Committee Members

Chris Carter President, Candela

Co-Founder Xlerate

Chris is a dedicated non-profit fundraising and marketing veteran with more than 25 years of experience. Chris has hands-on expertise in all areas of fundraising from integrated marketing, digital, direct response television, and social media to legacy and major giving.

Chris has had the pleasure of working with some of the world’s biggest non-profit brands including Amnesty International, The Nature Conservancy, Greenpeace, UNHCR, and St. Jude’s. His work has raised countless millions of dollars and unlocked hundreds of thousands of new donors.

Chris is an in-demand speaker. Regularly speaking at AFP, NTEN and Bridge. When he’s not passionately raising money for worthy causes Chris loves to travel and enjoys the arts.

Ryann Miller

Co-Founder Xlerate

Ryann is in the business of helping progressive organizations fulfil their missions and create a more just world. She applies a digital-inclusive lens to change-making. Connecting people with objectives, and turning needs and goals into projects with tangible outcomes, she work with organizations that create and deepen public engagement and mass mobilization, that move resources to align with progressive values, and that fight for the things we teach our children are important. It’s the best.

Her experience is in helping nonprofits leverage digital / multichannel fundraising, marketing and engagement in order to thrive. She did that as a consultant, then she co-founded a company that offers fundraising research solutions and predictive modelling, then she joined Care2, a social network of 50+MM progressives and change-makers.

Laura Champion

Senior Manager, Donor Response Marketing, Diabetes Canada

Laura loves fundraising. After leaving her first career in Library Science she found her niche in the fundraising world. She has experience in annual, tribute giving, mid-level growth, and digital integration.

Tasha Van Vlack

Relationship Growth Specialist and co-founder at The Nonprofit Hive.

Her happy place is getting the opportunity to connect, learn and share with nonprofit professionals. She is a mama to 3 spirited kiddos, enjoys playing with marketing tools and can often be found engaging with nonprofiteers on LinkedIn.

Sheetal Puri

Senior Director Digital Fundraising, Wikimedia Foundation

I have over 15 years of experience working in fundraising, marketing, organisational strategy and management, with a focus on digital. I currently work at the Wikimedia Foundation raising funds to support Wikipedia and its sister projects. I’m committed to the fundraising profession but also see the flaws in the ways we work . We are rooted in a fundraising model that perpetuates colonial modes of power. I advocate for a community-centric approach to fundraising that gives back power to those who have had it taken away. And yes, we can still raise money in this way.