Canadian, Roger D. Ali, CFRE, to Lead Board of Largest Community of Charitable Fundraisers in the World

(Arlington, Va.) Roger D. Ali, MBA, C.Dir., CFRE will serve in 2025 and 2026 as the chair of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Global, the largest organization of charitable fundraisers in the world. Ali is the first male Canadian to hold the position, and only the second Canadian, in the organization’s 65-year history. Ali will succeed Birgit Smith Burton, who served as global board chair for 2023 and 2024 and will now serve as immediate past chair.

“In addition to my role as chair-elect, I’ve spent the last two years serving as chair of AFP’s strategic planning committee, which has provided me with unique insight and input into the future of our organization,” said Ali. “As I step into my new role as board chair, I’m excited to put this plan into action, on behalf of the entire AFP community. I’m looking forward to learning more about the diverse needs of our members, to foster that sense of community and belonging that I felt the very first time that I attended an AFP event.”

In addition to his most recent strategic planning and AFP Global board chair-elect roles, Roger brings a wealth of previous AFP volunteer leadership experience, including terms as chair of the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy Canada, president of the AFP Golden Horseshoe Chapter, and board member for the AFP Greater Toronto Chapter.

“Roger has been instrumental in AFP’s work over the last few years and is the perfect person to continue our efforts to make this organization and the fundraising profession a more inclusive and equitable community,” said AFP president and CEO Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA. “I’m excited to work with him and the 2025 board during my remaining time with AFP and I have confidence in his ability to collaborate with my successor moving forward, to guide AFP through an important period of growth.”

Roger is currently an organizational & fundraising management consultant, working with boards and fundraising leadership on governance and the strategy side of major gifts and capital campaigns. He transitioned to consulting in 2021 after completing the chartered director program in governance at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business.

Ali’s fundraising career began with a part-time job in the Office of Alumni Advancement while he was an undergraduate at McMaster University. This early introduction ignited a lifelong passion for the profession. He honed his skills serving organizations such as United Way of Halton & Hamilton, Ontario, Parkinson Canada, and The Bishop Strachan School in Toronto, before becoming vice president of development at Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation. Here he was responsible for multimillion-dollar major and capital campaigns, working with high-profile volunteers.

This experience, along with the MBA in leadership and management he earned from Athabasca University, helped him define his leadership style, and advance his professional career, becoming president and CEO of the Niagara Health Foundation in 2017.

As he took on more senior positions, his involvement with AFP deepened as well, with increased chapter engagement serving as a stepping stone to AFP Global leadership.

“My journey in this profession began with a simple phone call that introduced me to the power of connection and storytelling. Those experiences shaped my belief that everyone deserves a sense of community and the confidence that comes from being seen and heard,” said Ali. “As I became more involved with AFP, I found fellow leaders, like my predecessor, Birgit Smith Burton, who shared my commitment to identity and belonging, and openly invited me into the conversation. Now, as I step into my role as chair, I hope to continue this work, ensuring that AFP remains a place where fundraisers of all backgrounds feel empowered to lead, innovate, and create lasting change.”

2025 Board of Directors
Ali and the rest of the 2025 AFP Board of Directors were recently approved by a vote of AFP members.

The officers for 2025 include:

• Roger Ali, MBA, C. Dir., CFRE: Chair
• Adrienne Longenecker: Chair-Elect
• Birgit Smith Burton: Immediate Past Chair
• Cherian Koshy, CFRE, CAP: Treasurer
• Dzenan Berberovic, M.A., CFRE: Secretary

Vice chairs include:

• Kathy Rabon, CFRE: Vice Chair, Membership Engagement
• Michelle Flores Vryn, CFRE: Vice Chair, Professional Development
• Lisa Chmiola, M.S., CFRE, CSPG: Vice Chair, External Relations

The board is also composed of the following at-large directors:

• Mohamed Abdelrahman
• Marco Corona
• H. Aldervan Daly, CFRE
• Michelle T. Edgerton, MA
• Monica Grant, CFRE
• Rochelle M. Jerry
• Jonathan Meagher-Zayas, MSW, MPA, CFRE
• Benjamin Mohler, MA, CFRE, ACFRE
• Megan Spranger, CFRE: Chapter Presidents’ Council Representative
• James Tobias, CFRE
• Pinky Vincent Shubert, CFRE

In addition, the following are ex-officio members of the AFP Association Board:

• Rea Ganash: Chair, AFP Canada Board
• Catherine M Connolly, CFRE: Chair, AFP Foundation for Philanthropy - US Board
• Amanda Fritz, CFRE, MPNL: Chair, AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada Board
• Carlos Madrid Varela: AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Mexico Representative
• Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA: AFP President and CEO  

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Since 1960, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has been the standard-bearer for professionalism in fundraising. The association works to advance effective and ethical philanthropy by providing advocacy, research, education, mentoring, collaboration and technology opportunities for the world’s largest network of professional fundraisers. AFP’s more than 25,000 members in 180+ professional chapters raise over $100 billion annually for a wide variety of charitable organizations and causes across the globe. For more information, go to afpglobal.org.

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