The Learning/Action Lab Planning Team
Jill Bamburg
Curriculum Director, Learning/Action Lab; President, Pinchot University
jill.bamburg@pinchot.edu
Bamburg is president of Pinchot University, where she was the founding dean of the Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI), a pioneering MBA program in sustainable business education. She is an experienced adult educator, with 20 years of experience teaching a variety of management topics to mid-career professionals at BGI and Antioch University/Seattle. She is the author of Getting to Scale: Growing Your Business Without Selling Out (Berrett-Koehler, 2006), a book about the unique challenges of growing mission-driven businesses. Prior to entering the field of adult education, she enjoyed two shorter careers: seven years in high tech marketing and ten years in community journalism. She holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BA in English from Washington University. She is married and has four children: a daughter and three step-sons.
Curriculum Director, Learning/Action Lab; President, Pinchot University
jill.bamburg@pinchot.edu
Bamburg is president of Pinchot University, where she was the founding dean of the Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI), a pioneering MBA program in sustainable business education. She is an experienced adult educator, with 20 years of experience teaching a variety of management topics to mid-career professionals at BGI and Antioch University/Seattle. She is the author of Getting to Scale: Growing Your Business Without Selling Out (Berrett-Koehler, 2006), a book about the unique challenges of growing mission-driven businesses. Prior to entering the field of adult education, she enjoyed two shorter careers: seven years in high tech marketing and ten years in community journalism. She holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BA in English from Washington University. She is married and has four children: a daughter and three step-sons.
Nicole Brown
Community Development Associate
nbrown@democracycollaborative.org
Nicole recently joined The Democracy Collaborative as an Associate for the Community Development Programs. She has a background in adult education and workshop facilitation and community organizing. Nicole has worked with community based organizations for a decade, supporting various programs that provide educational, social and economic supports for distressed neighborhoods in her hometown, New York City. She is passionate about exposing classism and working to eliminate economic inequality as well, occasionally leading educational workshops with another social justice non-profit, Class Action. Nicole is excited to now join The Democracy Collaborative team where she can work alongside other change agents committed to disrupting oppression.
Community Development Associate
nbrown@democracycollaborative.org
Nicole recently joined The Democracy Collaborative as an Associate for the Community Development Programs. She has a background in adult education and workshop facilitation and community organizing. Nicole has worked with community based organizations for a decade, supporting various programs that provide educational, social and economic supports for distressed neighborhoods in her hometown, New York City. She is passionate about exposing classism and working to eliminate economic inequality as well, occasionally leading educational workshops with another social justice non-profit, Class Action. Nicole is excited to now join The Democracy Collaborative team where she can work alongside other change agents committed to disrupting oppression.
Steve Dubb
Director of Special Projects & Senior Advisor to the President, The Democracy Collaborative
steve@democracycollaborative.org
At the Democracy Collaborative, Dubb has led the development of the Community-Wealth.org web-based information portal and has been lead author or co-author of a number of publications including Building Wealth: The New Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems (Aspen, 2005), Linking Colleges to Communities: Engaging the University for Community Development (2007), Growing a Green Economy for All: From Green Jobs to Green Ownership (2010) and The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads (2012). With Ted Howard, Dubb has also worked on the development of community wealth building strategies in a number of cities, including Cleveland, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Washington, DC. Previously, Dubb was Executive Director of the North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO), a U.S. and Canadian nonprofit association that provides education and technical assistance to university and community-based housing and retail cooperatives. Dubb received his Masters and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego and his Bachelor's in Economics (with honors) and Spanish from the University of California, Berkeley.
Director of Special Projects & Senior Advisor to the President, The Democracy Collaborative
steve@democracycollaborative.org
At the Democracy Collaborative, Dubb has led the development of the Community-Wealth.org web-based information portal and has been lead author or co-author of a number of publications including Building Wealth: The New Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems (Aspen, 2005), Linking Colleges to Communities: Engaging the University for Community Development (2007), Growing a Green Economy for All: From Green Jobs to Green Ownership (2010) and The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads (2012). With Ted Howard, Dubb has also worked on the development of community wealth building strategies in a number of cities, including Cleveland, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Washington, DC. Previously, Dubb was Executive Director of the North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO), a U.S. and Canadian nonprofit association that provides education and technical assistance to university and community-based housing and retail cooperatives. Dubb received his Masters and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego and his Bachelor's in Economics (with honors) and Spanish from the University of California, Berkeley.
Ted Howard
President and Co-founder, The Democracy Collaborative
thoward@democracycollaborative.org
The Collaborative is recognized as a national leader in the fast growing field of community wealth building strategies and policy development. Its “Anchor Institutions” project focuses on the role universities, hospitals, and other place-based anchors can play in fostering inclusive economic and community development. In July 2010, Mr. Howard was appointed as the Steven Minter Senior Fellow for Social Justice at The Cleveland Foundation. In this position, he has been responsible for developing a comprehensive job creation and wealth building strategy which resulted in the Evergreen Cooperative Initiative. For his leadership of the Evergreen Initiative, Mr. Howard was designated a CFED Innovation Award recipient in 2010. Utne Reader has named him one of “25 visionaries who are changing your world.”
President and Co-founder, The Democracy Collaborative
thoward@democracycollaborative.org
The Collaborative is recognized as a national leader in the fast growing field of community wealth building strategies and policy development. Its “Anchor Institutions” project focuses on the role universities, hospitals, and other place-based anchors can play in fostering inclusive economic and community development. In July 2010, Mr. Howard was appointed as the Steven Minter Senior Fellow for Social Justice at The Cleveland Foundation. In this position, he has been responsible for developing a comprehensive job creation and wealth building strategy which resulted in the Evergreen Cooperative Initiative. For his leadership of the Evergreen Initiative, Mr. Howard was designated a CFED Innovation Award recipient in 2010. Utne Reader has named him one of “25 visionaries who are changing your world.”
Marjorie Kelly
Executive Vice President & Senior Fellow, The Democracy Collaborative
mkelly@democracycollaborative.org
Kelly is the Executive Vice President and a Senior Fellow with The Democracy Collaborative, where she oversees a variety of consulting and research projects and serves as a member of the executive team. Kelly currently works with foundation involved in economic development and impact investing, and is leading a national collaborative effort to promote movement towards employee ownership conversions. She previously was a Fellow with Tellus Institute, Boston, where she led a variety of consulting and research projects. For five years she was a lead consultant with WealthWorks, a Ford Foundation initiative to develop and test a new approach to rural economic development. For that project, she authored the report “Keeping Wealth Local,” profiling dozens of models of community-based ownership in rural areas, and assisted eight projects in finding alternative community-friendly sources of financing. Kelly has led other research projects for groups like the Rockefeller Foundation. Kelly is author of the book, Owning Our Future: The Emerging Ownership Revolution, published by Berrett-Koehler (2012), which won a Silver Nautilus Award. Her first book, The Divine Right of Capital, was named by Library Journal as one of the 10 Best Business Books of the Year. Kelly was previously affiliated with Cutting Edge Capital, where she advised private businesses and social enterprises on ownership and capital design for social mission. She was co-founder and for 20 years president of Business Ethics magazine. She served for many years as President of the Board of Willy Street Grocery Cooperative in Madison, Wisc. She holds a Master’s in Journalism from the University of Missouri, where she received the Penney-Missouri Award for most promising young journalist.
Executive Vice President & Senior Fellow, The Democracy Collaborative
mkelly@democracycollaborative.org
Kelly is the Executive Vice President and a Senior Fellow with The Democracy Collaborative, where she oversees a variety of consulting and research projects and serves as a member of the executive team. Kelly currently works with foundation involved in economic development and impact investing, and is leading a national collaborative effort to promote movement towards employee ownership conversions. She previously was a Fellow with Tellus Institute, Boston, where she led a variety of consulting and research projects. For five years she was a lead consultant with WealthWorks, a Ford Foundation initiative to develop and test a new approach to rural economic development. For that project, she authored the report “Keeping Wealth Local,” profiling dozens of models of community-based ownership in rural areas, and assisted eight projects in finding alternative community-friendly sources of financing. Kelly has led other research projects for groups like the Rockefeller Foundation. Kelly is author of the book, Owning Our Future: The Emerging Ownership Revolution, published by Berrett-Koehler (2012), which won a Silver Nautilus Award. Her first book, The Divine Right of Capital, was named by Library Journal as one of the 10 Best Business Books of the Year. Kelly was previously affiliated with Cutting Edge Capital, where she advised private businesses and social enterprises on ownership and capital design for social mission. She was co-founder and for 20 years president of Business Ethics magazine. She served for many years as President of the Board of Willy Street Grocery Cooperative in Madison, Wisc. She holds a Master’s in Journalism from the University of Missouri, where she received the Penney-Missouri Award for most promising young journalist.
Sarah McKinley
Manager, Community Development Programs
sarah@democracycollaborative.org
Sarah McKinley is Manager of Community Development Programs for The Democracy Collaborative. She manages the Learning/Action Lab for Community Wealth Building, a multi-year initiative supported by the Northwest Area Foundation, assisting five nonprofits in Indian Country in creating social enterprises and employee-owned companies. She co-authored The Anchor Dashboard: Aligning Institutional Practice to Meet Low-Income Community Needs, and Raising Student Voices: Student Action for University Community Investment. Previously, she worked with the Greater Southwest Development Corporation and the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations. While earning her master degree in urban and regional planning at Cornell University, McKinley was a co-author of “A People’s Plan for New Orleans” a bottom-up community development plan for the 9th Ward after Hurricane Katrina. She holds a bachelor’s degree in urban history from the University of Chicago. In her spare time, McKinley, an avid food lover, is the Co-Chair of Slow Food DC, the local chapter of an international organization that promotes a good, clean, and fair food system.
Manager, Community Development Programs
sarah@democracycollaborative.org
Sarah McKinley is Manager of Community Development Programs for The Democracy Collaborative. She manages the Learning/Action Lab for Community Wealth Building, a multi-year initiative supported by the Northwest Area Foundation, assisting five nonprofits in Indian Country in creating social enterprises and employee-owned companies. She co-authored The Anchor Dashboard: Aligning Institutional Practice to Meet Low-Income Community Needs, and Raising Student Voices: Student Action for University Community Investment. Previously, she worked with the Greater Southwest Development Corporation and the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations. While earning her master degree in urban and regional planning at Cornell University, McKinley was a co-author of “A People’s Plan for New Orleans” a bottom-up community development plan for the 9th Ward after Hurricane Katrina. She holds a bachelor’s degree in urban history from the University of Chicago. In her spare time, McKinley, an avid food lover, is the Co-Chair of Slow Food DC, the local chapter of an international organization that promotes a good, clean, and fair food system.
Northwest Area Foundation (NWAF)
John Fetzer
Program Officer
jfetzer@nwaf.org
Before joining the Foundation’s team in 2015,Fetzer spent most of the past four years as a program associate on the Bush Foundation’s Native Nations Team. He engaged with Native nations in the Dakotas and Minnesota and co-administered the Native Nations Rebuilders leadership program, where he gained extensive knowledge and connection to NWAF’s funding region. His work as a legislative aide for former U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota provided him with tremendous insights into the complexities of rural issues and gave him an intimate look at the political process, particularly related to Native American affairs and federal housing programs.
Program Officer
jfetzer@nwaf.org
Before joining the Foundation’s team in 2015,Fetzer spent most of the past four years as a program associate on the Bush Foundation’s Native Nations Team. He engaged with Native nations in the Dakotas and Minnesota and co-administered the Native Nations Rebuilders leadership program, where he gained extensive knowledge and connection to NWAF’s funding region. His work as a legislative aide for former U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota provided him with tremendous insights into the complexities of rural issues and gave him an intimate look at the political process, particularly related to Native American affairs and federal housing programs.
Nikki Foster
Program Officer
nfoster@nwaf.org
After gaining her master’s in applied sociology with an emphasis on public policy from American University in Washington, D.C., Nikki focused on research and dissemination of information to help propel housing policy proposals, legislation, and poverty-reduction models and tools. At the Foundation, she puts her research skills to good work as she uncovers unmet needs within the Foundation’s region and recommends ways to address those needs. She also identifies prospective grantees; solicits and reviews proposals; and facilitates partnerships between the Foundation, grant seekers, grant recipients and community. In her most recent position with Sunrise Banks, she established standards of quality financial programs and banking products geared toward low-income people who do not use, or do not have access to, conventional banks. She designed and led the organization’s overarching corporate responsibility and community development strategy, among other things. She was honored as a First Mover Fellow by the Aspen Institute Business and Society program, a vital step toward her continued quest to integrate corporate profitability and social value.
Program Officer
nfoster@nwaf.org
After gaining her master’s in applied sociology with an emphasis on public policy from American University in Washington, D.C., Nikki focused on research and dissemination of information to help propel housing policy proposals, legislation, and poverty-reduction models and tools. At the Foundation, she puts her research skills to good work as she uncovers unmet needs within the Foundation’s region and recommends ways to address those needs. She also identifies prospective grantees; solicits and reviews proposals; and facilitates partnerships between the Foundation, grant seekers, grant recipients and community. In her most recent position with Sunrise Banks, she established standards of quality financial programs and banking products geared toward low-income people who do not use, or do not have access to, conventional banks. She designed and led the organization’s overarching corporate responsibility and community development strategy, among other things. She was honored as a First Mover Fellow by the Aspen Institute Business and Society program, a vital step toward her continued quest to integrate corporate profitability and social value.
Martin Jennings
Program Officer
mjennings@nwaf.org
With more than 30 years of experience in community/economic programming and development activities in Tribal and rural communities in Minnesota and the broader Midwest area, Martin is highly qualified to serve as a program officer for the Foundation, which has 75 sovereign Tribal nations within its eight-state region. He identifies grant opportunities – both for Tribal nations and for other communities within the Foundation’s region; helps shape funding parameters and details; and facilitates the partnerships between the Foundation, grant seekers, grant recipients and community. Martin has been involved in grant-making for the better part of two decades and has overseen community regranting activities, participated in the review and funding of federal programs, and served on private foundation boards and community development organizations focused on Native and rural concerns. Martin is an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Ojibwe Nation in Northern Minnesota.
Program Officer
mjennings@nwaf.org
With more than 30 years of experience in community/economic programming and development activities in Tribal and rural communities in Minnesota and the broader Midwest area, Martin is highly qualified to serve as a program officer for the Foundation, which has 75 sovereign Tribal nations within its eight-state region. He identifies grant opportunities – both for Tribal nations and for other communities within the Foundation’s region; helps shape funding parameters and details; and facilitates the partnerships between the Foundation, grant seekers, grant recipients and community. Martin has been involved in grant-making for the better part of two decades and has overseen community regranting activities, participated in the review and funding of federal programs, and served on private foundation boards and community development organizations focused on Native and rural concerns. Martin is an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Ojibwe Nation in Northern Minnesota.
Christianne Lind
Program Officer
clind@nwaf.org
Christianne strives to learn more about effective grant-making within the community and throughout the Foundation’s region. She recommends new practices and opportunities to address unmet needs.She also identifies prospective grantees; solicits and reviews proposals; and facilitates partnerships between the Foundation, grant seekers, grant recipients and community. She has over a decade of experience with public policy issues in the U.S. and abroad. Her work as a project assistant for a global health reform project spearheaded by ABT Associates in Maryland, as a public policy analyst in the City of Detroit Mayor’s Office, as a practice group director for The Finance Project in Washington, D.C., and as the coordinator for a national funder affinity group, laid the groundwork for the experience and zest she brings to her job with the Foundation. In addition to a bachelor’s from Georgetown University, Christianne holds a master’s in social and labor market policy from the University of Michigan, where she also served as a graduate student instructor for two public policy classes. She has authored dozens of reports and publications regarding human services policies, programs and systems.
Program Officer
clind@nwaf.org
Christianne strives to learn more about effective grant-making within the community and throughout the Foundation’s region. She recommends new practices and opportunities to address unmet needs.She also identifies prospective grantees; solicits and reviews proposals; and facilitates partnerships between the Foundation, grant seekers, grant recipients and community. She has over a decade of experience with public policy issues in the U.S. and abroad. Her work as a project assistant for a global health reform project spearheaded by ABT Associates in Maryland, as a public policy analyst in the City of Detroit Mayor’s Office, as a practice group director for The Finance Project in Washington, D.C., and as the coordinator for a national funder affinity group, laid the groundwork for the experience and zest she brings to her job with the Foundation. In addition to a bachelor’s from Georgetown University, Christianne holds a master’s in social and labor market policy from the University of Michigan, where she also served as a graduate student instructor for two public policy classes. She has authored dozens of reports and publications regarding human services policies, programs and systems.
Karla Miller
Program Director
kmiller@nwaf.org
Karla works closely with the president and CEO of NWAF to develop goals, strategies, objectives and outcomes for the Foundation’s Program activities. She prepares and presents information to the board of directors and manages program officers’ work, grant budgets and the Program-related investment portfolio. She has been both a small-business owner herself and worked in finance for other organizations, including First Bank System, Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund, and West Central Wisconsin Community Action Agency. Throughout her career, she has been instrumental in acquiring funding for causes close to her heart, including numerous food-related initiatives for co-ops and low-income food entrepreneurs, small-town revitalization, low-income families and refugees, and anti-poverty organizations. With a master’s in finance and administration from the University of St. Thomas and a bachelor’s in international relations from the University of Minnesota, Karla combines her training, experience and commitment to inform strategies for effective grant-making.
Program Director
kmiller@nwaf.org
Karla works closely with the president and CEO of NWAF to develop goals, strategies, objectives and outcomes for the Foundation’s Program activities. She prepares and presents information to the board of directors and manages program officers’ work, grant budgets and the Program-related investment portfolio. She has been both a small-business owner herself and worked in finance for other organizations, including First Bank System, Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund, and West Central Wisconsin Community Action Agency. Throughout her career, she has been instrumental in acquiring funding for causes close to her heart, including numerous food-related initiatives for co-ops and low-income food entrepreneurs, small-town revitalization, low-income families and refugees, and anti-poverty organizations. With a master’s in finance and administration from the University of St. Thomas and a bachelor’s in international relations from the University of Minnesota, Karla combines her training, experience and commitment to inform strategies for effective grant-making.
Jennifer Rancho
Program Officer
jrancho@nwaf.org
Jennifer comes to philanthropy with nearly 20 years of experience in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. In her role as a program officer, she seeks to bridge the gap between funders and nonprofits. She approaches her work in way that co-creates solutions and builds on the capacity of communities to work on their own terms, making the most of their strengths, to create a better future for themselves. Most recently, she was the workforce programs manager for a nonprofit that works with immigrants and refugees in the Twin Cities. She received a bachelor’s in English and economics from the University of Rochester in New York. She also holds a master’s in public policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Outside of work, Jennifer can be found dribbling on a basketball court, sitting in a meditation hall, or soaking in Minnesota’s great outdoors.
Program Officer
jrancho@nwaf.org
Jennifer comes to philanthropy with nearly 20 years of experience in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. In her role as a program officer, she seeks to bridge the gap between funders and nonprofits. She approaches her work in way that co-creates solutions and builds on the capacity of communities to work on their own terms, making the most of their strengths, to create a better future for themselves. Most recently, she was the workforce programs manager for a nonprofit that works with immigrants and refugees in the Twin Cities. She received a bachelor’s in English and economics from the University of Rochester in New York. She also holds a master’s in public policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Outside of work, Jennifer can be found dribbling on a basketball court, sitting in a meditation hall, or soaking in Minnesota’s great outdoors.
