Deconstructing Development
Inclusion, Equity, Diversity:
People with Disabilities and the Nonprofit Sector
Thursday, November 19, 2020
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
WID Members: $15 | Non-Members: $20
Co-Hosted By:
Yolanda F. Johnson and Jill Slattery
Featured Guests:
Wanda Deschamps, Noorain Khan, and Kathy Tompkins
Deconstructing Development is a special series, developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to bring the fundraising community direct access to experts in areas important to achieving professional success. Each segment includes an introduction, followed by a 30-minute Q & A interview, allowing the WID community to write in with questions for our experts.
Inclusion. Equity. Diversity.
As society and our fundraising sector work towards diversity and equity, a key component of creating a world where everyone can bring their talents to the fore is through true inclusion and belonging. Those with disabilities can often feel as though they do not fit in and that they are regarded in ways that do not reflect the brilliance, skills and insights they bring to the table as professionals in the nonprofit sector.
WID wants everyone to have a seat at the table. We not only champion racial and gender equality, but inclusion for all. The November Deconstructing Development will take a deeper look at how we can embrace the contributions of people with disabilities to our sector.
Featured Guests
Wanda Deschamps, Principal, Liberty Co
Wanda Deschamps' ultimate goal is to increase the participation level of members of the neurodiverse population in the workforce with a special focus on autism due to her own diagnosis at midlife.
Prior to founding Liberty Co., Wanda enjoyed a twenty-five year career in the philanthropic sector, serving as a consultant for KCI (Ketchum Canada Inc.), a leading fundraising consultancy, as well as an institutional development leader. A champion for inclusion, she enjoys writing under the banner of the Inclusion Revolution a worldwide movement launched in 2018 to spearhead broader thinking about disability, especially disability employment. Wanda is also the catalyst behind the #women4women collective focused on gender equality through supporting other women. Combining these two goals, Wanda is an advocate for women with autism, including as a participant in research into autistic women's experiences in the workplace. As a means to create safer and healthier workplaces, she is the co-founder of the National Day of Conversation about sexual harassment in the charitable sector. Click here to view Wanda's full biography.
Noorain Khan, Director, Office of the President, Ford Foundation
Noorain Khan is the Director in the foundation’s Office of the President where she oversees grant making from the foundation’s Reserves Fund and leads cross-foundation strategic projects and initiatives that emerge from the president’s priorities. Previously, she served as program officer in the Office of the President.
Before joining Ford in 2015, Noorain was chief of staff to the CEO and co-founder of Teach for All and founder of Teach for America. Earlier, she was an attorney at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where she advised clients on cross-border mergers and acquisitions and governance. In addition, she represented clients pro bono in family law and Supplemental Social Security Income proceedings. Click here to view Noorain's full biography.
Kathy Tompkins, Partner, Warren Enskat Group
Kathy Tompkins has been a fervent advocate for disability rights for more than 25 years. Her involvement in the community has sprung from the diagnosis of her daughter with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Kathy served for 15 years on the Board of Families of SMA, an organization dedicated to raising funds to find a cure for SMA. Additionally, she is an active board member of SKIP of NY (Sick Kids Need Involved People). SKIP seeks to facilitate the provision of support services to severely ill children in order to allow to have community-centered care. As a board member Kathy has advocated with the NYS Department of Health in Albany to ensure that these medically fragile children have rights to Medicaid and are able to remain at home and not be institutionalized. She is also a board member of UN Women USA NY.
Outside of disability advocacy, Kathy is currently a Partner at Warren Enskat Group, where she specializes in asset management team lift-outs. She is also spearheading a Diversity & Inclusion practice for the firm. Kathy holds a BA degree from Queens College and an MBA from New York University Stern School of business.
Co-Hosts
Yolanda F. Johnson - President, YFJ Consulting, LLC and President, Women In Development, NY
With more than two decades of experience in the non-profit sector Yolanda F. Johnson has successfully led fundraising operations for a wide range of nonprofit organizations, launching creative event, sponsorship and marketing initiatives that produced new streams of both contributed and earned income. Her fundraising expertise includes securing foundation, corporate, and government funding and cultivating a diverse major gifts portfolio. Yolanda is the President of Women In Development (WID), NY and the President of YFJ Consulting, LLC, which provides fundraising strategy and special event expertise for non-profit community. She is also the founder of Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy (WOC) and Allies in Action Membership Network. Yolanda has had an outstanding career as a performing artist, as a composer, as a producer, as an educator, and she has used her background as a performer to become a sought-after fundraising expert. Yolanda was also recently appointed to the Chronicle of Philanthropy Advisory Committee of national leaders in the non-profit sector. Tying together her life as a successful performing artist and a non-profit leader, she developed All the World's A Stage, a special workshop using performance practice for getting what one wants out of fundraising, philanthropy and life. She presents All the World's A Stage to audiences across the country.
Jill Slattery - Director of Principal Gifts for the Americas, London School of Economics Foundation and Member, Women In Development, NY Board of Directors
With 25 years of experience in higher education fundraising Jill Slattery has contributed to major and principal gift programs at Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is a graduate of Hamilton College and the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. In addition to her dedication to the development profession Jill enjoys time spent with family, friends, and travel.
Sponsored By:
Inspirational Apparel, Accessories, and Home Decor
for Fundraisers and Philanthropists
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