As an Encore Fellow, I will be serving as the Development Director for Raise A Child - a nonprofit organization that is the nationwide leader in the recruitment and support of LGBTQ and all prospective parents interested in building families through fostering and fostering-to-adopt to meet the needs of the 440,000 children in the U.S. foster care system.

Responsible for the creation of the Resource Development Department for the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, that develops secure, affordable apartment communities throughout West Hollywood and Greater Los Angeles.

Leverage knowledge of the real estate market and values, investment criteria, asset and debt management, and financing strategies with financial institutions to identify and offer opportunities to buyers and sellers.  Properties. Engage in activities spanning a variety of income properties including office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality, and storage facilities. Portfolio management. Serve the needs of a personally assembled portfolio of investors focused on real estate acquisition and debt placement. Identify and qualify prospective clients.  Products. Arrange debt placement (1st and 2nd mortgages and refinance options), equity positions (full and limited joint venture partnerships), and loans including bridge, construction, interim, mezzanine, and sale/leaseback financing programs. Servicing. Match investors’ acquisition criteria with market potential and property profiles. Prepare and present analyses customized to the interests of clients. Financial institutions. Develop relationships to acquire listings and assist with disposal of distressed assets (notes and REOs). Transactions. Work individually and in a team to execute all aspects of finalizing transactions. Communicate and coordinate to propel action toward successful closure. Compliance. Assure that all legal and regulatory requirements are met.

Campaign Director for the Los Angeles Chapter of AJC. Supervised staff of 4 including all special events, membership donor giving groups and major gift fundraising.

Vice President, Supplemental Giving ProgramsThe Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, 2004–2007The Federation focuses on philanthropy and supports Jewish culture and causes worldwide. I was recruited to return after an eight year hiatus during which I pursued my development career in two other organizations. On returning, my role was to develop the “Premier Philanthropy” area of fundraising for the Federation, which at that time had a $48 million total annual budget.  Position Creation. The position reflected my recommends regarding concept, purpose and structure. Senior Management. Participated with seven others on the Federation’s senior management team. Results. Achieved a 20% annual increase in the Premier Philanthropy Department’s donor gift volume. Naming. Raised significant funds through donor-designated gifts by creating naming opportunities, which started at $100,000 per year with a three-year commitment from the donor. Large Gift. Solicited and secured a $3 million endowed naming gift, a near record gift for the Federation.  Cultivation. Guided the highest net worth donors to the Federation through a progression of gifts that included capital naming opportunities, endowed gifts with and without naming, programmatic naming opportunities and creation of restricted funds based on a “donor advised” fund model. Organization-Wide Scope. Created gift opportunities, stewardship programs, donor recognition events, and/or publicity, working across all departments including Campaign, Planning and Allocations, Marketing, Communications and Finance as well as the 22 affiliated beneficiary agencies. Portfolio Responsibility. Grew my personal portfolio of major gifts ($25,000 and higher) an average of 10% annually. Endowment Campaign. Proposed and drafted anew program to implement an endowment campaign into an integrated annual campaign. The Federation subsequently launched this program.

Western Regional Director, American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles, 2001–2004Oversaw all campaign fundraising activities for the Western Region, including major gift cultivation and solicitation from donors in California, Washington, Colorado and Nevada. Goal Achievement. Increased gifts to campaigns and exceeded annual fundraising goals each year. Concert Fundraising. Oversaw all aspects of a benefit performance of the orchestra in December 2003 during the inaugural season of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. This concert, which featured Pinchas Zukerman, opened the orchestra’s U.S. tour. The performance and gala dinner raised $1.4 million. Honorees were Edye and Eli Broad. Co-chairs were Margo and Irwin Winkler and Annette and Peter O’Malley. Involvement. Expanded and diversified the West Coast Chairmen’s Council to more than 40 members. Program. Created a planned giving program for all American Friends regions, as well as marketing programs, and participated in developing capital and endowment campaigns totaling $10 and $15 million, respectively. Outreach. Participated in international events held on behalf of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Foundation.

Associate Director of Development, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, 2000–2001Senior Development Officer, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, 1998–2000Planned and implemented campaign fundraising activities for various Divisions of the Medical Center. Planning. Presented strategic plan to Senior Management and the Board of Directors.  Staff Management. Oversaw Senior Development Officers who cultivated and solicited donations from private donors, foundations and corporate giving programs. Major Campaign. Created a two-phase $500 million campaign for the Medical Center’s Research, Education, and Capital fundraising. Phase One raised $160 million in two years. Solicitations. My individual portfolio of solicitations brought $120 million from private donations, foundations and corporate charitable giving, representing approximately one-third of the total campaign. Identified donor prospects working with Divisions within the Medical Center, Board of Directors and Resource Development Committee members and negotiated solicitations with the Medical staff and Board of Directors members. Donor Relations. Ensured that recognition was given to donors of $50,000 or more as well as information about utilization of the donations. Naming Opportunities. Oversaw naming opportunities for programs, institutes and buildings. Ensured compliance with all stipulations of donations solicited and received. Volunteers. Oversaw five Event Coordinators who worked with 40 support groups to raise more than $6 million annually by hosting events ranging from black tie galas to tennis tournaments

Director, Special Projects, Executive Assistant to the PresidentJewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, 1990–1998Led events and donor programs for this preeminent regional organization with an annual budget of $42 million. Note: Later, after two intervening employments, I returned to the Federation in 2004 in the capacity of Vice President, Supplemental Giving Programs.  Events Management. Supervised a staff of eight and managed all aspects of major community events, including Fundraising, Marketing, Finance, Operations and Administration. “Israel at 50 Hanukkah Concert.” This celebratory concert, which was performed at Westside Pavilion by the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony orchestra, drew a crowd of 3,000 and was covered by CNN. The event was completely underwritten by sponsorships that I solicited. “To Life! America Salutes Israel at 50.” This television show aired on CBS April 15, 1998 and was taped at the Shrine Auditorium before a sell-out crowd of 6,300. I represented the Federation in liaison with producers Gil Cates and Don Mischer. In addition to ticket proceeds, the fundraising included a gala black tie reception following the taping, a commemorative tribute book of 125 pages, and parking operation proceeds. The $1.3 million record-breaking budget goal was met. “Israel Independence Day Community Festival.” This arts and cultural festival was held at Pan Pacific Park and attended by 50,000. I planned and managed the festival which encompassed 420 booths, including food and craft vendors, two performance stages with continuous entertainment, an enhanced children’s park, and skydiving paratroopers. I solicited the corporate underwriting of $200,000. Donor Development. Achieved the solicitation goal of $1.2million annually from corporations and private sources, plus the country club and business and professional divisions of the annual campaign and Board of Directors special-event donations.