Staff Biographies - Exponent Philanthropy

Staff Biographies

 

Paul D. Daugherty

Chief Executive Officer

Paul received his bachelor of arts degree double majoring in Communication Studies and Political Science at West Virginia Wesleyan College. He has completed graduate courses and advanced training at Marshall University and Georgetown University.

When he’s not working on philanthropy and strengthening communities, he spends his time honing his best storytelling voice to read to his daughter, creating new experiences for her, and traveling with his daughter and wife.

He is an active volunteer for many boards and organizations, amateur chef hosting friends and family, enjoys music, and exploring the outdoors in the Appalachian mountains, coast of Maine, or anywhere in the world.


Afia Amobeaa-Sakyi

Director, Equity and Inclusion
Email Afia

Afia plays a critical role in shaping and sustaining an inclusive and equitable culture at Exponent Philanthropy. Working as a thought partner directly with the CEO and COO, she serves as a change agent to foster that integration of strategies that will cultivate and sustain a culture that advances diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within our organization, among our community of lean funders, and external stakeholders.

Before joining Exponent Philanthropy, Afia worked with various nonprofits and associations advocating for issues from education policy to humanitarian relief. Afia holds a master’s degree in Social Policy from the University of Pennsylvania and bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Public Policy from the University of California, Riverside.

Afia is originally a product of Ghana, West Africa but considers California home. When she’s not daydreaming of warm weather, she spends her time learning about life through fashion, food, friends, and travel.

 

Brian Bates

Member Relations Specialist
Email Brian

Brian is an essential part of our team and is responsible for providing administrative and logistical support in a way that aligns with the overall goals, mission, and culture of Exponent Philanthropy. He builds relationships with serves as a resource for individuals from the time they are interested in joining, through their renewal cycle.

Prior to joining Exponent Philanthropy, Brian worked as a program assistant at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint and in membership at the Council on Foundations where he developed his passion for philanthropy. He holds a BA in international relations from Michigan State University.

Brian is a native Michigander who spends his free time running and cheering for his beloved Spartans.

 

Noble Campbell

Operations Specialist
Email Noble

Noble keeps our office operations running smoothly and is the first person most members meet or speak with. He is a master at juggling multiple tasks, provides wonderful customer service, and is always looking to improve our internal processes to better serve our members and make things easier for staff.

Originally from South Carolina, Noble was raised in D.C. He studied Engineering and Mechanical Drawing at Southern University and comes to us from a career in administration at American University. A musician at heart, Noble enjoys playing keyboards and drums as well as singing all kinds of music. When not in the office, he nurtures his strong interests in the arts by frequenting music venues and other creative outlets.

 

Andy Carroll

Senior Advisor
Email Andy

Andy advises staff, funders, and other leaders in the field through his experience with grantmaking, leadership, and trends in small-staffed philanthropy. He is also a trained facilitator in civic reflection and works to empower more foundations and donors to leverage their unique position to provide leadership on important issues they feel passionate about.

Prior to joining Exponent Philanthropy, he developed programs at the National Center for Family Philanthropy, and before that at the Council on Foundations. Andy has an MBA from the University of Michigan Business School and has 30 years of experience in management, training, and program development for nonprofit organizations.

Andy is a DC native and has spent countless hours exploring the Chesapeake Bay with his wife and daughter.

 

Marice Fernando

Associate Director, Data Strategy and Member Engagement
Email Marice

Marice works to make sure members have opportunities to engage with our community and its resources in the ways that work best for them. She manages our data systems in supporting those efforts and serves as a strategic partner to staff and members.

Marice has spent the majority of her career in the social sector at organizations that work to transform structures and change policies that will lead to a more equitable society.  She holds an MS in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason University, and a BA in international studies from Berry College.

Marice enjoys volunteering with local non-profits where she lives in Alexandria, VA, and any food-related activity from watching cooking shows to trying new recipes at home or exploring the many unique restaurants the DC area has to offer.

 

Althea Georgantas

Associate Director, Educational Programs
Email Althea

Althea keeps our members informed and connected through creative educational programs and learning opportunities. She coordinates a wide range of virtual learning programs—from webinars to conferences—bridging the geographic gap of our national membership.

Althea brings national nonprofit programming experience from her previous position at the World Affairs Councils of America, where she also helped to spearhead and manage grant-making activities. She has a BA in International Relations from American University, including one year of study in Economic Geography at the London School of Economics. She possesses professional and personal experience in international exchange and citizen diplomacy and is passionate about global issues and the importance of lifelong education.

Originally from Massachusetts, Althea lives in Washington, DC with her husband and dog and enjoys cooking, museum-hopping, and road trips.

 

Serenity Greenfield

Senior Director, Relationships, Research, and Reach
Email Serenity

Serenity works to ensure the growth and success of our community through integrated marketing strategies that are grounded in our core values. She is a marketing nerd to the core and has been championing the work of associations for the majority of her career.

Serenity graduated with a degree in Marketing from Montana State University and secured her passion for non-profits with a graduate degree in nonprofit management from George Mason University.

In her free time, you’ll find her spending time outdoors in the grand spaces of Montana, where she resides, chasing after her two children, or searching for an opportunity to squeeze in a few extra minutes of sleep.

 

Lauren Kotkin

Senior Director, Education
Email Lauren

Lauren blends creativity and detail to develop and deliver Exponent Philanthropy’s educational programs. She is the leader of the Educational Programs Team and collaborates with Andy on programming for the Catalytic Leadership Academy.

In her first career, Lauren was an early childhood educator and served as the education director of a children’s museum near Boston. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and master’s degree from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, with a focus on using arts in education.

Lauren teaches an undergraduate class at the University of Maryland, College Park on nonprofit innovation and change. She is also a collage artist and a community volunteer.

 

Brendan McCormick

Associate Director, Research and Publications
Email Brendan

Brendan works with staff, members, and partners to develop resources grounded in research. He leads our efforts to learn more about our community of lean funders. Brendan focuses his research on how foundations approach impact and evaluation, investments, operations, demographics, and equity practices.

Brendan has worked in philanthropy and grantmaking with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Greater Washington Community Foundation. He earned his master’s degree in public policy at the University of Maryland where he focused on nonprofit management and social policy.

In his free time, he enjoys cooking new recipes and finding a quiet place to read a good book.

 

Darah Moore

Corporate Relations Manager
Email Darah

Darah manages all aspects of our Corporate Partner Program, including stewardship and communication. She is relationship focused and enjoys collaborating with our partners, members and team members.

She has several years of Partner, Marketing, and Event Management experience, along with eight years of philanthropic industry experience.

Darah is a native Montanan and lives in Bozeman where she enjoys spending time with her family, volunteering at a local elementary school as a mentor, skiing, camping, hiking, gardening, and fly fishing.

 

Katy Moore

Senior Director, Advancement
Email Katy

Katy has more than 20 years of experience in the field of philanthropy at the local, regional, state, and national levels. Throughout her career, she has worked with hundreds of grantmaking organizations and individual philanthropists helping them connect, learn, problem-solve, and leverage and align their giving to achieve greater community impact.

Beginning her career at the Fayetteville Arkansas Community Foundation, she later led the Council on Foundation’s pioneering effort in establishing standards of practice for U.S. Community Foundations. During her tenure with the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, Katy helped transform the organization into one of the Greater Washington, DC region’s leading social sector voices. And, as the inaugural CEO of the Virginia Funders Network, Katy launched one of the field’s most promising new philanthropy-serving organizations.

In her personal time, Katy can usually be found gardening, reading, traveling, or learning about and enjoying wine with her partner, Matthew Quinn, known for his role as an appraiser on PBS’ Antiques Roadshow.

 

Catherine Roark

Administrative Associate
Email Catherine

Catherine is a valued part of the membership team and is responsible for accurately processing membership payments, including dues and donations. She works with our database to ensure our member data is accurate and helps us get the best picture of the status of our members. This helps us stay on top of member needs and maintain links of communication with accurate contact details.

Prior to joining Exponent Philanthropy, Catherine has served other non-profit organizations in the membership space as well as with conferences and events. Catherine has a BS in Business Management from Ithaca College and an MBA in Strategy and Policy from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Catherine loves living in the DC area, exploring living history, and of course, trying all the great restaurants.

 

Cristiana Salazar

Digital Communications Specialist
Email Cristiana

Cristiana works with the Relationship, Research, and Reach team to ensure lean funders are informed and connected through diverse communication channels. She manages our website, social media, and email marketing.

Cristiana recently graduated from Marymount University with a bachelor’s degree in Communication and a minor in Business Administration and Marketing. Originally from Nicaragua, Cristiana lives in Arlington, Virginia with her dog.

She spends her time outside the office visiting family back home and going to the beach.

 

Hannah Smith

Content Marketing Manager
Email Hannah

Hannah is responsible for managing editorial projects, working with internal staff and external thought leaders to create and update content, maintaining the voice of our CEO and the organization, and upholding editorial quality and brand consistency.

Before joining Exponent Philanthropy, Hannah worked in marketing for two artificial intelligence B2B startups, and she was project manager for the Nielsen Foundation. Hannah received her undergraduate degree in sociology from Bryn Mawr College and she’s pursuing a master’s in writing through Johns Hopkins University.

In her free time, Hannah enjoys fishing.

 

Heather Ukryn

Program Specialist
Email Heather

Heather supports our members through the management of our registration system, is an expert in customer service, and supports our programs with her unique understanding of our members’ needs and our internal processes.

Heather has worked in the broadcast television industry for many years but is interested in learning more about the philanthropic field with her job at Exponent.

In her free time, Heather enjoys traveling, reading and shopping for “junk” at estate sales.