On Thursday, June 10^th Women in Development of Greater Boston hosted our Annual Spring Meeting over Zoom to an impassioned audience. After a moving opening from outgoing WID President Kellen Epstein, during which she thanked the legacy of women who came before her, she introduced the incoming WID President, Katie Quackenbush Spiegel. Katie charted the direction for WID, with a focus on growth, movement, and accessibility.

FACES OF WID- June 2021


Name: Katie Quackenbush Spiegel
Title & Organization: Senior Director, Integrated Marketing and Communications, Massachusetts General Hospital
WID Role: President. Formerly VP, Brand; Co-Chair, Marketing & Communications Committee; board member; and regular member since 2004
Hometown: Canton, NY (way up in the North Country, near the Canadian border)
Lives Currently: Milton, MA
Education: BA English, Creative Writing at Boston College; MS Print Journalism at Boston University
Hobbies: Travel, running (and since COVID, Peloton), painting, skiing, cooking and then eating it 

Attracting, Retaining, and Advancing Diverse Talent

Systemic racism continues to impede progress for people of color in every profession, including fundraising. Recent studies show that just 19% of employees at nonprofits identify as people of color while 30% of the US identifies as people of color – and only 13% of the Association of Fundraising Professionals members identified as non-white.

We welcome our newest members:
Cai Menyuan, Women's Lunch Place
Christine Casalini, Life Science Cares, Inc.
Denella Clark, Boston Arts Academy Foundation
Lori Correale, Rockport Music
Hannah Esbrook
Tricia Foster, Women's Foundation of Boston
Caroline Grassi, Boston Medical Center
Greta Hagen, RESPOND, Inc
Angela Haynes, The Carroll Center for the Blind
Kim Hodlin, Ipswich River Watershed Association
Stephanie Lowitt, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Peri Onipede

"Why Do We Shape Our Stories from a Donor-Centric Perspective? Shifting Our Lens to Community-Centric Storytelling and Fundraising"

When we think about best practices in philanthropy, we often focus on how external stakeholders will receive our messages -- including donor appeals, grant proposals, and event programs. But why is this the appropriate approach and do these practices honor the stories of the communities we serve? To further advance justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in the funding space, nonprofit organizations and philanthropic institutions must re-examine how we communicate. Here are a few easy-to-implement changes that you can make in your organization today:

FACES OF WID- APRIL 2021

Name: Chloe Kimball
Title & Organization: Sr. Associate of Annual Giving & Events at Women’s Lunch Place
WID Role: Member
Hometown: West Palm Beach, FL
Lives Currently: Brookline, MA
Education: BA, New College of Florida (Sarasota, FL)
Hobbies: Printmaking, apartment gardening, pasta making

We welcome our newest members:
Carolyn Bachman, Museum of Science
Stephanie Cogen, Future Chefs
Gianna Ferrini, Sacred Heart STEM School
Elizabeth Jones, The ARC of the South Shore
Hillary Leahy, Wellesley College
Alexandra Mahar, Scandinavian Learning Center
Shelly McPhail, National Consumer Law Center
Edith Millard, Beth Israel Deaconess Plymouth
Elisa Vokt, MassBay Community College
Katie Welch, Cambridge Public Library Foundation

WID Asks Why? Series: Pay Inequity

On April 14, 2021, a panel of non-profit professionals came together on the virtual stage to engage in a discussion on the important topic of pay inequity.

Faith Eutsay, Senior Consultant at Lindauer Global, thoughtfully moderated the discussion and asked the panel—Patricia D. Keenan, Vice President of Advancement, Community and Equity at Ellis, Ahmed Mohammed, Director of Talent Acquisition at Harvard Medical School, Andrea Silbert, President at Eos Foundation, and Sharon J. Stanczak, CFRE, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at the Whitehead Institute—tough questions on the matter to shed light on the systemic problem of pay inequity.

Ethics in Fundraising

On April 27, 2021, a panel gathered to discuss best practices for developing gift and donor acceptance policies, making ethical decisions on how to work with donors, and how to graciously decline gifts from controversial funders. This program was generously sponsored by CCS Fundraising.

Congratulations to our members who have recently changed positions:
Michela Davola formerly Senior Development Manager, Boston Society of Architecture now Fundraising and Development Manager, Tufts School of Medicine, Center for the Study of Drug Development

March is Women's History Month. As women in philanthropy, we are taking a moment to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of those in the field. 

Welcome to our newest members:
Jada Alexander,   Minds Matter Boston
Nicole Caiazzo,   City Year Boston
Cathy Canney,   Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health
Lina Canon
Divya Chaturvedi,   Saheli Inc.
Anne Cheung
Deborah Cutler-Ortiz,   Girls LEAP
Marcel Daniel,  Discover Your Pace
Megan Daniels
Yuko Handa,  Japan Society of Boston
Yvette Jordan
Jackney Joseph,  Boston Debate League
Joanna Karbel,  Howard Benevolent Society
Natalie Martinez,  Strong Women, Strong Girls
Sharon Mason,  Groundwork Lawrence
Melissa Moy
Joanne Murray,   Women's Fund Southcoast
Titi Ngwenya,   The Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts
Emily Nolan,   Housing Families, Inc.
Donna Quirk,   Yot.me
Ashley Salvato,   New England Baptist Hospital
Charlotte Stout,   Housing Families, Inc.
Sara Suchman,   National Center for Montesorri in the Public Sector
Nancy Van Sciver,   Education for All Children/EFAC
Naomi Walker,   Olin College of Engineering
Charlotte Wittmann,  Tufts University
Joselyn Yrayta-Mart

Expand your professional network and help your development colleagues hone and sharpen skills for an ever-evolving industry. Women in Development of Greater Boston (WIDGB) is currently seeking nominees and expressions of interest for open positions on the Board of Directors. Both self-nominations and nominations of colleagues are enthusiastically welcomed.

Congratulations to our members who have recently changed positions:

Erica Lawless, formerly Associate Director of Advancement, The Celebrity Series, now Senior Individual Giving Officer, The Celebrity Series

Jessica McNeill, formerly Development Coordinator, Harvard Business School, now Assistant Director of Annual and Reunion Giving at Harvard Business School.

Welcome to our newest members

Liz Albert, Mass Audubon
Stephanie Berkowitz, Center for Teen Empowerment, Inc,
Holly Bernene, Goodnow Library Foundation
Riley Berfeind, United South End Settlements
Samantha Cheung, Parkinson’s Foundation
Kimberly Hokanson, Museum of Fine Arts
Emily Jachym, Mission Grammar School
Jeremy Kadden
Chloe Kimball, Women’s Lunch Place
Audrey Loria, Wildflower Inc.
Sophia Naylor, Somerville Homeless Coalition
Wendy O’Keefe, Mass Audubon
Abisola Okuk, MIT Sloan School of Management
Katie Small, The Boston House: Hope and Healing for Children With Cancer