About Lisa J. Baxter

Lisa J. Baxter is the Director of Major Gifts for MLK Community Health Foundation and is responsible for the strategic direction and management of key donors and fundraising initiatives essential to developing, expanding, and stewarding major philanthropic support for the hospital.

Lisa has worked in the nonprofit sector for 12 years and her most recent roles were the Director of Development for After-School All-Stars, Los Angeles (ASAS-LA), the Associate Director, Corporate Giving at Starlight Children’s Foundation and the Director of Corporate Development at Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles. Prior to Make-A-Wish, Lisa worked at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) for five years as an Associate Director, Major and Planned Gifts, and as Associate Director, Children’s Miracle Network Department. Lisa began her career in nonprofit as a Match Support Specialist at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles.

Lisa earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from Mount Saint Mary’s University (formerly Mount Saint Mary’s College) and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of Fundraising Professionals of Greater Los Angeles (AFP-GLAC) and Conaxion a non-profit that supports small businesses in South LA with access to capital, technical assistance and resources needed to grow and thrive. Lisa is also the 2020 Chair of the AFP-GLAC I.D.E.A. (Inclusion. Diversity. Equity. Access.) Committee.

About Krista Berry Ortega (she/her)

Krista Berry Ortega is part of Candid's Network Engagement team. She delivers in-person and online trainings, including free and fee-based workshops and customized trainings in the western region of the US, a territory of 13 states. She also contributes to the curriculum design process of our programs, contributes to the team’s impact evaluation efforts, and serves as a subject matter expert for her region.

Before joining Candid, Krista was the Director of the Sanford Institute of Philanthropy (SIP) at National University System where she led the expansion of the donor-funded professional development program. Additionally, she oversaw SIP’s curriculum development and training initiatives including bringing the 2nd edition of Cause Selling the Sanford Way: A Guide to Relationship-Driven Fundraising textbook to market and launching a mobile training team and train the trainer program.
She is recognized as an innovative leader and has over 17 years of diverse nonprofit experience from organizations in San Diego and New York City. Her specific areas of expertise are nonprofit management, philanthropy and community development with professional achievements in scaling organizational impact, developing successful teams, directing fundraising operations and business development, designing successful programs and special events, and leading culture change and transitions. Krista earned an MS in Urban Affairs with a concentration in nonprofit management and public policy from Hunter College in 2006, and a BA in Theatre with a minor in education from Marymount Manhattan College in 2001.

About Valaida Fullwood

Described an “idea whisperer,” Valaida Fullwoodbrings unbridled imagination and a gift for harnessing wild ideas to her work as a writer, public speaker, and consultant on various projects and events. Valaida is the award-winning author of Giving Back, a 400-page hardcover book profiling stories of philanthropy among African Americans that was developed with photographer Charles Thomas. Giving Back was named one of the 10 Best Black Books of 2011and received the prestigious 2012 McAdam Book Award, which recognizes “the most inspirational and useful new book for the nonprofit sector.”Valaida is a recognized thought leader on African American philanthropy and community-led philanthropy and is frequently invited by a variety of groups to write, talk, and consult on the topic. She is featured in a2013 TEDx Talk on philanthropy and was named the 2014 Lake Distinguished Visitor at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. In 2015, Valaida collaborated with HBCUs, museums, and other cultural institutions to launch the multimedia, touring exhibition Giving Back: The Soul of Philanthropy Reframed and Exhibited. The exhibit has attracted major funding, been hosted by 24 communities, and continues to tour cities nationwide. In 2020, the Charlotte Chapter of the Association of Funding Professionals (AFP) named Valaida Charlotte’s Outstanding Champion of Diversity. She also earned the 2020 Trailblazer Award from ABFE, the national network of Black executives and professionals in philanthropy. Valaida’s writing and projects are featured on valaida.com, and she enjoys social media connections on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter at @ValaidaF.

About Kristin Romaine

As Director of Catalytic Philanthropy and Celebrator in Chief of VertueLab, Kristin wants to inspire everyone she meets to become a climate change philanthropist and join us in tackling the greatest philanthropic and humanitarian issue of our time- climate change. While some view the term philanthropist as elitist, Kristin approaches her work with a people-first perspective and strives to remind others that to be philanthropic is to be human and that everyone should experience how it feels to be a philanthropist at least once in their lifetime. Kristin has an MBA in Nonprofit Management from Regis University in Denver, CO, and is a national trainer for the Sanford Institute of Philanthropy. Kristin is constantly exploring yoga, programming robots with her son, and supporting female entrepreneurs around the world through social hackathons. She is on a life mission to scatter joy and to bring as many people as she can into the world of giving and philanthropy. 

About Phyllis Seven Harris

With over twenty-five years of exceptional experience with nonprofits, Phyllis Harris has developed a keen passion for nonprofit management, social justice, and anti-oppression work to help ensure a better quality of life for all marginalized people. She has served in program development, fundraising, and upper-level management positions where her leadership skills and passion have led organizations and projects to success. She is considered to be a thought leader on issues related to cultural change and skilled in the facilitation of anti-oppression, anti-black racism, and LGBTQ inclusion workshops.  In her role as a nonprofit leader, Ms. Harris is community-focused, believes in coalition building, and known for addressing service gaps and problems via collaboration, a positive attitude, and unwavering commitment towards social justice.

Playing a vital role as an advocate in Cleveland’s LGBTQ+ community for many years, and now in leadership at the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, the organization has experienced transformational growth under her direction since the year 2012. Being a visionary, she was able to amplify the work of the organization toward enhanced credibility and now Center patrons enjoy expanded affirming programming for all those who seek it. In 2015, the Center launched Pride in the CLE, a family-oriented and community-driven LGBTQ Pride festival that the group continues to produce annually. In addition, in 2019 Ms. Harris and her team moved into a newly constructed 15,000 sq. ft. facility with more space, accessibility, and versatility to serve the LGBTQ Community.

Ms. Harris’ experience in organizational leadership sprang from her passion for the nonprofit industry and her love of civic engagement. She has had the honor to serve with several nonprofit organizations, one of which includes; Vice President of Programs for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland. She is regularly recognized with awards because of her leadership. In addition to her work at the Center, she is the co-founder of consulting practice “Sage and Maven” where she supports organizations around issues relevant to strategic direction, organizational culture, equity, and inclusion. Ms. Harris has extensive experience serving on local and national nonprofit boards. She was recently appointed to the Community Advisory Board for Equity for Cuyahoga County. Ms. Harris was recognized as one of 2020’s most interesting people by Cleveland Magazine.

She holds a master’s degree in non-profit management from Case Western Reserve University and a Bachelor of Arts from Baldwin Wallace College. She is a proud graduate of the 2019 class of Leadership Cleveland.

About Eliana Turan

Eliana “Ellie” Turan joined The LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland as its new Development Director on December 30, 2019. Previously, she had served on The Center’s board as the Chair of the Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Subcommittee. In that role, she focused on raising public awareness around the Trans Mortality Crisis.

Prior to her involvement with The Center, Ellie practiced for two decades in numerous industries including the military, the media, finance, and nonprofit. During her time in uniform, she served for six years in the U.S. Army, including intense training in the 101st Airborne Division followed by deployments to three different continents. As a pansexual transgender soldier during the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era, she hid her true identity under duress of discharge from her chain of command and/or assault from her fellow service members.

After exiting the military for civilian life, Ellie remained closeted for several years while working as a journalist, a financial practitioner, and a development officer. However, she came out publicly in 2018 while testifying at Cuyahoga County’s Ordinance 9 hearings, which extended equal protections to the entire county – a precedent for the State of Ohio. A primary motivation for her coming out as a professional was to protest the re-installment of the military ban against transgender service members.

Ellie Turan earned an Associate of Arts from Lorain County Community College, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Ohio University, an MBA from Norwich University, and is a Ph.D. candidate in Management/Finance from Walden University.

When not at work, Ellie is an avid runner, writer, and public speaker. She is most passionate about communicating the language of diversity, acceptance, and understanding. She lives in Lakewood with her significant other where they hope to raise a family together.