Dena is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy - CAP® and the founding principal of VincentViktoria Philanthropy Advisors (VVPA). She founded the company to honor her parents whose first names comprise the company's namesake.Dena is Unwavering in Ethical Leadership: She holds a firm commitment to character, equality, justice, and ethical integrity, striving to foster environments where fairness prevails and unethical behavior is challenged. She believes that transparency, honesty, and direct communication are essential to building trust and fostering leadership grounded in moral courage.Dena is a Values-Driven Decision Maker: She is dedicated to what is true, just, and fair, and these guide all her professional actions and decisions. She refuses to compromise on core values, even in the face of pressure, and works to create solutions that uphold ethical standards across every level of the organization.Dena is a Straightforward and Transparent Communicator: She believes in direct communication and promotes transparency in leadership. She ensures that all stakeholders are fully informed, with no hidden meanings or ambiguity, fostering a culture of openness and trust.Dena is a Big Picture and Forward Thinker: She aspires to be a leader with vision, seeing beyond immediate problems and focusing instead on long-term, sustainable solutions. She prefers to avoid getting bogged down in minutiae and is committed to not repeating mistakes through proactive, forward-looking strategies.Dena is Solution-Oriented and Justice-Driven: She is passionate about finding solutions that advance character, justice, and equity in higher education. She is driven by a desire to make a lasting impact. She is not problem-focused but instead works diligently to identify and implement transformative solutions that address deep-rooted issues with a sense of urgency and purpose.Dena's leadership philosophy centers on the notion that “leadership is an activity, not a position, and anyone can learn to exercise leadership at any time.”* As a nonprofit leader, Dena builds adaptive, productive, high-performance, and disciplined teams and systems; inspires a culture of giving, humility, creativity, innovation, and excellence; and intentionally centers all activities around a set of core values. She's passionate about the transformative power of philanthropy and how it accelerates dramatic change in the lives of individuals, families, and communities. *Kansas Leadership Center from the Adaptive Leadership model, designed by Harvard professors Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky.