Board of Directors Archives

Ron Lumbra is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ New York office and a member of the global CEO & Board of Directors Practice. Ron has more than 23 years of executive search and succession consulting experience and an extensive track record of recruiting board directors and chief executive officers to a broad variety of clients. He has deep expertise recruiting diverse talent to build corporate boards of directors.

Previously at Heidrick & Struggles, Ron was managing partner of the Americas region and Centers of Excellence.

Earlier, Ron spent 17 years with a global search firm where he was managing director and co-leader of the Americas CEO and board services practice. There, he served in various leadership roles, including co-head of the Americas operations and head of both the New York and Houston offices.

In June 2019, Ron was invited to testify in front of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services on Diversity in the Boardroom: Examining Proposals to Increase the Diversity of America’s Boards.

Ron is chair of the board of trustees for the University of Vermont and serves on the UVM Foundation leadership council. He serves on the board of two SPACs, CRIS II Acquisition Corporation and Prospector Capital Corp, and is a member of the Executive Leadership Council.

Formerly, Ron was a board director for the Alumni Association of the University of Vermont, the Harvard Business School Club of Greater New York, the Houston Youth Symphony, and the board chair and director of KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit dedicated to creating play spaces for children.

Ron holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from University of Vermont.

Natalie joined CCS in 2011 and has served clients spanning education, faith-based, human service, arts and culture, healthcare, international, environment, public media, and association sectors. She has conducted numerous capital campaigns, feasibility and planning studies, development assessments, annual fund enhancements, strategic plans, and special development projects. Natalie has served as Counsel on campaigns that have cumulatively raised more than $1 billion, including multiple $100 million gifts.

Natalie serves on the Client Services Committee of the CCS Board of Directors. She facilitates training courses for CCS Directors, presents fundraising sessions for AFP, TABS, SAIS, FCIS, VAIS, AISGW, AIMS, AMCSUS, and a variety of conferences, and has chaired CCS’s Recruitment Committee. She was recognized for her work in CCS’s Mid- and South-Atlantic Region with the Dennick M. W. Skeels Memorial Award in 2015. Natalie recently concluded a four-year term on the Board Executive Committee of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) DC Chapter. Natalie graduated cum laude from University of Delaware with an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. Natalie resides in Reston, VA with her husband and two sons.

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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Archdiocese of Baltimore
Bermuda High School for Girls
Georgetown Day School
Inova Health System
Jhpiego
KIPP Baltimore
Loyola University Maryland
National Black Caucus of State Legislators
National Museum of Bermuda
National Public Radio (NPR)
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Peddie School
Richmond Symphony
Royal Institute of Law of the Kingdom of Bhutan
Salem Academy and College
Sidwell Friends School
Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
UNCF (United Negro College Fund)
United Way of Central Maryland
Volunteers of America
West Virginia State University
YWCA USA

Sarah is Principal and Managing Director at CCS Fundraising, where she leads the firm’s Boston office and serves as a member of the CCS Board of Directors. Since joining CCS in 2012, Sarah has advised institutions across the nonprofit sector—including healthcare, education, science, culture, and social justice—on ambitious fundraising efforts with goals ranging from $3 million to $8 billion. Her expertise includes campaign planning studies, major gift program development, interim development leadership, and comprehensive capital campaign management. She has specific experience helping organizations with emerging or startup fundraising programs scale for transformational growth.

Under Sarah’s leadership, the New England office has more than doubled in size and impact. She has also helped lead strategic direction for the firm as co-chair of the Board’s Innovation Committee and current chair of the Business Strategy Committee. Sarah is the co-founder of CCS Elevate, the firm’s platform for advancing thought leadership in philanthropy.

A frequent speaker and sought-after advisor, Sarah has presented at industry conferences including AFP, AHP, CASE, AAMC, and Women in Development. Her insights have been featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy and in several nonprofit sector podcasts.

Sarah’s background in political fundraising and her experience living and working in diverse communities across the U.S. have shaped her people-centered approach to leadership. She is committed to community and creativity through her service on the board of Arts for Learning Massachusetts, the host committee for Boston Medical Center, and performing with a flute ensemble through the Boston Flute Academy. Sarah lives with her husband and young daughter in Dorchester.

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Barri joined CCS in 2010, bringing eight years of experience in the legal profession. Barri concentrated on family law and immigration issues, as well as corporate litigation and restructuring.

At CCS, Barri has counseled clients on planning studies and development department assessments, in addition to campaign activation and implementation. Barri practices as a generalist and has a breadth of sector experience in independent schools, higher education, hospitals and healthcare, advocacy, federated organizations, religious centers, and cultural institutions.

Fundraising goals under Barri’s purview range from $10 million to $1.2 billion. During Barri’s tenure with CCS, she has led organizations through nationwide planning studies, intensive campaign goal-setting, case development, and pipeline building. Barri advises on the resources needed to build, enhance, and sustain ambitious fundraising goals, such as volunteer leadership structures, staffing requirements, and incorporating critical fundraising tools into everyday practice. She presents complicated and nuanced information to leadership and has advised on donor engagement and solicitations for 6-9 figure gifts.

Barri received her BA from University of Michigan and her JD from Brooklyn Law School.

Ted Blackburn has been with CCS for nearly 20 years serving as advisor to organizations across the nonprofit spectrum, including healthcare, independent and higher education, human services, faith, environment and conservation, arts and culture, and advocacy. Ted has dedicated his career to bringing enthusiasm, expertise, and smart solutions to his nonprofit partners to advance their missions.

Ted’s experience includes development strategic planning, lead, principal and major gift programs, capital campaign planning and management, endowment fundraising, foundation and corporate giving, grassroots fundraising strategies, board development and engagement, data and analytics utilization, and volunteer and staff training. Over the course of his career he has designed, advised and directed dozens of resource development initiatives that have raised collectively over $10 billion, positively impacting people and communities of across country.

Ted is a recognized expert in philanthropy and has lead presentations and workshops for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), Counsel for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and Counsel for Advancement and Support of Education – National Associate of Independent Schools (CASE-NAIS). Ted is the Co-Chair of CCS Healthcare Practice Group and a longtime member of CCS Learning Faculty.

Ted is a graduate of Lafayette College and serves on the Lafayette Athletics Maroon Club Board of Directors. He is also the Chair of the Friends of Lafayette Lacrosse Leadership Council.

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Lucille Packard Foundation for Children’s Health
Sutter Health and California Pacific Medical Center
NatureBridge
UC Davis Health
UC Merced
India Basin Parks Project
Waterford School

Since joining CCS in 2008, Miriam Droller has partnered with institutions across all sectors including higher education, healthcare, advocacy, arts, and culture, bringing to bear two decades of professional experience in strategic planning, major gifts fundraising, development department structure and operations, and campaign management for leading nonprofit organizations.

“It’s by design that I’ve dedicated my career to working with nonprofits. I am inspired by their work, and by helping my clients to plan strategically and increase their resources, they are able to have an even greater impact on the societies they serve.”

During her tenure, Miriam has managed transformative efforts including NYU Langone Medical Center’s recently celebrated $3 billion campaign; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ recent $250 million campaign in support of the REACH, the first major expansion in the Center’s history; and NYU School of Law’s $540 million campaign. She has also served as lead counsel on special projects for organizations including the University of Florida, where she conducted a comprehensive assessment of the University’s $1.7 billion Florida Tomorrow Campaign; and the Public Theater and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, where she served as Interim Director of Development. Prior to CCS, she spent six years in development at Lincoln Center in institutional and individual fundraising roles.

Miriam received her AB cum laude from Harvard College and her MBA from the Yale School of Management. A dual US and Swiss citizen, Miriam resides in Manhattan and enjoys traveling, attending cultural events, and spending time in New York City’s parks.

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Greg Hagin, Principal & Managing Director, provides fundraising counsel and philanthropic advice to the nonprofit sector and social impact space. A former member of the CCS Board of Directors, he co-chaired the Innovation Committee and serves on the Finance and Audit Committee. Greg leads the firm’s Philadelphia, Sydney, and Toronto offices in addition to its Systems and Analytics practices. In his 20-plus years of experience, he has advised hundreds of executive leaders, philanthropic partnerships, and development initiatives that have raised over $10 billion collectively, positively impacting tens of millions of lives.

An accomplished writer and facilitator, Greg has taught for more than a decade at The Wharton School and the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been invited to speak at national nonprofit organizations, industry conferences, universities, and corporations. Greg is the co-author of AI in Fundraising, which addresses the potential of AI in modern fundraising practices.

In 2020, Greg joined the World Economic Forum in Davos, and in 2021 became a Mentor for Unusual Pioneers, a global program established by Yunus Social Business, the World Economic Forum’s Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, and Porticus. Deeply committed to the nonprofit community, Greg is a former Board member at Fairmount Park Conservancy and a past Board President for Habitat for Humanity of Philadelphia. He serves on the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Board and is a member of the Union League of Philadelphia, Chairman’s Council for the Mann Center, and the Development Council for U.S. Soccer Federation.

After opening CCS’s flagship Philadelphia office in 2018, Greg was named to the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. He was later honored as one of Philadelphia’s Most Admired CEOs and in 2023, joined YPO. Since 2020, CCS Philadelphia has been recognized as a Top-25 Management Consulting Firm in the Book of Lists.

Greg earned his MBA from the Wharton School and BA from Boston College. He also studied abroad at the University of New South Wales and Singapore Management University. Greg began his career in sports broadcasting with NBC Olympics in Sydney and Salt Lake City, then ABC Sports in Japan and South Korea for the FIFA World Cup. He has visited, studied, and worked in 45 countries across all seven continents.

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Managing Director Travis Carley has been privileged to help launch transformative fundraising initiatives across all sectors. “The opportunity to work hands-on with incredible organizations during what are the most important moments in their history is what initially drew me to CCS,” says Travis, who joined the firm shortly after graduating from the University of Michigan.

Since joining CCS in 2002, Travis has worked alongside organizations across all sectors, including national and international federated organizations and nonprofits of all sizes in the education, healthcare, human service, association, and religious sectors to help them realize some of the largest gifts in their histories. “CCS multiplies potential and builds capacity. We see that with clients on a daily basis where donors are making the largest gifts they’ve ever made to an organization,” says Travis.

A moment that stands out for Travis is the over goal announcement and campaign celebration at Lions Clubs International’s 91st International Convention in Bangkok, Thailand. The campaign exceeded its $200 million campaign goal and was celebrated among tens of thousands of Lions. “That spirit of celebrating getting the job done together is really at the heart of our work,” says Travis.

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Fundraiser’s Guide to Smart Data: The Big, The Bad, & The Ugly

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