PAST WORKSHOPS
November
Fundraising for the Future
ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
Rebecca Zanatta, President RJZ Connections
Rebecca Zanatta brings more than 25 years of experience building and stewarding strategic donor partnerships and has worked with over 160+ clients in her 12-year consulting career. She has served in high-level development roles for organizations like the Pacific Science Center and the Washington State University Foundation. Rebecca has a deep understanding of everything from the planning, building, and managing a diverse and successful major gift and capital campaign to implementing a realistic and focused strategic plan.
Lawson Knight, Financial Advisor
Lawson Knight has over 20 years experience fundraising and directing nonprofits. He wonders, is your money doing all that it can for the life that you want or wish? Lawson helps clients and companies navigate complex financial situations that may involve special needs planning, estate strategies, charitable giving or socially responsible investing are areas of focus in my practice.
OCTOBER
Engage Across Ages Multi-Generational Panel
ABOUT THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES
Reka Robinson, Master of Ceremonies
Reka Robinson, a well-known figure in the Tri-Cities community, spent eight years hosting "The justmeReka show." Reka is now the host of a top rated podcast and uses her voice to share her insights and experiences with her listeners. Her passion for empowering others extends beyond coaching and podcasting; she is also a transformational speaker and a skilled Master of Ceremonies, …read more abut Reka and sign-up here.
ABOUT THE LOCAL PANEL SPEAKERS
Groover Snell
Groover Snell is operations manager at Fort Walla Walla Museum. He graduated from Walla Walla High School in 2013 and Whitman College in 2017. He is also involved with the Walla Walla Noon Rotary club and is newly appointed to the College Place Lodging Tax Advisory Committee.
Gustavo Reyna
Gustavo Reyna serves as a Walla Walla City Council member and works as a technology marketing professional; with experience serving in nonprofit boards and community building organizations.
Maryelizabeth Garcia
Maryelizabeth Garcia is the newest City of College Place City Clerk and former Executive Director of the Milton-Freewater Chamber Downtown Alliance where she managed lots of volunteers and worked with community leaders to support area vitality.
Tricia Harding
Tricia Harding works with ArtWalla and Combine gallery and has worked extensively in arts and nonprofits.
September
Building a Powerhouse Board: Strategies for Recruitment, Integration, and Culture with Nancy Bacon
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Nancy Bacon
Nancy Bacon has trained thousands of board members and those who work with them. She is an educator who has served in the nonprofit roles of executive director, founding program director, board member, and volunteer since 1996. In 2022, Nancy launched the Nonprofit Learning Center to make sure all nonprofit leaders anywhere in the country have access to outcome-based learning: www.nonprofitlearning.center. Nancy is also co-host of the Nonprofit Radio Show: www.nonprofitradioshow.com.
june
Artificial Intelligence in Nonprofits with Elizabeth Rice and Robert Keszeg.
ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
Elizabeth Rice
Elizabeth Rice has worked and volunteered with nonprofits and AI for years. She currently volunteers as a board member at STAR Project. She works as the chief financial officer for Unincarcerated Productions. She operates a consulting firm. She is passionate about dismantling systemic barriers and fostering holistic, sustainable solutions that uplift individuals and communities affected by the carceral system. One of many tools she uses to support her work includes artificial intelligence.
Robert Keszeg
Robert Keszeg has worked in the AI industry since 2019. He was a consultant for a UK-based startup that helped Fortune 500 companies train their AI systems to handle complex customer service scenarios. Recently, Robert relocated from the UK to the US and joined the Blue Mountain Humane Society to focus on giving back to the welcoming Walla Walla community. Robert is enthusiastic about the potential of AI to augment human capabilities, making individuals more productive and efficient with their time. He believes that AI can ultimately enable people to allocate more time to high-value tasks by streamlining and optimizing various processes.
Rebecca Weaver is the Founder and CEO of HRuprise, an employee advocacy organization that supports companies with flexible, independent HR for the new world of work. Rebecca has spent more than two decades in pivotal leadership roles, from Fortune 50 companies to innovative startups.
Inspired by the stories of the #MeToo movement, Rebecca launched HRuprise as a lone Instagram post, challenging HR professionals to create safer workplaces for employees. Today, she’s dedicated to making HR simple for businesses and startups.
Rebecca speaks about HR disruption as a sought-after public speaker, and author of an upcoming book about post-traumatic growth.
Meena Das (she/her) is a the founder, consultant, and facilitator of two practices - NamasteData and Data Is For Everyone. NamasteData focusses on advancing data equity for nonprofits and social impact agencies, while Data Is For Everyone provides invaluable tools and resources to help people learn how to navigate the world of data.
Meena is a specialist in designing and teaching equitable research tools and analyzing engagement. She supports nonprofits in three critical areas: data collection assessments, community surveys, and staff workshops on improving data equity, incorporating data collection, visualization, and human-centric algorithms.
Erica Barnhart is an Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Washington, and Founder and CEO of Claxon Communication, a company that teaches purpose-centered clients how to communicate with clarity and confidence. Her 100+ clients have included the Gates Foundation, King County Library System, PATH, and Yakima Valley Community Foundation. She is the author of Pitchfalls: why bad pitches happen to good people and the SSIR article, Great mission. Bad statement. Why the social sector should worry about words.
February and March
The Science and Practice of Inclusion with Community Resilience Initiative
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Becky Turner, Director of Community Engagement
Becky Turner (she/her) is Director of Community Engagement Becky has worked as a public school teacher and in the local nonprofit sphere. A former executive director of a reentry-based nonprofit, she and her team provided human services to people after incarceration. Becky is active volunteer in the community of Walla Walla, and a member of the local Reach Out coalition to prevent suicide. Eager to put her first-hand knowledge of the community to good use, Becky looks forward to bringing CRI’s trauma-informed and resilience-focused training to all sectors of the Walla Walla Valley. When she’s not working on making connections in the community, Becky enjoys gardening and having weekly Sunday dinners with her extended family, where she is the assigned dessert maker.
February
The Science and Practice of Inclusion
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Rick Griffin, Executive Director
Rick (he/him) is the Executive Director for CRI. With more than twenty years of experience in non-profit administration, Rick has first-hand experience with building organizations that use a trauma-informed approach in both internal operations and service delivery. Under Rick’sguidance, CRI has become a leading voice in the field of trauma and resilience. His dedication to resilience, and his commitment to creatinga citizenry conversant in the science of trauma, are an inspiration to all who know him.