Meet our Members

Share what you love most about your work at Sacramento Region Community Foundation. As a native Sacramentan and super fan of our region, I am proud of the role the Sacramento Region Community Foundation plays in addressing the challenges that face our community and the collaborative spirit of the Foundation to work together with key partners, philanthropists, and the nonprofit sector to find solutions. I love my work at the Foundation because I have the opportunity to make a community-wide difference, am fortunate to work alongside amazing team members, and have the privilege of working with people in the region who want to make an impact.

What has been your favorite part about being a member of PGFGS? I have more than one favorite thing: I have learned so much from other members of PGFGS, and the networking with other nonprofit professionals has been invaluable. Plus, the speakers at the lunch and virtual sessions have opened my eyes to practical and inspiring ways of approaching planned giving.

How have you been able to relate your experience and learnings from PGFGS to your work? As I have evolved in my career, from my early years in annual giving and event planning to securing major gifts for the organizations I’ve represented as my profession advanced, I have found that working with donors on planned gifts is the most fulfilling but also the most challenging. The resources and expert advice I’ve received from PGFGS have given me ideas and creative approaches to providing solutions to donors that I would likely have not considered otherwise.

Which membership/sponsorship benefit(s) do you find most valuable? Networking with other professionals is so valuable to me (especially when we’re able to meet in person). Not only do I learn from fellow members, but I am inspired and humbled by their depth and breadth of knowledge, tireless work for the communities they serve, and their high level of professionalism.

Share a fun fact about yourself. A fun fact about myself is what I love to do in my spare time: play music. As a musician, I play the flute, piccolo, the native flute, and saxophone, and I’m a backup singer (and play the occasional tambourine) with the cover band, CausePlay, alongside a few other fellow PGFGS members. We typically play for fundraising events associated with the Rotary Club of Sacramento but could be inspired to play for others!

What do you love most about working with planned giving at UC Davis? Working at UC Davis is professionally challenging in terms of the types and number of planned giving prospects, gift scenarios and potential solutions we run across and our work supporting the development team across the colleges, schools and units. It definitely keeps us all on our toes, staying current, as much as possible, with tax changes and trends. It’s rewarding in being a part (a small part, but I feel like I helped) of the broad scope of good things happening at UC Davis – from the Davis campus to UC Davis Health and beyond – and the school’s impact in the region, the state, and the world. But the thing I look forward to the most is the work I do directly with our Planned Giving team itself. They are a dedicated, caring, thoughtful, driven and fun-loving group of professionals and I love the culture we have built over the years. We have a good time and get a lot done.

How have you been able to relate your experience with PGFGS to your work? My PGFGS experience correlates directly to being successful in planned giving (or really any career): you have to start with a good foundation of knowledge, continue to develop and build on that, and make sure you connect with peers and mentors along the way to build your professional network and resources. PGFGS provides all of those opportunities. And as a former board member, I know it’s important to give back to make a place better than you found it – and I’ve always tried to do that.

What has been your favorite part about being a member of PGFGS? I’d have to say the networking – connecting and re-connecting with people I really enjoy seeing, people who I’ve worked with or volunteered with over the years, the people making a difference in the Sacramento area.

Which membership benefit(s) do you find most valuable? The access to the trainings and the connection to the national organization (NACGP) have been very valuable over the years.

Share a fun fact about yourself. Not sure how much fun it is, but I’ve been a distance runner for about 15 years. I’m on a little hiatus right now, but over the years, have completed a bunch of half marathons, some 20-milers, finished the California International Marathon 12 times and the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run two times. I’m hoping to run a 5K with my granddaughter someday, she’s 8 now, so I have to stay in shape. More fun than running maybe, I enjoy writing song parodies (ala Weird Al), mostly with a planned giving twist and mostly from classic rock or songs from the ‘70s. It was usually for my own amusement (I can’t sing or play an instrument), but the fun-loving part of our PG team will actually perform them!

What has been your favorite part about being a member of PGFGS? This is the third year I’ve been a member, and by far my favorite part is the people. I’ve made great connections with colleagues who work in planned giving and advising. These are people I know I can turn to when seeking referrals, connecting donors to resources, or just to chat about what’s new in the world of planned giving.

Can you tell us about the membership benefits you find most valuable? Absolutely! This year, I definitely took advantage of the Ask an Expert member benefit. We had a discussion around working with trustees on estate gifts and were trying to develop our internal guidelines. I submitted a question to the PGFGS experts and was connected with a colleague who had years of experience working with trustees on countless estates. She shared real-life scenarios and offered practical advice that we’ve incorporated into our working procedures. I appreciated that I got a quick response, and my “expert” was incredibly generous with her time and expertise.

Share what you love most about working in development at Sac State. Our students. I know that every dollar we can raise to support our students can truly change their futures. Oh, and our small but mighty team of fundraisers are some of the most passionate and creative folks I know. Stingers up!

Share a fun fact about yourself. I can get really into late 80s and 90s cheesy sci-fi. I wouldn’t normally admit this, but I have definitely binged every Star Trek episode of every series and every movie…at least twice. It’s my version of suspending disbelief!