Staff Bios
Office of the CEO & Leadership
Henry L. Berman
Acting Chief Executive Officer
Henry is an ASF board member, and serves on our Development, Membership and Governance Committees. He is a trustee of The Edith Glick Shoolman Children’s Foundation, and also serves as a trustee for a number of charitable trusts. As a director, writer and producer of multi-media programs for over thirty years, Henry has worked with and in major corporations, labor unions, and small non-profit organizations. He has managed staff within a Fortune 500, as a start-up entrepreneur and on countless projects. He has extensive volunteer experience serving in leadership positions for several non-profits. Henry holds a Bachelor of Science in communications from Ithaca College, a Masters and Doctorate in education from Boston University, and a Certificate in Business and Management from Harvard University Extension School, where he currently teaches classes in fundraising and philanthropy.
Virginia Humphrey
Special Projects Associate
Contact Virginia about matters relating to the office of the CEO and public policy issues.
As the Special Projects Associate Virginia researches new projects and programs, acts as the Board liaison, and supports the CEO. Prior to joining ASF in 2006 Virginia was a Political Analyst for the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. She was also a Girls Education and Empowerment Volunteer for the Peace Corps after graduating with a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University.
Virginia focuses her personal philanthropy on local performing arts programs.
Melissa Nussbaum
Director of Development
Contact Melissa if you are an ASF member who would like to make a grant or donation to support ASF’s programs and services.
As Director of Development, Melissa designs, implements and manages ASF’s development program. Previously, Melissa was a fundraising and program management consultant to nonprofits and social enterprises in the international microfinance and small business development fields. Melissa was the Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Microfinance Network and the Member Services Director of the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network. Melissa was also a USAID Emerging Markets Development Advisor to Save the Children US in Hanoi, Vietnam. Melissa has a BA in Psychology from Boston College and a Masters in Public Policy from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute at Georgetown University.
Melissa is active in developing women’s leadership in the international economic development field through Women Advancing Microfinance. Melissa supports several animal welfare and rescue organizations, organizations working to improve global poverty and pediatric oncology hospitals.
Kathryn Petrillo-Smith
Managing Director
Contact Kathryn about strategy development at ASF as well as existing programs and services.
Kathryn oversees general operations at ASF. Among other things, Kathryn oversaw the initial development and launch of ASF’s Getting to Impact curriculum, a curriculum that helps ASF members define what they want to achieve, how they are going to get there and evaluation as a key tool for achieving that impact. Before ASF, Kathryn worked as an economic and policy analyst at the Environmental Protection Agency helping to reduce air emissions from the energy sector. Kathryn was also a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bulgaria. In 2004, Kathryn completed her M.B.A. studies at the Yale School of Management with a dual focus in strategy and nonprofit management. She also holds a B.S. in environmental engineering from Cornell University.
At ASF, Kathryn most enjoys the opportunity to engage with members – learning and gaining inspiration from them. Kathryn focuses her personal giving on mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Educational Programs
Contact any team member about ASF’s educational programs. Contact Akilah with questions about registration.
Jimmy M. Harris Jr.
Program Director
Contact Jimmy about educational programs, including the 2010 National Conference.
As Program Director, Jimmy works to develop, plan, and execute educational programs for ASF members. Among other things, Jimmy oversaw the development, planning, and launch of ASF programs on climate change and early childhood development. Before ASF, Jimmy worked at the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network, a membership association, where he managed peer learning programs for international microfinance and microenterprise development organizations; DAI, an international consulting firm; and the Inter-American Foundation, an independent foreign assistance agency of the United States government. Jimmy has worked in 15 countries – making site visits for grants, managing training programs, or both. He is very happy to be working in his own backyard now. Jimmy has a B.A. in French and a M.A in Latin American Studies.
Jimmy’s favorite word in the dictionary is opportunity, and he focuses his personal giving on economic opportunity in particular. Jimmy thinks that the international NGO Pro Mujer, among many others, should be listed in the dictionary under opportunity.
Lauren Kotkin
Program Director
Lauren joined the educational programs team in 2007 and plans ASF conferences, seminars, conference calls and webinars. Previously, she worked at the Council on Foundations in the Family Foundation Services department. Before moving to DC in 2005, Lauren was the education director of a children’s museum near Boston, managing the facility and developing and delivering programs for educators, museum colleagues, children and families. Lauren holds a B.A. in cultural anthropology from Duke University and an M.Ed. from Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., with a focus on using arts in education.
She is an artist and exhibits and volunteers for Artomatic, an annual month-long art festival in D.C.
Hanh Le
Director, Member Services
Contact Hanh about overall educational programs, written resources, research, and other member services.
As member services director, Hanh oversees ASF’s Member Services Department. Hanh joined ASF in March 2008 as an educational program director, focusing on initiatives such Katrina @ 5: Partners in Philanthropy, distance learning, and next generation engagement. Prior to ASF, Hanh directed training, grant, and technical assistance programs first for KaBOOM! and then for the Community Technology Centers’ Network – both national nonprofit organizations based in Washington, DC. Before moving to DC, Hanh served as a small business development volunteer for the Peace Corps in the Eastern Caribbean. Hanh holds a B.S. in Environmental Geology from the College of William & Mary and a Master’s in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia School of Architecture.
Hanh enjoys learning about and from ASF members across the country.
Akilah Massey
Program Associate
Contact Akilah with questions about registrations for educational programs.
Akilah provides logistical and administrative support to the educational programs team. She handles registration for all ASF Educational Programs and has also worked with ASF members and other partners on ASF local programs, small member-hosted gatherings around the country. After studying at Howard University in Washington, DC, she returned to her hometown of Cleveland, OH to work at a children’s rehabilitation hospital for the Cleveland Clinic. She joined the staff of ASF in October of 2005.
Content Team
The ASF Content Team provides written resources, curriculum development, research and member service. We call them “the experts.”
Andy Carroll
Senior Program Manager
Contact Andy about the ASF Discussion List, and matters related to public policy.
Andy Carroll, Senior Program Manager, writes resources, designs workshops, and facilitates seminars and programs. He also serves as lead on foundation grantmaking issues for ASF. He enjoys talking with members about their questions and their plans for making a difference in their missions and communities. Prior to joining ASF, Andy developed programs at the National Center for Family Philanthropy, and before that at the Council on Foundations, where he helped the Council’s membership create the annual conference program. Andy has an MBA from the University of Michigan Business School, and has 25 years of experience in management, training, and program development for nonprofit organizations, including work at the Wolf Trap Foundation and Public Citizen.
He and his wife Valerie are proud parents of a daughter who attends middle school in the DC Public Schools, loves to play soccer, and do gymnastics.
Sara Beggs
Senior Program Manager
Sara has held a range of positions within ASF over her 10 years with the organization. Currently, she focuses her time and energy on developing materials to help members make the greatest difference possible through the Getting to Impact series. In addition, she is passionate about making the Internal Revenue Code accessible and understandable – even in the areas of self-dealing and filing the 990-PF. Prior to joining ASF, Sara helped to implement a comprehensive economic development project in Hartford. Sara holds her B.S. in economics from Boston College. Sara now telecommutes for ASF from Bloomington, IN where her family resides.
Her greatest philanthropic joy is found in her work with a group called Blooming Kids for Kindness. With the goal to encourage their kids to care about their communities and instill the belief that each one of them can make a difference no matter how small they are, ten families engage in local and international volunteer and fundraising activities. Both the kids and parents love it!
Ruth Masterson
Senior Program Manager
Ruth creates written materials and training curriculum to support members, and answers member questions. In addition, she serves as the resource lead for board, governance and administration topics, and as the content team lead.
Ruth brings over 13 years of experience in the nonprofit sector prior to starting at ASF in 1007, and she has consulted with nonprofit clients for and through organizations including Silk, Adler & Colvin, the Council on Foundations, and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law. Ruth earned her Masters in Public Policy at Johns Hopkins University with a focus in Nonprofit Management; a Certificate in International Development at SAIS; and a BA at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
An active volunteer all her life, she has served on several boards of directors and as a review panelist for the Maryland Association of Nonprofits’ Standards for Excellence certification program. In her spare time, she volunteers with a Buddhist organization and a dog rescue group, as well as being an avid gardener and “foodie.”
Janice Simsohn Shaw
Senior Program Manager
Contact Janice about Tear Sheets and next generation engagement.
Janice oversees ASF’s Next Generation work and edits Tear Sheets. She also writes for Essentials, the ASF Primer Series, and enjoys the opportunity to facilitate Next Gen programs and other ASF learning experiences. Janice joined our staff in January 2005 after relocating from Madison, WI. She brings 12 years of experience in the non-profit sector, and has coordinated Earth Day events at the United Nations as well as served as the sole staffer for a cross-country charity bicycle ride. Janice received her B.A. from Skidmore College and teaches yoga in her spare time.
Janice enjoys the opportunity to work with ASF’s inspiring and down-to-earth members as they leverage small assets for big impact in communities around the world.
Membership
Linda Zimmerman
Membership Manager
Contact Linda with all questions about membership status: dues payments, renewal forms or receipts, changing contact information, updating trustee listings, etc.
Linda is responsible for the day-to-day processing of all new and renewal memberships and maintaining ASF’s member database. Prior to joining ASF in 1997, Linda worked for Population Communications International as an executive assistant/membership specialist. She also held management positions at the University of Vermont and New York Life Insurance Company, where she worked for 16 years before relocating to Vermont in 1989. Linda is a graduate of Hofstra University with a B.A. in English and has completed course work toward an M.A. in English at the University of Vermont.
ASF’s longest-tenured member, Linda has interacted with many of its members through the years and enjoys learning about their giving interests and the motivation behind their philanthropy. Her personal philanthropy focuses on services for the blind, particularly organizations providing seeing-eye dogs.
Development
Cathleen Gallagher
Development Associate
Contact Cathleen if you are a professional advisor and have questions about ASF’s Professional Directory. She also can field questions about membership in ASF.
As a member of both the Membership and Development Teams, Cathleen offers logistical and administrative support to both departments, oversees ASF’s Professional Directory of Foundation Advisors, coordinates special events, and handles all outgoing communication with new ASF members and ASF donors. Cathleen graduated in 2007 from Oberlin College with a B.A. in East Asian Studies and History and studied Chinese language and politics in Beijing.
Cathleen is a native Washingtonian and focuses her personal philanthropy on community based organizations throughout the city and human rights issues across the globe.
Member Communications
Kim Adkinson
Staff Editor
Contact Kim about Essentials, the ASF quarterly newsletter.
Kim joined ASF in 2005 to manage the editing, design, and production of materials for ASF members. Now staff editor and member of the Member Communications Team, she focuses primarily on words, serving as “keeper of the ASF voice” and project manager for Essentials, the ASF newsletter. Kim is delighted to spend her workdays doing what she loves most: putting herself in the minds of readers to make communications clearer. Before coming to ASF, Kim was member services director at the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers, philanthropy fellow at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and, during her graduate training, an adult education instructor. The first in her family to attend college, she proudly graduated summa cum laude from Cornell University and received a master’s in human development from Penn State University and MSW from the University of Maryland.
Kim lives with her husband outside of Baltimore, MD, where they combine their respective loves of education and Chesapeake Bay sailing to support the Living Classrooms Foundation, a Baltimore-based environmental experiential learning institution.
Christa Carignan
Associate Web Editor, Contractor
Christa joined ASF in February 2007. As part of ASF’s Member Communications Team, she oversees our e-newsletters and edits and organizes our online content. From time to time, she is called upon to be our ad hoc photographer, contributing her talent to ASF publications and marketing materials. Christa has more than 12 years of experience as a fundraiser and writer for nonprofit organizations in the Washington, DC area, including National Council of La Raza, Cultural Tourism DC, and the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital. Christa graduated magna cum laude from Elizabethtown College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. She also completed continuing education courses in design, photography, and Web development.
Christa volunteers for the University of Maryland Master Gardener Program.
Justin Edwards
Publications Manager
Justin joined the Member Communications team in April 2008 to manage the design and production of ASF’s printed publications and other materials. He works closely with each department to support their marketing, design and print efforts. Prior to ASF, Justin coordinated the production of a large clinical cancer research journal and supported the development of its graphics management program. Justin graduated from the University of Iowa with Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and Global Studies with a focus on international development. He spent several years in both St. Paul, MN and Ljubljana, Slovenia, living and working as a freelance teacher, translator, editor and desktop publisher/designer before settling in DC.
Justin enjoys the opportunity to intersect with the inspiring histories and impact ASF’s members bring to their communities.
Alana Placzkowski
Online Content Manager
Contact Alana about the ASF website.
Alana manages the ASF website, and works closely with Linda on the database. She is an “accidental techie” who fell into her current role because she’s organized and knows how to Google. Alana joined our staff in March 2005 as a receptionist, and still enjoys fielding member Q&A calls. One of her favorite projects was the ASF Voices of Philanthropy videos. Before moving to DC, Alana worked as a massage therapist in Bloomington, Indiana. Prior to that, she taught English and drama in a Hungarian high school, where her students received several national achievement awards. Both former careers miss her very much. Alana graduated with high honors from the University of Illinois with a degree in English education.
Alana and her husband focus their philanthropy on environmental conservation, public and independent media, and performing arts organizations.
Operations
Peter Tajat
Office Manager
Contact Peter about office and conference space and any other building- related questions, as well as the ASF bookstore.
Peter keeps our building and systems running, and he’s often a voice you hear when you call us. In 2001 Peter moved to the DC area from Slovakia. After completion of 2 years of ESL classes at Inlingua and NOVA, he returned to Bratislava to finish his MBA in Management at Comenius University. After graduation, Peter received an internship offer in the US, where he managed students and temporary laborers from Europe. Prior to joining ASF in June 2007, he worked for Sunrise Senior Living in McLean as an Office Manager.
Peter enjoys the daily challenges that the ASF environment and nature of his work bring.
Tammy Yeldell
Receptionist
Contact Tammy with questions about publication orders.
Tamara (Tammy) joined ASF in December 2008. In addition to providing receptionist services, Tamara supports our office and building management. She also processes all publication orders. Tamara joined the American Bankers Association as an administrative assistant, and quickly worked her way to the publications manager in the communications department before leaving in 2005. Tamara has also started an at-home business, taken marketing courses at Strayer University, and has held various administrative positions. A native Washingtonian who returned to the workforce after raising two sons, Tammy holds a degree from the Community Business Center.
Philanthropy to her is the ultimate act of giving. It involves the giving of time, money, interest and self. Working for ASF is almost like a personal venture. You come to feel a connection not only to your co-workers but the members you work for.