AFP Emerging Leaders Virtual Workshop

Education Session Topics
 

• Fundraising Career Success: Strategies from 2024 AFP Young Professional Awardees: Dimetri O'Brien, Ryan Zapolski, CFRE, Madeleine Durante: How can you build your fundraising career while fostering a supportive community and advocating for the resources you need to succeed? With fundraisers looking to leave the field at alarming rates, support for emerging and young professionals has never been more critical. Hear from last year’s AFP Outstanding Young Professionals on how to leverage AFP, other community networks, and educational resources to build your career and learning opportunities while avoiding burnout.
   
• Look, Talk, Listen: Building Authentic Donor Relationships in an Inauthentic World: Michael Buckley: Effective communication is at the heart of good fundraising.  Fundraising professionals must connect with donors to learn their passions, priorities and purpose. During this session, we will focus on enhancing your communication skills across every part of the donor cycle with a keen eye towards fundraising.
  
  We’ll dive into the essentials of effective communication, inspired by Malcolm Gladwell, Kate Murphy, and Christian Madsbjerg. We will explore the basics of listening skills that build donor trust, debunk common myths, and learn strategic questions to strengthen relationships. We’ll discuss how to read emotions, handle rejection with grace, and master storytelling techniques that bring your mission to life.
  
  Plus, we’ll cover smart strategies for managing your prospect pool, ensuring your team is aligned and effective. Through interactive exercises and real-world examples, you’ll gain practical tools and techniques to transform your donor relationships and elevate your fundraising efforts. This engaging session promises to enhance your communication skills and boost your fundraising success. 
   
• The Courage to Fundraise:  What We Do, Why We Do It, and Why It Matters So Much: T. Clay Buck, CFRE: What's the big deal about fundraising, it's just asking people for money/professional begging/sales/why-don't-you-ask-Oprah . . . How often have you heard comments like this and responded with something like "it's about relationships."  While that's true, what does it really mean to be a fundraiser?  Especially in the world we're working in now with so much pressure, declining retention rates, fewer households giving, and economic challenges making our work even harder.  In this session we're going to dig deep into what it means to be a fundraiser, why our work matters so much, and how fundraising isn't just generating revenue but is actually part of your organization's mission.  You'll walk out of here not just rejuvenated and inspired - and laughing a bit - but with applicable knowledge of key trends in our profession, how to tackle them head-on, and the confidence that what you do as a fundraiser actually does change the world.
   
• Strategic Synergy: Integrating Digital Engagement and Personalized Outreach for Annual Giving Success: Karras Mayes, Hector Villarreal, Anessa Rios-Ezeude, CFRE: Unlock the blueprint for annual giving success! Join us as we unveil cutting-edge strategies at the intersection of digital engagement and personalized outreach. Learn how to craft compelling campaigns, optimize multi-channel communication, and drive donor participation with innovative strategies.
   

Meet the Facilitator:

Adrienne McDade Taylor, CFRE, MA, MBA is a Sr. Consultant at Skystone Partners. Adrienne started her career in fundraising through the AFP-Greater Cincinnati Chapter’s diversity program, New Faces of Fundraising, and now serves on the leadership team. She is the 2023 Greater Cincinnati Chapter President and AFP Global Board Member. Her commitment to IDEA is what keeps her actively engaged with AFP. She is a proud mom, wife, member of Kaleidoscope Investment Group and loves theatrical makeup.  
 

Meet the Speakers:

Dimetri O'Brien, a seasoned fundraising and communications expert in DC, boasts over a decade in non-profit development. With a diverse career spanning public and private sectors, including roles at The UN and Facebook, he shaped national and international initiatives. Currently, Dimetri serves as Associate Director of Development at Carlos Rosario International School, crafting innovative solutions for educational advancement. His dedication and expertise are instrumental in creating opportunities and brighter futures for learners from diverse backgrounds.
 

Ryan Zapolski, CFRE is a passionate and dedicated fundraiser based in Cleveland, Ohio. Ryan currently serves as a Director of Development for Smile Train, the world's leading provider of cleft care, and a Director for the AFP Cleveland Board of Directors. In 2024, Ryan earned his CFRE and received AFP Global's 2024 Outstanding Young Professional Award.

Outside of fundraising, Ryan is an active member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland, College Now Greater Cleveland, the Alumni Association Board of Directors for Ithaca College, and the Leadership Council at the Cleveland Leadership Center.


Madeleine Durante is a resource mobilizer for social justice. As Director of Donor Retention & Direct Response at MoveOn, the nation’s largest independent progressive advocacy group, Madeleine leads retention and multichannel fundraising. Prior to MoveOn, Madeleine held midlevel and direct response fundraising roles at Planned Parenthood’s national office, and served as co-chair of their LGBTQ employee resource group. She is a board alumni and volunteers with the New York Abortion Access Fund, and received AFP-Global’s 2024 Outstanding Young Professional Award.

Michael J. Buckley, CFRE, is a seasoned fundraiser, non-profit consultant, coach, and speaker dedicated to enhancing the performance of small and medium-sized nonprofit organizations. As the Founder and Managing Partner of The Killoe Group, Mike has a proven track record of driving increased funding, visibility, and organizational capacity across diverse focus areas. His expertise encompasses annual campaign audits and management, capital campaign leadership, feasibility studies, interim and ad-hoc program leadership, board governance, strategic planning, and capacity building. 

Mike is a highly effective and sought-after international speaker, having presented at numerous prestigious professional development events, including the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ International Conference (ICON), the National Association for Animal Welfare Advancement, the Northeast Annual Giving Conference, and the Mid-South Philanthropy Conference. Additionally, he is a Founding Faculty member at the Institute of Nonprofit Leadership and Community Development at the State University of New York at Albany. 

An active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Mike has held leadership positions within the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy and the Fundraising Effectiveness Project. He currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Saratoga Independent School. 

A proud former student phon-a-thon caller, Mike and his wife, Alison, enjoy traveling to warm climates, drinking good red wine, and following the New York Mets. 

T. Clay Buck, CFRE, AFP Certified Facilitator Clay (the “T.” is silent) has been developing organizations and advancing missions for over thirty years. He’s held just about every position in nonprofit fundraising and communications from Grant Writer to Chief Development Officer and everything in between. He’s a wide-eyed optimist about the power of generosity to change the world and focuses primarily on individual giving, strategic planning, teaching and training, storytelling, and building systems that support and empower successful, ethical fundraising. Clay is the founder and principal of TCB Fundraising, creator of the Fundraiser’s Planner, and co-host of the #1 ranked fundraising podcast “Fundraising is Funny.” 

Clay holds a BA from the University of Georgia and a Master of Fine Arts from Michigan State University. He has been a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) for over 10 year and is an AFP Certified Facilitator and Coach. He teaches fundraising, storytelling, and strategic planning at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he was recognized with the Outstanding Faculty award and was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from AFP Las Vegas. He makes his home in Southern Nevada where he is owned by two Golden Retrievers who have mastered the art of the ask, especially at mealtimes. 

Karras Mayes is the Program Director of College and Center Partnerships at the University of Houston's Office of Annual Giving. She oversees the college-specific annual giving efforts for over 20 units and directs the University's GivingTuesday and Giving Day campaigns. With experience in fundraising pipeline development, strategic partnerships, alumni engagement and digital marketing, Karras remains committed to equitable education access. Before joining the University of Houston, she worked at her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University.

Hector Villarreal is a seasoned digital engagement professional specializing in Digital Outreach and Fundraising Strategy. As Assistant Director of Digital Engagement at the University of Houston, he spearheads initiatives in email marketing, donation page optimization, and social media for Annual Giving, with a strategic focus on student and young alumni engagement. Previously, as Digital Fundraising Manager at UH, he crafted strategies that enhanced donor engagement and revenue growth. Hector's experience includes leadership roles as Director of Marketing at Dayrise Residential and Account Manager at 2020 Exhibits, where he honed his expertise in digital marketing, social media strategy, and analytics. His efforts drive a dynamic culture of philanthropy.

Anessa Rios-Ezeude, CFRE, serves as the Director of Annual Giving at the University of Houston, where she leads UH's multichannel fundraising efforts to engage students, young alumni and the broader Cougar community in meaningful giving. With a focus on meeting alumni where they are, Anessa has modernized and elevated UH’s Annual Giving program, fostering a culture of philanthropy that invites everyone to participate.

Anessa is a frequent national speaker on topics like young professional engagement, inclusive fundraising and cohesive campaign strategies. Proud to call Houston her home, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Houston and a Master of Business Administration in Management of Technology from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. UH will always be her home.

Previously, Anessa served in a leadership role at Houston Public Media, where she became the youngest female and Hispanic director in the station’s history. Guided by the belief that "identity is a superpower—not an obstacle," Anessa consistently elevates individual giving programs by incorporating insights from donor feedback, data  and shared experiences to put donors at the center. She ensures that everyone can see themselves in the mission by creating programs that connect with a wide range of interests and backgrounds. Through this donor-first approach, her multimedia campaigns have achieved record-breaking digital fundraising revenue and set new standards for giving and engagement.