Birgit is the Founder and Executive Director of AADO, the African American Development Officers Network, which she launched at Georgia Tech in 1998 to provide professional development, education, employment support, mentorship, and networking opportunities for African American fundraisers. She is a well-regarded speaker on the topics of fundraising and diversity and has authored articles on diversity in the fundraising profession, co-authored the book, The Philanthropic Covenant with Black America, and contributed to the book Five Minutes for Fundraising, A Collection of Expert Advice. Birgit is honored to tell her personal story in the book Collecting Courage, which shares the lived experiences of Black women and men working in the nonprofit and charitable space (published fall 2020). During her 25-year career at Georgia Tech, Birgit was selected to participate in the first cohort of Leading Women @ Tech and chosen as one of the 2020 Faces of Inclusive Excellence, which recognized faculty, staff, and students committed to gender diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Birgit serves on the global board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and recently was voted as the Chair-Elect for 2021. She has the distinction of being the first African American woman in AFP’s 60-year history to serve in this role. Birgit received the Opportunity and Inclusion Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education which recognized her leadership in fostering inclusion and diversity within the fundraising profession.  In 2020 the R.I.S.E. Fund was established in Birgit’s honor with a mission to advance women of color in fundraising by providing Resources, Inspiration, Support, and Education.

Birgit chairs the A.E. Lowe Grice Scholarship Fund, serves on the advisory board for Hosea Helps, chairs the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, and advises the Aspen Leadership Group. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Birgit earned a bachelor's degree in media communications from Medaille College in Buffalo, New York and serves on its board of Trustees.

Christopher enjoys connecting individuals with causes they are enthusiastic about. He is a seasoned fundraising advisor with over 20 years of experience serving non-profits, including ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Boy Scouts of America (Nashville, TN). Over the course of his career, Christopher has served in positions focused on major gifts (individual, corporate and foundational), non-profit program oversight (youth service and sports fundraising/marketing), and volunteer and non-profit board development. He also has experience in diverse philanthropy programs and training and coaching fundraising professionals.

In his current role at ALSAC/St. Jude, Christopher manages a portfolio of supporters in the Southeast. He has also led the development and implementation of a diverse philanthropy strategy for the Atlanta Metropolitan area and serves as an advisor to other professionals doing similar work in Memphis, TN, Washington D.C., and Chicago, IL.

Development focus area, solicitation, stewardship, cultivation, and discovery. Christopher also excels at connecting supporters, and fundraising professionals, and creating meaningful engagement opportunities for funders. Christopher has an Education degree from Rust College and earned a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certification from the University of South Florida in 2021.

Outside of work, Christopher enjoys spending time with his wife and son, and all things health and fitness. He also enjoys reading, visiting aquariums, and listening to jazz music. His personal motto is,

“Work hard in silence; let your work make the noise.”

Melanie E. Jones is an experienced fund raising and marketing professional with extensive experience in developing and expanding advancement programs at institutions of higher learning.  She is an energetic and transformative leader committed to advancing the community in which she lives and serves.

In January 2022, she assumed the role of Vice President for University Advancement and Innovation at Grambling State University (Grambling, LA).  She also serves as Executive Director of the Grambling University Foundation, Inc.  At Grambling, Melanie leads the University’s teams in strategic communication and marketing, alumni engagement, philanthropy, career services, university events and innovative initiatives.

Melanie has been an active volunteer and recognized community leader, serving on several boards to include Ruston-Lincoln Convention and Visitor Bureau, Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation, Piedmont Medical Center, Wells Fargo, Arts Council of York County, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and more. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Rotary International, and a host of other professional and civic organizations.

Prior to her role at GSU, she served as the Vice President for College Advancement at York Technical College in Rock Hill, SC and the Executive Director of the York Technical College Foundation, Inc.  She has also held roles at Allen University (Columbia, SC), Saint Augustine's College (Raleigh, North Carolina), the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and the Hamilton County School District (Chattanooga, TN).

Melanie is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE). She earned bachelor’s degree from Spelman College (Atlanta, Georgia) and a master’s degree from Tennessee Technological University (Cookeville, Tennessee).

O’Neil A.S. Outar joined RISD's leadership team in January 2018, bringing more than 20 years of fundraising and leadership experience from some of the world’s leading public and private research universities. He began his career at Tufts University, where he served as director of the Fund for Arts, Sciences and Engineering during the University’s $609 million “Tufts Tomorrow” campaign. From there, Outar held several ascending leadership roles at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, leading the work that secured some of MIT’s largest-ever donations. Following MIT, Outar held fundraising positions at the University of Alberta and Harvard University, where he led the $2.5 billion “Campaign for Arts and Sciences” campaign. Most recently he served as the interim vice chancellor for Institutional Advancement at the University of Pittsburgh.

Currently a special adviser to The Guyana Foundation, Outar was a Commonwealth Study Conference Leader, a member of the Word Economic Forum’s Knowledge Advisory Group and an MIT Leader-to-Leader Fellow. A first-generation college student, he was born in New Amsterdam, Guyana and is named in honor of his father’s favorite Australian cricketer, Norman O'Neill.

Lereca Monik is a results-oriented executive with leadership experience serving various non-profit agencies and small businesses.  In her role as the Chief of External Affairs at 4.0, she is responsible for growing the agency’s philanthropic revenue while furthering the organization's overall mission through strategic marketing communications and evaluation and learning. She has proven success in constructing mission-driven fund-development and marketing plans to exceed desired results, guiding teams with fostering and cultivating constituent relationships and converting prospects into principal investors.  

When not focused on philanthropy, she spends her time taking long walks at the park and with her daughter LeReine. Her life’s purpose is to help others achieve their personal and professional success goals by coaching them on how to harness The Agape Advantage's power, unconditional love, to impact their communities.

Karen Chance Mercurius is the Vice President of Alumni and Constituent Engagement at the University of Rochester in New York, U.S. In this role, she provides strategic leadership and management of an integrated, university-wide alumni and constituent relations program.