Karen A. Sims-Harrell currently serves as director gifts and records management at NC State University. Sims-Harrell brings over 20 years of experience within gift processing and donor records management. She is an experienced advancement professional with proven skills in fundraising and financial management, gift administration, policy creation, leadership and staff development. She is skilled in the use of consultative approaches to increase efficiency in integration of industry best practices for gift acceptance and data standards.

Sims-Harrell has served as a board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Eastern PA Chapter for seven years and served as the Ethics and Accountability chair for two years. She has also served as a conference presenter and volunteer with CASE in varying capacities during her membership over the last 15 years. Sims has received the distinction as being a CASE district faculty stellar speaker for multiple years and was awarded the CASE 2021 District III Opportunity and Inclusion Award for her work in promoting diversity and inclusion industry best practices.

She holds a bachelor's degree from DeSales University in management and marketing and a master's degree in educational leadership from Lehigh University.

Christopher Amherst is Director, Data Management at the University of Chicago, Alumni Relations and Development.

Dr. Shalonda Martin is an Advancement Services professional and DEI strategist with over 19 years of experience. She has led teams at Pepperdine University, UCLA, USC, and currently at Pomona College. She specializes in designing quality assurance programs, leading change efforts, developing and curating DEI content, and developing comprehensive strategies grounded in equity. Dr. Martin is the Sr. Director of Advancement Services at Pomona College and is also the founder of SM Coaching and Consulting. She has a BS and MS from Pepperdine University and an EdD in Org Change and Leadership from USC, where her dissertation examined the paucity of women of color in higher education.   

Dr. Martin serves as a member of the programming committee for the Association for Advancement Services Professionals (AASP) and is the Vice Chair of the planning committee for the Case DRIVE conference. She has also served as a faculty member for the Case Summer Institute for Advancement Services, and the Case Gift and Records Workshop. Additionally, she served as a graduate student coach, guest lectures, and engages in public speaking on various topics.

Mark Allen is the Matching Gifts Specialist at North Carolina State University. Mark works in NC State's Advancement Services Department where he helped create a new proactive approach to matching gifts which expands the University's matching gift program. He joined NC State in 2019 after previously working at the Clemson University Foundation.

Bringing over fifteen years of experience in higher education, including nine years in advancement services, Adriana has performed various roles within development, from data management and gift administration to donor relations and communications. Before joining USNA, Adriana worked at the University of Cincinnati Foundation and several organizations within the Cal State System. Throughout her career, Adriana has been providing strategic direction and excellence in Advancement Services, strengthening gift administration, technology and automation, data science, and prospect development and research.

Adriana holds a Master of Science in Accountancy from the University of Cincinnati and two degrees from UNITEC – Mexico, including a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Computer Science and a Post Baccalaureate degree in Industrial Operations. In addition, Adriana has earned two certificates, one in Data Science and one in Project Management, from Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Dominguez Hills, respectively.

Adriana is an active member of APRA, AASP, and CASE; in 2016, Adriana received the district VII Circle of Excellence Award for innovation and collaboration with Alumni Relations and Advancement Services.

With almost 20 years of experience in public higher education, Robyn possesses a deep understanding of the issues and challenges unique to the filed. The past 19 years she has focused her career in Advancement, making her well-versed in the business needs of university stakeholders and the data, systems, and processes that are critical to a successful fundraising enterprise. Using a “Start-up” approach to solving business, organizational, and technical issues, Robyn is adept at developing strong, cross-functional teams, strategies, and services. Past successes include database conversions, business process improvements, and training programs that encompass the entirety of the Advancement organization.

Robyn has served as conference speaker and presenter at multiple CASE conferences and AASP Summit. She holds a bachelor's degree from California State University, Chico and a certificate in digital transformation from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.

Jessi Fasola is the Assistant Director of Gifts and Records Management at North Carolina State University. In this role she oversees a team processing gifts to the University's Foundations. Jessi is an experienced development professional with over 10 years of experience and strong skills in database management, data-driven fundraising, direct mail, and stewardship. Jessi received her Bachelors in Sociology and Latin American Studies at the University of North Carolina and her Masters in Public Administration at North Carolina State University.

Cindy Moon-Barna is the Senior Director, CASE Library and Standards. She leads the team of three CASE Librarians in providing curated collections and personalized research services for members. For the past six years she has been the subject matter expert for the CASE Global Reporting Standards. She was project editor for the development of the new edition as well as being responsible for member questions. She has also spoken frequently on the CASE Reporting Standards and Management Guidelines at several CASE Conferences.

Prior to joining CASE in 2013, Cindy was the Knowledge Manager for the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. In addition to responding to member questions, she was the editor of the annual AHP Report on Giving. She was also an editor on the 1st edition of the AHP Standards Manual. She also continues to serve as a member of the AHP Standards Council.

Liz Root currently serves as the Director of Gift Administration at the United States Naval Academy Foundation in Annapolis, MD. She has been with the Foundation for five years and has served in her current role for three years.

As Director of Gift Administration, Liz leads a team of four gift administrators and is responsible for cultivating her department’s vision, growth, and performance. The daily operations of this team include gift and pledge administration, gift receipting and acknowledgments, alumni association membership processing, records and data management, and most importantly, donor satisfaction! Over the last three years, Liz restructured the department and developed and implemented many process improvements, increasing efficiencies and productivity with the gift administration team. She always seeks to build on her team members’ existing strengths by maximizing their personal and group potential, striving to create an effective, professional team.

Liz has more than 30 years of experience working in the non-profit sector in various roles spanning records management, prospect management and solicitation, events management, and volunteer engagement. She has worked with organizations small and large, having spent many years at Rochester Regional Health and Special Olympics Delaware.