate foundation that created new relationships with nonprofits and other corporations through giving and events. During her time at Open Arms of Minnesota, Andrea led major fundraising events to record-breaking results.
Andrea has served on the board of TeamWomenMN, and has been named one of the "Top 25 Women to Watch in Business" by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
When she's not connecting people through purpose and ideas, you'll find Andrea checking out amazing restaurants from Bemidji to Barcelona.
Job Titles:
- Central Area Neighborhood Development Organization
Job Titles:
- Director, Coaching
- Director, Coaching She / Her / Hers
Clara knows that we can all be powerful fundraisers when we're equipped with skills, resources, and training.
Clara is drawn to fundraising because it forces us to imagine the best of our communities and ask: What will it take to do our work? And what would it look like to have the resources to flourish? As a coach, she brings a variety of skills facilitating conversations around the intersection of money, wealth, class, and trust. Clara approaches philanthropy from a human-first perspective and was drawn to this field because of the immense potential in all of us: Both as fundraisers and as community members. She aims to center equity, sustainability, justice, and care for communities in her work with RaiseMN.
A native of Wisconsin, Clara has called Minnesota home since 2017. Since then, she's fundraised at a variety of issues-based nonprofits of all sizes and missions. Most recently, Clara was the director of development at Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless.
Clara graduated from Luther College in 2014 with degrees in Political Science, French, and International Studies, and received her Master's in International Development from American University in 2021.
Job Titles:
- Director, Community and Capacity Development She / Her / Hers
Courtney leads the charge on resource and tool building for GiveMN and Raise MN.
With a background in fundraising for several Minnesota-based organizations like Friends of the Hennepin County Library, Environment Minnesota, and Minnesota Public Radio, Courtney helps provide fundraising tools and resources that take nonprofits and schools to the next level.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Member at the University of Minnesota
Jake is pretty much obsessed with fundraising and believes that a successful strategy, campaign, and message can expand the impact of the nonprofits and schools doing incredible work in our communities.
He has helped lead record-breaking and history-making fundraising efforts-and is totally invested in helping Minnesota earn the title "The State of Giving."
Jake was named executive director of GiveMN in 2015 and has a background that spans leadership roles in nonprofits, politics, and higher education. As the senior director of development and community engagement at Open Arms of Minnesota, Jake launched multiple online giving campaigns that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. As co-finance director of Minnesotans United, he helped lead a multimillion dollar campaign in Minnesota to win the freedom to marry for same sex couples. And in Washington D.C., Jake concurrently attained a master's degree in political management from The George Washington University while working as a speech writer and associate director of development for The George Washington University Law School.
Jake is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota, University of St. Thomas, and Hamline University, where he teaches courses on fundraising strategy and leadership development.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Executive Director, Community Impact
- Deputy Executive Director, Community Impact She / Her / Hers
A North Dakota native, Jenna came to Minnesota to attend college in 2006 and has been here ever since. She studied theatre arts, English, and multicultural studies at the University of Minnesota Morris before entering the nonprofit workforce. Since then, she's served the Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center, UMN Morris, West Central Initiative, and Minnesota Upstream.
Jenna's fundraising superpower is helping tell the stories of the good work accomplished by organizations she cares about. She's worked on campaigns ranging from $300 to more than $31 million, and she's equally proud of all of them.
Jenna is a lineal descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, with family ties to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana. Her greatest hope is to be a good relative.
An everyday philanthropist, Jenna lives, works, and gives in rural western Minnesota with her husband and son. Together, they spend a lot of time outside chasing their golden lab, Ziibi.
Job Titles:
- Member of the GiveMN Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Deputy Executive Director, Operational Sustainability
- Deputy Executive Director, Operations
Naomi is excited about helping money move for good, and improving systems so we can achieve the best outcomes for all people in Minnesota and beyond.
Naomi's career started more than 10 years ago working with immigrant women who were victims of gender-based violence. Since then, she has worked globally with refugees and other displaced peoples as an advocate and strategist. Naomi has her Master's Degree in Global Maternal and Child Health from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Since moving to Minnesota, Naomi has immersed herself in bettering the lives of Minnesotans through better access to health education, healthy foods, and improved social safety nets. Before coming to GiveMN, Naomi was the executive director of Small Sums in Saint Paul where she supported individuals experiencing housing instability in getting back to work.
Naomi is the mother of two food and outdoor-loving children, an Alaska native, knitter, gluten-free baker, and aspiring archer.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the GiveMN Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Senior Marketing and Communications Associate
Steph is excited about igniting generosity and growing giving across Minnesota and beyond by leveraging her marketing superpowers, using effective communication to connect energized donors with causes in every community which could put their support to good use.
As senior marketing manager at LinkUp for eight years, Steph crafted and implemented marketing strategies and led philanthropic efforts supporting organizations like Dress for Success, Fraser, and Habitat for Humanity. Prior to joining LinkUp, Steph worked in HR at Target Headquarters, and enjoyed nearly 10 years in Washington D.C., working as a strategy consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton. She also served on the board of the Minnesota State Society.
Steph proudly served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 2000-2007, supporting public affairs efforts at the 934th Airlift Wing in Minneapolis, Headquarters Air Force, as well as temporary duty assignments in Colorado, Florida, and Washington, D.C.
Steph is a Minnesota native, raised in St. Peter and graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College with a degree in communication studies. When she's not marketing at GiveMN, she's chasing after her three busy kids, taking photos, chaotically cooking for her crew, or outside enjoying nature with her husband and dog Bear.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer of the GiveMN Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Marketing and Communications
Tom never set out to be a part of the fundraising world, but once he got a taste of helping nonprofits and donors grow giving, he hasn't looked back.
Prior to joining the GiveMN team in 2015, Tom managed marketing and communications at the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, including helping to launch and grow the first three years of Georgia Gives Day.
Tom is a graduate student alumnus of the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!) and studied broadcast journalism as an undergrad at the University of Lynchburg. He was born and raised in Southside Virginia, and moved north to the Twin Cities after two visits with perfect, 70-degree sunny weather.
At GiveMN, Tom oversees communications and marketing efforts. When he's not writing or Tweeting about giving, Tom enjoys travel, team trivia, and learning how to talk Minnesotan in spite of a southern accent. Tom also served a term as an Americorps VISTA, two years on the board of Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of the Twin Cities (YNPN), and presently serves on the board of the University of Lynchburg Alumni Association.