Experience

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  U.s. representative charles e. bennett

  Jan 1991 - Jan 1992

  Legislative assistant/press coordinator

  Formulated policy and developed legislative initiatives and strategies for Congressman Charles E. Bennett. Prepared speeches, statements, correspondence, and press releases. Coordinated and composed Member's weekly radio actualities and monthly television show.

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  U.s. house republican conference

  Jan 1992 - Jan 1992

  Legislative analyst

  Composed analyses on legislation reported by the committees on Agriculture, Merchant Marine & Fisheries, and Government Operations for publication in weekly journal of the U.S. House Republican Conference, the Legislative Digest, read by Republican members, congressional staff, and the Capitol Hill press corps. Researched background, provisions, costs and justifications of bills. Worked closely with House Committee staff and the Administration.

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  American cotton shippers association

  Jan 1993 - Jan 1995

  Government relations representative

  Tracked laws and regulations affecting agricultural programs, commodity trading, export regulations and transportation. Maintained contact with congressional offices, various government agencies and other trade associations. Served on congressional fundraising steering committees and administered association's political action committee.

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  Usa rice federation

  Jan 1995 - Jan 1997

  Environmental policy director

  Managed the Rice Producers' National Waterfowl Habitat Program, the Federation's flagship environmental stewardship program. Advocated for rice producer and rice miller members' environmental agenda in the federal legislative and regulatory arenas. Created educational materials and displays for general public, coordinated grower outreach activities, and interfaced with wildlife conservation and environmental groups.

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  National association of conservation districts

  Jan 1997 - Jan 1998

  Government affairs director

  Promoted locally-led conservation efforts, voluntary, incentive-based stewardship programs and other priorities of the nation's 3,000 local soil and water conservation districts and their state associations. Acted as the association's primary liaison with Congress, federal natural resource agencies and groups with interests in natural resource management issues.

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  National corn growers association

  Jan 1998 - Jan 1999

  Public policy director

  Developed grassroots strategy in response to federal and state policy initiatives related to private land conservation and farm economy issues. Coordinated with affiliated state and regional associations in communicating the constituencies’ messages to Capitol Hill, USDA, U.S. EPA, and other federal and state agencies.

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  Jacksonville community council inc.

  Sept 1999 - Mar 2000

  Program director

  Led organization, execution and follow up activities of JCCI’s Forum for the Future, a conference where 100 rising community leaders identified emerging issues and discussed an agenda for the future.

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  Apco worldwide

  Jan 2000 - Jan 2002

  Public affairs manager

  Managed issue campaigns, media relations and public involvement projects for corporate, non-profit and municipal clients. Projects included development and implementation of a physician marketing program for the hearing industry, garnering significant community involvement and support in local transportation decision-making, devising and implementing a crisis communications plan for a faith-based charity, coordinating a creative team to develop an educational outreach program for a regional environmental agency and management of a statewide grassroots campaign for Medicare reform. Show less

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  Alpha usa

  Jan 2002 - Jan 2003

  Public relations director

  Established brand nationally for The Alpha Course, a Christian education program used by churches of all sizes and denominations. Secured placement of feature stories in secular and religious media outlets to raise awareness of the program to two target audiences: church leaders who use the course and lay individuals interested in exploring spirituality.

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  United states department of agriculture

  Jan 2003 - Jan 2006

  Special assistant to the secretary

  Appointed by the White House Office of Personnel to assist the USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources & Environment in managing initiatives for USDA’s Natural Resources & Environment mission area, including the Cooperative Conservation Task Force, the Preserve America initiative, and other Presidential priorities affecting the U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

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  Blackbaud, inc.

  Jan 2006 - Jan 2007

  Account manager

  Sold The Raiser’s Edge, Blackbaud’s flagship fundraising software solution, to nonprofit organizations. Demonstrated to nonprofit development staff how Blackbaud’s solutions improve organizations’ business processes in the area of donor relations, maximizing their fundraising potential.

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  Coastal community foundation of sc

  Jun 2007 - Feb 2013

  Director of development

  Directed the gift creation activities of the Foundation, with overall contribution revenues ranging between $9 million and $15 million annually. Managed several successful campaigns, raising $7 million+ for the Building the Public Trust Fund (2008), the New Building Fund (2010), and the Dorchester County Fund (2011). Developed deep relationships with high net worth individuals while discussing bequests, tax reduction strategies, and inter-generational transfers of wealth. Organized meetings of Professional Advisors to discuss current issues in the tax and wealth management fields. Show less

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  Porter-gaud foundation

  Feb 2013 - Mar 2015

  Director of philanthropy

  Led, supported and executed plans to achieve goals of philanthropic initiatives for Porter-Gaud School. Developed and launched a planned giving program, mobilizing donors and volunteers to secure $6.9 million in planned gift commitments to grow the school's endowment. Managed the Foundation's scholarship portfolio, including retention and stewardship of existing scholarship establishers and cultivation of prospective scholarship donors.

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  Charleston promise neighborhood

  Mar 2015 - Jul 2017

  Director of development and marketing

  Generated $1.3 million+ in philanthropic revenue annually to support education reform in high poverty public schools. Cultivated and solicited individual, corporate, foundation and government funders while managing staff and volunteers to reach fundraising goals. Ensured articulation of organization’s desired image and messaging via donor reports, stakeholder presentations, website and social media channels.

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  Winkler group

  Jul 2017 - Mar 2020

  Senior consultant

  At the Winkler Group, we design customized capital campaigns, planning studies, and strategic development planning. Our clients see:- capital campaigns that meet and exceed financial goals- board members who embrace their roles in supporting fundraising efforts- enhanced fundraising success across all platforms as the culture of philanthropy growswww.WinklerGroup.com

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  Gaillard performance hall foundation

  Mar 2020 - Apr 2021

  Vice president of development
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  American battlefield trust

  Apr 2021 - Feb 2025

  Principal philanthropic advisor
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  Historic charleston foundation

  Feb 2025 - now

  Chief philanthropy officer

  Lead all efforts to meet and/or exceed annual revenue goals as determined by strategic planning efforts, organizational needs, and proper assessment of philanthropic readiness.