Winning Grant Proposal Judge Biographies

Gayle Samuelson Carpentier is the Chief Business Development Officer at TechSoup. Upon joining the TechSoup Global in 2001 as the program’s founding Business Development lead, Ms. Carpentier developed the strategic structure of its product donation service. The service allows nonprofits to find a large array of donated technology in one place, while still reflecting each donating company’s unique philanthropic goals.

In her expanded role, Ms. Carpentier works with all sections of TechSoup to grow and maintain the unique focus of direct services and benefits to the nonprofit and civil society sector. Whether scoping business criteria for new international partners, negotiating multi-national donation programs, developing business strategies and structures for new initiatives or speaking out on the essential need for corporations to support nonprofit efforts, she continues to expand and stretch the market understanding and interpretation of the role technology plays in the overall health of the sector.

Mike Chamberlain, MBA, CAE is the Chief Executive Officer of the Grant Professionals Association. He is responsible for the strategic operation of the association and works with the GPA Board of Directors and staff to ensure GPA is recognized as The Authority in the grants profession.

He is a member of the American Society of Association Executives, Association of Fundraising Professionals, and the Kansas City Society of Association Executives. He serves on several nonprofit organization boards in the Kansas City area. Mike is a Certified Association Executive with over 25 years of experience in association management in a variety of roles. Mike and his wife live in Lee’s Summit, Missouri with their adorable dog Rifkin.

Kevin has been with NCRP since 2005. His experience prior to joining NCRP includes helping to direct the individual membership and donation program at MHz Networks, a small group of independent public television stations in the Washington, D.C market. In addition to traditional membership outreach through mail, e-mail, and telephone campaigns, Kevin helped organize live televised fundraising campaigns and community outreach events, and worked on a major rebranding and marketing campaign.

He has also done contract work for clients such as the fundraising department of the George Washington University Law School and the National Economic Research Associates. Kevin holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from American University. He is a member of the Association for Fundraising Professionals and Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy.

Michelle Greanias, Executive Director of PEAK Grantmaking, is a passionate advocate for efficient and effective grantmaking and is deeply committed to elevating the value of grantmaking practices in philanthropy. Since 2008, Michelle has led the explosive growth of PEAK Grantmaking, making it one of the largest networks in the field.

Michelle has spent most of her career in corporate philanthropy, leading grants management teams to implement efficient, effective grantmaking practices. She has also overseen program-related investments; engaged in projects to facilitate socially responsible investments in housing and community development; and managed employee giving programs.

Michelle speaks and writes regularly on effective grants management practices and has consulted with government and private sector grants programs to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their grantmaking operations.

Michelle serves on the National Panel for GrantAdvisor and on the review panel for the Fund for Children, Youth, and Families at the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. She holds bachelor degrees in international relations and French/West European studies and a master’s degree in business administration from The American University.

Amy leads the New York Advisory team, and directs strategic planning and program development for families, donor collaboratives and private foundations. She helps donors define their philanthropic goals and implement giving programs to achieve them. She manages philanthropy focused on music, literature and the arts, arts education, green spaces, and criminal justice system reform, and has overseen large-scale disaster response and community resilience initiatives. Amy joined Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors in 2004, and has researched and led giving programs in youth development, education, and the Afghan Women Leaders Connect collaborative fund.

Amy previously served as Development Associate for the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center, a settlement house in Yorkville and East Harlem in New York. She serves as Chair of the board of the Support Center for Nonprofit Management, and as Secretary of the board of Harlem United, an agency providing medical, social, and supportive services for adults with HIV/AIDS.

Amy received a Master of Public Administration degree from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, and a B.A. from the College of William and Mary in English Literature. She lives in Queens with her husband and three young sons, and has gotten pretty good at cleaning smashed banana off Lego blocks.

Keith is Executive Director/CEO at Support Center, and leads efforts to develop and promote an integrated and collaborative approach to capacity building for nonprofit organizations and social enterprises. Prior to joining Support Center/Partnership in Philanthropy, Keith was the Director & CEO with Build with Purpose, a nonprofit real estate development organization. Keith brings over fifteen years of experience in community development including: involvement in educational reform issues with The Center for Collaborative Education in New York City; experience in leadership development and management programs as the former President of the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation); and exposure to policy and community development approaches across the country during his time with Living Cities: The National Community Development Initiative. Keith has a Bachelor’s degree in History and Russian from Rutgers University and a Master in Business Administration from Columbia University.