Meet The Movement makers, rabble-rousers, and just plain inspiring folks making change happen.
Keynotes
Melanie Roussell Newman (Postponed – Rescheduled for Fall 2020)
Senior Vice President of Communications and Culture
Melanie Roussell Newman (Postponed – Rescheduled for Fall 2020)
Senior Vice President of Communications and Culture
Melanie Roussell Newman is the Senior Vice President for Communications and Culture at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Ms. Newman has over 15 years of experience in government, political and non-profit communications. Prior to Planned Parenthood, Ms. Newman was Chief Communications Officer at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and held several positions in the Obama Administration, including leading communications at the U.S. Department of Justice, the White House Office of Management and Budget, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Her experience also includes spokesperson roles at the Democratic National Committee and on Capitol Hill.
Ms. Newman is a New Orleans, Louisiana native, but spent part of her childhood in Alabama. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida and her Master’s degree in Public Communication from American University in Washington. Ms. Newman is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and serves on the National Social Action Commission for the sorority.
Ashley Beaudin
Inspirational Speaker + Visionary
Ashley Beaudin
Inspirational Speaker + Visionary
Ashley Beaudin is a speaker, coach and heart encourager who inspires humans into emotional wholeness, real community, and bold leadership. She is the visionary behind The Imperfect Boss; an international movement that shifts imperfections into superpowers and helps women lead with their whole selves. Ashley’s campaigns of empowerment and vulnerability have reached hundreds of thousands of people over three years and she has been featured in publications and events across North America. The easiest way to her heart is through soul talk, hugs and donuts.
Speakers
J. Sailor Jones
Campaigns Director
J. Sailor Jones
Campaigns Director
A native of rural Eastern North Carolina, Sailor received an undergraduate degree from the UNC-Chapel Hill and a law degree from North Carolina Central University. Honors include the ACLU of NC’s Sharon Thompson Award for Courageous Pursuit of Equal Rights for LGBTQ North Carolinians, the Blueprint NC Trailblazer Award, Qnotes Carolinas Statewide LGBT Leader of the Year Award, Equality Federation Awards for fundraising and media coverage, and the LGBT Center of Raleigh’s Community Impact Award. Prior to joining Democracy North Carolina as the organization's first Communications Director, Sailor worked with a variety of North Carolina social justice organizations, including Equality NC, League of Women Voters of NC, NARAL Pro Choice NC, and NC AIDS Action Network.
Pronouns: He/Him
Tamika Felder
Chief Visionary
Tamika Felder
Chief Visionary
Cancer survivor and award-winning women’s health advocate Tamika Felder is the Chief Visionary at Cervivor - a nonprofit dedicated to cervical cancer advocacy and support. Named a “Cancer Rebel” by Newsweek in a 2017 cover story, Tamika is a highly sought-after speaker on cervical cancer advocacy, cancer prevention, HPV education, and living life with purpose after cancer. She is the author of "Seriously, What Are You Waiting For? 13 Actions To Ignite Your Life & Achieve The Ultimate Comeback." Tamika currently serves on the steering committee of the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable. She's shared her story and experiences on Presidential Cancer Panels convened by the White House. An award-winning television producer, Tamika is currently filming a documentary about cervical cancer, the women living with it, and the vaccine to prevent it. Her story of patient-to-advocate / survivor-to-Cervivor inspires and mentors not only patients and medical communities, but anyone who has struggled with obstacles in their life. Learn more about Tamika’s work at Cervivor.org and TamikaFelder.com.
Kivi Leroux Miller
Founder & CEO
Kivi Leroux Miller
Founder & CEO
Kivi Leroux Miller is the founder and CEO of Nonprofit Marketing Guide, where she helps nonprofit communications professionals learn their jobs and love their jobs through a variety of training and coaching programs. She has personally mentored more than 150 nonprofit communications directors and communications teams as a certified executive coach. She is a popular keynote, workshop, and webinar presenter, speaking dozens of times each year. She is also the co-founder of Bold & Bright Media. After many years in the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, DC, Kivi gave up big city life to raise a family in rural North Carolina with her husband, two daughters, two cats, and countless backyard wildlife. She enjoys writing; gardening; volunteering with Girl Scouts, her church, and her local farmers market; hiking; vegetarian cooking; and teaching her kids how to bake. Kivi is the award-winning author of three books, as well as a popular blog: Nonprofit Marketing Guide.
Jason Arrol
Health Communications Manager
Jason Arrol
Health Communications Manager
Jason Arrol works in communications with experience at non-profits and in higher education. As Health Communications Manager at SHIFT NC (Sexual Health Initiatives For Teens), Jason creates campaigns to educate North Carolina’s youth about sexual health. Previously, Jason served as the Digital Media Manager at the National Center for Transgender Equality in Washington, DC, lifting up transgender stories and devising campaigns to change policy at all levels of the U.S. government. At the University of Maryland, Jason worked with the Health Promotion team to advocate for positive health outcomes in the UMD community. And at Levine School, Jason documented and promoted music education, supporting efforts to provide free or low-cost music education to underserved populations in the Washington DC area.
Connor O’Brien
Digital Marketing Specialist, IT/Social Media
Connor O’Brien
Digital Marketing Specialist, IT/Social Media
Before my journey as a content creator and IT professional, I worked full time at an animal hospital while acquiring a BS in Biology. I started volunteering at the American Eagle Foundation and was able to apply my passion for technology and biology. That eventually morphed into content creation and marketing. While I still maintain the IT support role at AEF, content creations and marketing has become a much bigger part of our business. I work with an amazing team to reach millions across YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Facebook, Twitch, Instagram and Twitter.
Maggie Kane
Executive Director
Maggie Kane
Executive Director
Maggie is the Executive Director of A Place at the Table. She graduated from North Carolina State University in 2013 and began working for a nonprofit with people experiencing homelessness. By befriending many people living on the margins, she knew something needed to be done. Maggie has a heart to serve, a desire to always be inclusive, and a passion for loving people. She has created new model to fight hunger and remove the stigma of homelessness & poverty while inviting the community to participate.
She lives in Raleigh, loves to run, and eats a large amount of peanut butter. She loves hiking in the mountains, and all things sunflowers. You'll find her watching movies at the theaters in those big comfy chairs, skydiving, or breaking away for a quick 2 day weekend trip.
Pronouns: She/Her
Taylor Maxwell
Communications Director
Taylor Maxwell
Communications Director
Taylor manages communications for Everytown for Gun Safety's grassroots networks, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action. She began working with Moms Demand Action just months after the organization was founded in the wake of the Sandy Hook School shooting in 2012. For the past four years, she's worked on countless campaigns to strengthen our gun laws at the local, state and federal level, elevate the voices of Moms Demand Action volunteers and gun violence survivors fighting to keep their families safe, and create a culture of gun safety in America. She grew up in Charlotte, NC, and is a proud University of Virginia graduate. She currently lives in Washington, DC with her fiancé and rescue dog, Rosie.
Dawn Crawford
Principal
Dawn Crawford
Principal
The engine behind BC/DC Ideas, Dawn has dedicated her career to good. Before launching BC/DC Ideas in 2010, she earned her chops in 10+ years of communications leadership roles for public health, healthcare and youth-focused nonprofits. Working for nonprofits is Dawn’s dream job, and she loves that her 50+ hours a week make the world a better place.
These days Dawn brings her considerable experience and expertise to helping elevate the nonprofit sector. Our team’s lead strategist, Dawn is often seen leading our IdeaStorms, penning communications plans, or checking in with clients.
Things that make her happy: Chai tea in the morning or a glass of champagne at quittin’ time, Basecamp, living in the South, her daughter’s giggle and a well-formatted spreadsheet.
Elizabeth Finley
Chief External Affairs Officer
Elizabeth Finley
Chief External Affairs Officer
Elizabeth Finley oversees communications, fundraising, and public policy at SHIFT NC (Sexual Health Initiatives For Teens). At SHIFT NC, Elizabeth gets to spend equal time being nerdy about bills in the General Assembly and the colors on a poster about STIs – or, depending on the day, equal time stressing out about bad bills at the General Assembly and trying to raise money to keep the good work going. Elizabeth has spent most of her career working with nonprofits that advance the health and wellbeing of children and young people, including The North Carolina Partnership for Children (Smart Start) and Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina. She lives in Durham with her two young-ish kids, and survives on a steady flow of 4 am workouts, coffee, and New Yorker cartoons.
Candace Cody
Customer Success Lead
Candace Cody
Customer Success Lead
Candace Cody is the Manager of Customer Success + Education at CauseVox. She's worked with thousands of nonprofits to adopt and grow their digital fundraising. As the Manager of Education, she trains nonprofit development and marketing staff on digital fundraising best practices. Candace has been a featured speaker at the Digital Fundraising Summit, The Fundraising Authority Fall Virtual Conference, and regularly leads Nonprofit Leader Panel discussions.
Candace can frequently be found listening to The 1975, reading Haruki Murakami novels, enjoying brunch, and often wearing *millennial* pink shoes.
Mary Parry
Communications Consultant
Mary Parry
Communications Consultant
Mary brings director-level development and communications experience to her work at Parry Communications, offering contract services to busy non-profit organizations. From communications planning to project-based marketing and development tasks, Mary offers trainings and services to help organizations outsource important work beyond its current capacity. She enjoys bringing energy and connections to conversations with non-profit professionals, helping them leverage new ideas, skills and technology to help them reach a wider audience and grow their overall impact. In her free time, Mary is passionate about including more women in the world of politics and leadership. She frequently offers her skillset to women seeking office. Mary's children's book, Sadie McGrady Runs for President, was written to inspire girls to set their leadership goals high.
Pronouns: She/Her
Brian Crawford
Creative Director
Brian Crawford
Creative Director
A natural problem-solver, Brian’s ability to cut to the core of any problem helps guide our creative team to the correct solution without wasted time or money. It’s the core, this little nugget of truth, that helps our clients take the next step with their audiences.
Brian gets the greatest joy out of helping our clients realize and connect with their story. He is a true believer that everyone and every organization has a compelling story to tell, you just have to listen with an open heart.
Things that make Brian happy: hanging out at the park with family, toddler-speak, hitting the focus pull, and good coffee.
Most of Brian’s spare time is spent with his amazing family and his six-year-old daughter. Otherwise, he’s usually tinkering or getting into some other nerdy A/V trouble.
Leandra Ganko
Principal + Creative
Leandra Ganko
Principal + Creative
Craving more flexibility, Leandra quit her job in higher education to start LeGa Design Group in early 2008. Primarily focused on helping nonprofits with creative and affordable website design, Leandra has been involved in the Triangle nonprofit community for over a decade, serving on the DYP Civic/Community Sub-committee for the Durham Young Professionals and as a core member of the planning committee for the local nonprofit technology conference, NCTech4Good, from 2010-2018. She specializes in WordPress theme design and development as well as Adobe Creative Suites applications. Outside of work, Leandra is a world traveler (51 countries and counting), an avid cook, travel blogger, and a fan of strong dark beers and Oregon Pinot Noir. She lives in Durham with her husband of 18 years and their rescued mini schnauzer, Pasha.