Blackbaud Delivers Speakers

Learn more about each amazing Blackbaud Delivers speaker.

Samantha Cohen

Samantha brings an extensive knowledge of income generation for nonprofits while specializing in broad-based annual giving, major giving, and building bridges between the fundraising programs. She has created and managed giving programs that have seen year-over-year increases in the double digits. Prior to joining Blackbaud in 2003, Samantha held various development and marketing roles for organizations in both the United States and Canada, including Kentucky Opera, Canada’s National Ballet School, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Using her experience in many aspects of fundraising, Samantha works in both project management and business consulting for several Blackbaud products, including Blackbaud Enterprise CRM, The Raiser’s Edge®, and prospect research tools: ProspectPoint®, WealthPoint®, and The Researcher’s Edge™. Some of her notable customers include a prestigious teaching hospital in the Northeast, internationally recognized colleges and universities, and dozens of human services and cultural organizations. Samantha holds a BA in English and drama from McMaster University in Hamilton and a certificate in income management from the University of Waterloo, both in Ontario, Canada.

Lawrence Henze

Lawrence Henze is the managing director of Target Analytics, a Blackbaud company. He has extensive experience in fundraising, market research, and applying predictive modeling services to the nonprofit marketplace. The founder of Core Data Services, which Blackbaud acquired in 2001, he has also served as vice president of predictive modeling services at USA Group Noel-Levitz and president of The Philanthropic Division of Econometrics, Inc. Lawrence has more than 15 years of experience in development, raising more than $125 million primarily for higher education institutions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Carroll College in Wisconsin, a master’s degree in public policy and administration, and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Allison Van Diest

Allison Van Diest, product marketing manager for Blackbaud® NetCommunity™, has been a marketing professional for more than a decade. Over the course of her career, she has made the transition from marketing “artist” to marketing “scientist” by uncovering ways to measure the impact of marketing in the organizations she has served.  Recently, Allison has been involved in marketing Blackbaud NetCommunity and Blackbaud Interactive, which provides Internet marketing strategy and creative assistance to a wide variety of nonprofit customers.  She holds a BA in English from Florida State University and an MBA from The Citadel.

Katherine Swank

Katherine Swank, JD, is a consultant with Target Analytics, a Blackbaud company. With more than 20 years of legal and nonprofit management experience, Katherine has raised approximately $215 million for national healthcare and public broadcasting organizations, as well as an independent law school. Prior to joining Target Analytics in May 2007, she was the national director of gift planning at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, where she provided fundraising consulting services to the Society’s chapter leadership and development staff for six years. Katherine is an affiliate faculty member of Regis University’s master of nonprofit management degree program in Denver, teaching classroom and online courses on wealth and philanthropy. She holds an independent studies degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a law degree from the Drake University School of Law in Des Moines, Iowa.

Marc A. Pitman

Marc A. Pitman is the author of Ask Without Fear! and founder of Fundraisingcoach.com, a website dedicated to practical ideas for fundraising more effectively. Internationally recognized by such organizations as Reuters, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and the American Marketing Association as a thought leader, Marc helps individuals and organizations raise more money than they ever thought possible! His lively presentations at conferences and fundraising seminars get him invited to various organizations, including Blackbaud’s Conferences for Nonprofits, Habitat for Humanity International, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He also has his own Creating Donor Evangelists audio program and other tools to help you excel at raising money, available at the Fundraising Coach Store. Marc is also the director of the Foundation of Inland Hospital. He founded the Vineyard Church of Waterville and pastored it for about four years.

Steve MacLaughlin

Steve MacLaughlin is the Director of Internet Solutions at Blackbaud and is responsible for leading how the company provides online solutions for its clients. He has spent more than 12 years building successful online initiatives with a broad range of Fortune 500 firms, government and educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and events including the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Direct Marketing Fundraisers Association (DMFA), National Association of Independent School (NAIS), Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN), and many other nonprofit industry organizations. Steve serves on the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) Board of Directors and supports its focus on both the growth and professionalism of the nonprofit technology field as well as building knowledge and information sharing capacity throughout the sector. Steve’s thoughts on leveraging the Internet were published in the book People to People Fundraising: Social Networking and Web 2.0 for Charities. His popular weblog is located at: http://www.blackbaud.com/connections Steve earned both his undergraduate degree and a Master of Science degree in Interactive Media from Indiana University.