Amid a divided political landscape and complex global events, donor conversations can be more challenging than ever. Join our group of expert panelists for their advice navigating challenging donor conversations with real life examples, and get your questions answered!

Moderator: Faith Montgomery, Vice President, Managing Director and Equity Partner, Lindauer

Panelists: Giselle Ferro Puigbo, Chief Development Officer, United Way of Massachusetts Bay
                   & Merrimack Valley
                 Alison LeBlanc, Executive Director, Child Health Equity Center and Director of Development,
                   Child Care Equity, UMASS Memorial Health
                 Allison Picott, Executive Director, The Lenny Zakim Fund

 Thursday, January 25, 2024

12-1PM (Virtual Program)


Registration: $25 for WID members (through 1/20/24)
$40 for non-members (and members who register late, after Friday, 1/20/24)
Registration will close on Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Login information will be sent one day prior to the program.

No refunds within 7 days of the program.

REGISTER

Giselle Ferro Puigbo
Giselle Ferro Puigbo is Chief Development Officer of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay. communHer personal mission is to connect people, ideas, organizations, and resources to build more equitable communities. In her 20-year career, she has facilitated, inspired, and mobilized more than $200 million for organizations addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges – like health equity and educational equity – in support of thriving communities. Prior to joining the region’s largest United Way, Giselle was the Executive Director of the Brookline Community Foundation. Giselle previously led development efforts at Health Leads, Teach For America, and Blue Engine.

Giselle is a Miami native, first-generation immigrant from Colombia, and a proud first-generation college graduate. She is a frequent speaker on subjects ranging from the future of philanthropy, equitable nonprofit practices, inclusion and diversity in fundraising, and community-led transformation. She sits on the nonprofit boards of Women in Development of Greater Boston and Brookline for Racial Justice & Equity. Giselle received her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami School of Law. She lives in the Greater Boston area with her husband and three children.

Alison LeBlanc
Alison LeBlanc, MS, PMP, is an experienced development strategist and health equity advocate. She has over a decade of experience designing and implementing initiatives to address adverse social determinants of health. She subscribes to the philosophy “nothing about us without us.” To this end, she has extensive experience fostering bi-directional community engagement and coalition building. She also has a strong track record of leveraging philanthropy to build sustainable centers of excellence in safety-net healthcare systems. As a disability and chronic disease self-advocate, Alison has spent years redefining what it means to promote inclusivity and belonging. She is dedicated to continually raising the bar for herself and her colleagues. Alison completed her undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University. She then went on to complete her master’s in communications at SI Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

Faith Montgomery
Faith Montgomery, Vice President, Managing Director, and equity partner, is a member of Lindauer’s executive leadership team. She brings nearly 30 years of deep experience, passion, and expertise in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors to Lindauer and our clients. Prior to joining Lindauer in 2014, Faith held senior leadership positions across the nonprofit sector. She is currently focused on executive level search, talent management initiatives, and coaching for client partners and individuals. Faith brings extensive organizational and operational expertise to clients, with experience in strategic planning, process integration, team building, mitigating bias in hiring and other DEIB principals.

With an extensive background in leadership-level fundraising and building and managing teams for nonprofit organizations, Faith is well-versed in search and talent management across the sector. As a practice area leader for Lindauer, she develops search strategy for higher education and K-12 organizations, while also leading executive level searches for healthcare, think tanks, arts and culture, and social service organizations. Faith is currently engaging and has successfully completed major executive level searches for over 100 reputable institutions such as Fenway Health, Duke University Health, Howard University, Xavier University, George Washington University, University of Southern California, Stanford University, Harvard University, Sidwell Friends, National Cathedral School, Petersen Institute for International Economics, Joint Center for Economics, Measures for Justice, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Princeton Museum of Art, Eastern Bank Foundation, and many more.

Faith serves on the national board of the African American Development Officer’s Network (AADO) and on the local Boston chapter board of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. She is a member of Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy (WOC) and a leader presenter for Women in Development (WID), among others.

Faith holds a BA in Communications/Business from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and an MA in Interpersonal Communications from Purdue University. She is an experienced conference public speaker and presenter, C-suite advisor, and executive level thought partner.

Faith is also Boston Chamber of Commerce DEI certified and is in pursuit of International Coaching Federation ACC/PCC credentials as well as Boston’s YWCA DEI certification.

Allison Picott
As the Executive Director of The Lenny Zakim Fund, Allison Picott brings a unique set of skills and expertise to her work which she acquired through over two decades of work experience in both the for- and non-profit sectors.

Following a stint as a litigation associate, Allison worked as a front line fundraiser for Phillips Academy, Walnut Hill School, and Boston College Law School. She then worked as a development consultant for The Wayland Group and her own consulting firm Advancement Advisers. Allison returned to fundraising as the Director of Development at the Social Innovation Forum and then The Lenny Zakim Fund, before assuming the Executive Director role at LZF in 2022.

Allison currently serves on the boards of the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp and Phillips Academy (her alma mater). She holds degrees from Trinity College and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.