Who we are

Katherine has worked as a nonprofit professional for more than 25 years. She has been deeply involved with every aspect of development from fundraising planning to public competitive grant sources. She has led clients successfully through events, board development, business and fundraising planning processes, capital campaigns and annual campaigns, and has vast experience in developing and managing public/private partnerships. Before founding Growth for Good, Katherine worked as development director for The Armory Foundation, MOUSE Inc., the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service (NYU), and the Bertelsmann Foundation. She began her career in the Mayor’s Office for Business Development under Mayor Koch, helped found the Mayor’s Office for Public Private Partnerships under Mayor Dinkins, and directed Constituency Affairs for Manhattan Borough President Messinger. She is a former member of the board of directors of DREAM (formerly Harlem RBI). Katherine is also a sought-after public speaker and workshop and retreat facilitator. She has a BA in Economics from San Francisco State University and a Masters of Public Administration from the Wagner School of Public Service at NYU. Her thesis was accepted “With Distinction” and she was awarded the Chancellor’s Service Award for her leadership as Managing Editor of the Wagner Review. Katherine is the author of four cookbooks. She lives in Maplewood, NJ, with her husband and two nearly perfect teenagers (when they are home from college). She is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CRFE) and Certified Interim Executive (granted by the Support Center). Member Affiliations: AFP, BoardSource and Association of Donor Relations Professionals.

Claudia has 35 years of marketing and management experience with a strong expertise in strategic planning, fundraising and business development, market analysis, communications, and branding. Over the course of her career, she has consulted for more than 150 nonprofit, philanthropic, and for-profit organizations. Claudia completed the Support Center’s Interim Executive Leadership Training Course in 2009 and has served in various temporary management positions: Interim Chief Development Officer for Brooklyn Community Housing and Services, Director of Development and Communications for AIDS Service Center NYC, Interim Executive Director for Leave Out Violence U.S., Interim Development Director for the American Foundation for the Blind, Interim Executive Director of the Venture Philanthropy Partnership’s Special Needs Initiative in Philadelphia (JFSC), and the New York State Director for TheLEAGUE (now Points of Light’s generationOn). Claudia loves sharing her knowledge and has provided training for Fundraising Day NY, National School Foundation Association, Nonprofit Learning Lab, NY Nonprofit Media’s FundCon and MarkCon, and the Support Center. A student of and advocate, for system-wide educational reform and youth engagement, Claudia served as a devoted board member of Harlem RBI (now Dream) after-school programs for over 25 years. She is a founding board member of the DREAM Charter School and served on DREAM’s Strategic Planning Committee from 1991-2016 (awarded the NY Community Trust – NY Magazine Nonprofit Excellence Award 2012 Silver Prize for Management Excellence and “2010 Best Board in NYC” by Volunteer Consulting Group). As managing trustee of her family’s small foundation, Claudia oversees grantmaking and manages family dynamics (with a sense of humor). Claudia earned a BA in Communications from Tulane University and continued her studies at New York University’s School of Continuing Education in Nonprofit Management. Claudia lives in Brooklyn with her husband and three grown children when they come home to visit. Member Affiliations: Philanthropy New York and the Youth and Education Funders Network.

Amy Aronoff Blumkin is a well-respected nonprofit marketing professional who is known for her strategic thinking, creativity, collaboration, and tenacity in developing and delivering impactful integrated marketing programs.

Having worked for both for-profits and nonprofits for over 25 years, Amy most recently led ADL’s (the Anti-Defamation League’s) Brand and Marketing department for nearly four years through a rebrand. With her team, she helped to tell the story of the benefits of a strong ADL and led an increasing focus on a deep, data-driven understanding of ADL donors and prospects—website traffic more than doubled and annual online giving grew by 40%. Under her leadership, ADL also relaunched its annual Never Is Now Summit on Antisemitism and Hate and achieved record attendance and awareness; last year’s event featured Sacha Baron Cohen in a keynote address that went viral achieving over 2. 5MM views.

Prior to joining ADL, Amy was the CMO at Lowenstein Sandler, a mid-sized law firm based in New Jersey. Earlier in her career, Amy spent nearly 10 years in theme park marketing and strategy at Walt Disney World, in Orlando, Florida, as well as at American Express in credit card marketing.

Amy is the proud mother of two incredible young adults, both of whom are gainfully employed. She has been an active board member in the Jewish communities in Orlando and MetroWest New Jersey. She is also on the alumni board of the University of Vermont Business School and is a founding member of Chief. Amy earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont and holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Maureen Cunningham – Fundraising and events specialist Maureen Cunningham has a successful 20-year track record of directing marketing, events, business development, and operations management for a diverse range of for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Maureen’s experience spans leading teams, overseeing logistics, and driving the implementation of new processes and approaches that deliver results. Maureen spent much of her career in Silicon Valley with tech firms and she understands the power of integrating technology into all operations. Most recently she was at OneCause, offering a suite of comprehensive fundraising tools for nonprofits. Maureen is Growth for Good’s resident expert with integrating cutting edge technology into all of our operations. She is always cool under pressure, critical in leading the teams that produce major charity galas and virtual events. She has an unwavering passion for charting the direction of projects to ensure accountability, revenue generation, and effective operation. She prioritizes excellent client and customer experiences above all.

When Maureen is not in a black dress directing an army of event managers, you can find the ardent cook and gardener in her garden on Long Island’s North Fork with a good book and a glass of wine. In the winter, she lives and works in Manhasset Long Island.

Diane has 20+ years of experience in brand strategy, development, and implementation of global brand identity programs and launches for consumer and pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies as well as nonprofits. Diane’s branding approach is agnostic to any one communication channel or audience. Her process considers the entire brand experience and customer journey to create and recommend the right expression for each brand. Diane has worked with a diverse range of nonprofit clients including UNICEF, Citymeals on Wheels, CCFA, The Armory Foundation, Riverside Park Fund/Clay Tennis Association, Putnam Family & Community Services and William F. Ryan Community Health Network. Her consumer companies include Amtrak, Acela, Sesame Place, Vonage, Kmart, US Air Force, American Express, Continental Airlines, the Jamaica Tourist Board, Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, FDA, Discovery Cove, Aquatica, Gap Inc., and Nestle Waters. Her pharmaceutical clients include AbbVie, Allergan, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Ethicon, Forest Laboratories, Galderma, Genentech, Gilead, Janssen, Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Takeda, and Teva. Before moving to consulting, Diane was EVP Creative Director at FCB, where she created and led a branding division for FCB’s network of companies. She has held senior design and brand development positions at G2 and Siegel+Gale. Diane also is an adjunct professor at Fashion Institute of Technology and a graduate of Parsons School of Design.

Lorraine Leong, a lifelong social justice activist, Lorraine Leong has spent more than 25 years in the nonprofit and public sectors. An outstanding management and operations team member, Lorraine is integral to Growth for Good’s communications, events, and executive search-related projects. Her professional background includes housing, health care, senior citizens, and Asian American Affairs. She has helped identify and hire hundreds of professionals over her career. She has also managed hundreds of special events including fundraisers, conferences, workshops, round tables, and press conferences. She has directed many social media and marketing campaigns. She has led grassroots campaigns and been central to citywide campaigns. She has had senior roles with Borough Presidents Ruth Messinger and C. Virginia Fields as well as with the Mayor’s Office of Public Private Partnerships under Mayor David N. Dinkins. She worked for a decade with the William F. Ryan Health Network. Deeply connected to the Chinese and Korean business communities, Lorraine began her career as a housing advocate for the Asian American community in New York’s Chinatown. She is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese. She attended Sarah Lawrence and SUNY and holds a BA in Film History.

Diane started her career at Tufts University in Medford, MA, as a member of the annual fund team. She is the founder of the Winchester Hospital Foundation in Winchester, MA, and created their first multi-million-dollar capital campaign for a new maternity ward.

As a graduate student at Columbia University’s Business School and School of International and Public Affairs, Diane assisted the Dean of the Business School in raising $100M for the school’s capital campaign. While still in the dual graduate program, she was asked to join the University President’s fundraising team which raised $1B for Columbia University. Diane graduated with honors from Columbia Business School and School of International Affairs.

Diane joined the Office of the President and Provost at Harvard University as the leader of the provost’s development team, raising $1.2B for the Campaign for Harvard University. She later joined Fleet Bank as an SVP of internal marketing communications and participated in the merger of Fleet Bank and Bank of Boston, one of the largest bank mergers at the time, culminating in today’s Bank of America.

Diane’s fundraising took her to The Dimock Center, an urban community health center in the heart of Boston. She was then Chief Development Officer for Boston MedFlight and the first National Director of Development and Marketing for Year Up. She served as Vice President of Development and Marketing at the National Headquarters of Reach Out and Read. Diane opened her own consulting company in 2020, helping nonprofit organizations and their leaders to achieve financial stability.

Born and raised in Boston, Diane currently lives just outside the city with her husband, her two grown children nearby, and the family sheepdog.

Liliana has over 10 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, communications, events, volunteer management, and strategic fundraising planning. Liliana previously served as Director of Development and Communications at Worldwide Orphans, where she managed a team that raised nearly $4 million through individual giving, event fundraisers and private grants. Prior to Worldwide Orphans, she worked at the United Way, where she was responsible for managing their corporate relationships, leading communication efforts, and establishing their Young Professionals affinity group. Her past clients include Children of Armenia Fund, Fiver Children’s Foundation, and Hip Hop Public Health. Liliana has a B.A. in Communications and French from Rutgers University, and a MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business. She lives in the Upper East Side with her husband, but a few weekends you can also find her in NJ at her family’s bakery café. She is fluent in Portuguese, conversational in Spanish, and welcomes the opportunity to practice her rusty French.

Denise brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the nonprofit philanthropic sector, spanning nearly three decades. A seasoned C-suite nonprofit professional, she has engaged in all aspects of strategic planning and development—including execution of $100M+ capital campaigns, events, private and public grants, board development, corporate giving, and major gifts. Her leadership in facilitating multimillion dollar donor collaboratives and executing large-scale fundraising campaigns underscores her proficiency in strategic planning and donor engagement. The success of initiatives such as the $24M annual donor collaborative to support Black entrepreneurs in California and the significant expansion of early childhood education centers in New York City highlights her commitment to advancing social change and addressing systemic challenges. At Growth for Good, Denise brings her deep well of fundraising knowledge with a focus on strategic planning using the Appreciative Inquiry framework, retreat and workshop development, and business and fundraising planning.

Denise’s involvement with blue chip organizations like Habitat for Humanity, United Way of NYC, Accion Opportunity Fund, and FPWA reflects her wide-ranging experience. Her focus on facilitating community engagement and amplifying voices underscores her belief in inclusive and participatory approaches to social impact.

Currently serving as a Board Director at ProLiteracy, Denise continues to assist organizations striving for positive growth. With roots in both the East and West Coasts, she brings a diverse perspective to her work. She values her time spent in Los Angeles, where she enjoys the beach with her furry companion, Waffles.

As a PoliSci major from Rutgers University, completion of the Harvard University Business School Social Enterprise Program and her past role as Director of the Association of Fundraising Professionals of the New York Chapter demonstrate her dedication to collaboration within the nonprofit sector and supporting organizational redesign.

Lauren is a grant writer, fundraiser, and educator who has been in the nonprofit fundraising sector since 2014. She has an impressive history of securing public and private funds through her detailed grant proposals. In her most recent role as Director of Development at Accelerate Institute (July 2021-March 2024), she exceeded foundation giving goals, managed an Associate Board for Alain Locke Charter School, and led the 2022 Gala, which raised $1.1M. Lauren’s skills and talents at Growth for Good are focused on institutional giving, curriculum and program development, and special events.

Lauren began her career as an Orchestra Director for Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern Virginia. During her eight years there, she led music programs that engaged over 2,000 elementary and middle school students, served as a mentor to new teachers, and developed a three-year curriculum sequence for elementary school strings teachers.

In 2014, Lauren moved to New York City where she worked at Midori & Friends, whose programming provided thousands of students with the chance to learn music in over 70 NYC public schools. While at Midori & Friends, she discovered her love for grant writing and development work, and when she became the Director of Education for The Town Hall in 2018, she was an integral member of the team that secured city council funding and foundation grants. She also worked to implement a social justice curriculum for school partners.

Lauren holds a Master’s in Arts Management Degree from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Music Degree from James Madison University. When Lauren isn’t writing, she is playing the violin or piano, attending shows and concerts, and enjoying time with her husband and two young children in Chicago.

Sittra Omer – Special projects and events director since 2018, Sittra is passionate about changing the world. A communications major from Penn State, Sittra started her career as a marketing associate focused on social media and a communications specialist for New York-based commercial real estate company Eastern Consolidated. Sittra helps clients assess and better develop their fundraising events while strengthening the underlying systems critical in a development shop. This includes articulating and prioritizing tasks, deep donor research, planning for effective communications, and managing the myriad details that must be handled for a financially successful event and a more engaged community. Sittra understands that fundraising depends on nurturing relationships between people. It also depends on airtight systems critical in building a culture of philanthropy that touches every part of the fundraising process.

When Sittra is not facilitating a client meeting, you can find her rooting for Penn State’s Nittany Lions or helping out in her family’s celebrated Ethiopian restaurant. Sittra is an avid athlete and ardent baker. Most recently, she added running to her exercise regimen, and she is training for a marathon. Sittra lives in South Orange, NJ.

Raymond Rigoglioso has worked in the nonprofit sector since 1991, getting his start at Gay Men’s Health Crisis. He worked on staff as a writer and editor for health care think tanks in New York and Boston prior to becoming a consultant in 2001. He has an extensive background in foundation, corporate, and government grant writing and institutional relations. The grant proposals he has written have helped raise millions of dollars for arts, creative youth development, criminal justice, educational, entrepreneurship, health care, housing, human services, mental health, and workforce development organizations.

Ray has a gift for writing persuasive copy and making the match between a nonprofit’s programs and needs and funders’ requirements. A versatile writer, Ray has written and edited nearly every kind of material a nonprofit produces, including case statements, capital campaign materials, appeals, websites, annual reports, websites, reports, and books. Some of his clients have included Mission Society of New York City, The Bronx Community Foundation, Learning Through an Expanded Arts Program, Queens Defenders, Kids Creative, Entrepreneurship for All, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, the Provincetown Theater, and many more.

Ray has developed original writing skills trainings, grant writing seminars, and a coaching group for development directors, and has facilitated customized planning sessions. He has presented at the Support Center for Nonprofit Management, New York University, Pace University, Services for the Underserved, and Mission Society of New York City. He co-developed project-based learning curricula for Dignity of Children as part of its Ideas Empowered by Youth after-school programming.

Previously, Ray founded and led Gay Men of Wisdom, a national nonprofit that helped gay men discover and express their distinct gifts. In this role, he developed and facilitated single-session, weekend, and monthslong workshops. He is the author of the book Gay Men and The New Way Forward. A former long-time resident of New York City and Westchester, he now lives in Hudson, New York.

Jennifer Domer Schuetz is a graphic designer and creative director with more than 25 years of experience. She was the art director of I.D. (International Design Magazine) before joining Carbone Smolan Agency to head up such projects as the redesign of Architectural Record, and the design and management of multilevel textbook programs for Random House and MacMillan/McGraw-Hill. Her work also includes branding and collateral materials for such clients as Ken Burns, the San Francisco International Airport and Deloitte Consulting. Since founding her design consultancy nearly 20 years ago, Jennifer has worked with a range of nonprofit clients including Fiver Children’s Foundation, Project Morry, New Jersey Choral Society, the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, and the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art. Commercial clients include Pearl River Pastry Company and the photographer Rodney Smith, for whom she recently designed and produced a large-format monograph covering 40 years of his work. She particularly enjoys partnering with clients to develop, organize, and visualize all kinds of content. Jennifer is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and an adjunct professor of design at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University where she has been integrally involved in the development of the program’s first-year curriculum.