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Visionary Voices

Authors & Contributors to philanthropy.org

Visionary Voices features original work from experienced fundraisers, nonprofit executives, advisors, and practitioners writing from direct responsibility.

This is a curated forum. Contributors are selected for depth of experience, operational credibility, and demonstrated results.

Visionary Voices is intentionally limited and does not publish: early-career professionals, academic commentary without applied responsibility, vendor marketing content, trend-driven opinion pieces, or personal brand publishing.

If your work has not been shaped by accountability, consequence, and execution, it does not belong here.

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Authors List

  • Deidre Lind is the Founder and CEO of A Better Impact where she leads social impact strategy with companies and start-ups, philanthropic foundations, cross-sector collaborations, and nonprofits building upon decades of experience leading corporate social responsibility programs, private philanthropy and public private partnerships. 

    As Founding Executive Director of the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, she led public private partnerships in response to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, and launched the California Volunteers Fund with Governor Gavin Newsom.  She led philanthropic transformation both as the Executive Director of a private foundation, and as Mattel’s chief global social impact strategist where she built the foundation of their current CSR programming. 

    She serves as an advisor to the Los Angeles Wildfires Philanthropy Working Group & Civic Leaders Council, Governance & Sustainability Center Fellow with The Conference Board, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Accelerator for America and Accelerator for America Action, Board Member of the Social Impact Fund and continues as Adjunct Professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy. 

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  • Diane Charness of DHR Global is an advisor to nonprofits on CSuite, foundation management, and fundraising talent identification. Diane deploys leaders who are growth-oriented on behalf of nonprofits in education, healthcare, the arts, conservation, advocacy, research, and more. Diane has served hundreds of clients over a 25+ year career and successfully completed more than 2,500 talent assignments. While serving as Director of Recruitment at Georgetown University, she and her team built one of the first internal nonprofit talent acquisition programs and provides consulting today. She has assumed leadership and board positions for nonprofits in medical research, conservation, and social services.
    Diane is one of the Top 40 Nonprofit Recruiters as identified by Hunt Scanlon and facilitates discussions on nonprofit board governance topics with Harvard’s Social Enterprise Initiative. She holds a B.S., Georgetown University, an MBA, George Washington University, and a certificate in talent management from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler School Business School. Diane bases with her family in the Washington, DC and greater Los Angeles regions and can be reached at [email protected].

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  • Dr. Asher Orkaby is a faculty associate and instructor at Harvard University. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in International History and has consulted for a wide range of international and national government actors, development agencies, and global foundations, and regularly contributes to public media such as Alliance, the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, and The National Interest. Orkaby is co-author of The Rise of West Coast Philanthropy: A History of the Hewlett and Packard Foundations (Chicago University Press, 2027).

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  • Dr. Harmeet Singh is a Social Impact Strategist at The Kalgidhar Society, working across its Educate to Save, CSR for Change, and Akal Academy initiatives in Baru Sahib, Himachal Pradesh, India. With more than 13 years in rural education, CSR partnerships, and social impact work, Dr. Harmeet has helped connect donors and institutions to programs supporting first-generation learners across the Akal Academy network of 130-plus CBSE schools. Before moving into social impact, Dr. Harmeet spent over a decade in IT and infrastructure, an experience that continues to shape a systems-oriented approach to nonprofit strategy and program design. Dr. Harmeet holds an Honorary Doctorate in Social Work and approaches this work as an extension of the founding vision of Sant Baba Iqbal Singh Ji, focused on education as opportunity rather than charity. Dr. Harmeet writes and speaks on rural education, CSR partnerships, and legacy-driven institution building, drawing on close, on-the-ground experience with the schools, donors, and communities involved. Dr. Harmeet welcomes conversations with fundraisers, nonprofit leaders, and CSR practitioners working on similar long-horizon missions in education. 

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  • Dr. Todd A. Comer is a grant writer at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County, where he works on program development, funding strategy, and community-based initiatives. He also leads the organization’s AI policy committee and develops training on AI use, grant reporting, and emerging best practices for nonprofit staff. 
     
    He holds a PhD in English from Michigan State University and previously served as a professor of English at Defiance College and Director of Digital Humanities at Wilberforce University. 

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  • Duke Haddad, EdD, CFRE

    Dr. F. Duke Haddad is Divisional Associate Executive Director of Development for The Salvation Army Indiana Division and president of Duke Haddad & Associates. He has published articles in NonProfit PRO Magazine since 2008 and was featured on its cover in 2018. He holds a doctorate from West Virginia University, with research focused on fundraising and donor characteristics. Haddad has received numerous honors including Fundraising Executive of the Year from the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

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  • Eddie Thompson

    As CEO and founder of Thompson & Associates, Eddie provides leadership and direction to over 50 seasoned charitable estate planners at the firm. Dr. Thompson has planned thousands of estates, which has generated well over three billion dollars to charity during his thirty plus years working with nonprofits.

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  • Eileen McCabe is a fundraising professional who has developed a broad skill set while working within one organization, with a focus on donor stewardship, communications, and engagement. She is particularly interested in practical strategies that improve donor retention and long-term support. Currently pursuing CFRE certification, Eileen is dedicated to ethical and effective fundraising practices. When not working, she enjoys playing the piano and suspects that writing a good donor email isn’t all that different from practicing a difficult piece—both take patience, repetition, and a willingness to get it slightly wrong before getting it right. 

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  • Eric G. Werner is First Vice President, Wealth Management | Senior Institutional Consultant at Raymond James, with nearly 30 years in financial services. Based in Hanover, NH, he specializes in nonprofit endowment strategy, planned giving facilitation, and multigenerational wealth transfer — serving nonprofit organizations throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic.  Eric serves as Vice President and Board Member of the New Hampshire & Vermont Council of Charitable Gift Planners.

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  • Fernanda Durand, Public Speaker/ Communications expert with 20 years of experience in strategic communications and public policy

    Fernanda Durand is the Chief Marketing Consultant for the National Hispanic Health Research Institute (NHHRI), where she leads national strategy for communications, brand, partnerships, and visibility in support of community-powered research. In this role, she oversees storytelling, digital engagement, media relations, and partner communications, helping translate complex research and data into clear, compelling narratives that center community voice and impact.  
     
    With more than 15 years of experience in journalism, public relations, and nonprofit communications, Fernanda has held senior leadership roles at national organizations including the National Hispanic Medical Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and mission-driven communications firms serving health, policy, and social justice causes. Her work sits at the intersection of research, equity, and public engagement, with a focus on making systems more accountable to the communities they aim to serve. 

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