It's time to meet your 2019 Apra Carolinas Board! We have a mix of new and returning members this year, and wanted to give everyone a chance to get to know a little more about the team and why we volunteer. We hope to see you all in person at an upcoming Apra Carolinas event!

PRESIDENT

Merissa Lawson, Director of Development Research at Elon University

• How many years have you worked in fundraising/prospect research?: 15 years – I can’t believe how fast it’s flown by!
• Briefly summarize your background: I have an undergraduate degree in English and an MLS; I learned about prospect research during my library science program and after I graduated, immediately landed a job doing research. I’ve since worked at Middlebury College and Elon University, and have completed a certificate program in editing from UC Berkeley. I can’t stop learning!
• How long have you served on the Apra Carolinas board? What inspired you to join the board?: I joined the board in 2016. I really wanted to find a way to give back to the profession and make connections outside my normal role.
• What are you most proud of in your work?: I’m proud of the value I add to my fundraising team. I know it’s not always easy to see how our work impacts the bottom line, but I know there are students receiving scholarships and enjoying life-changing experiences right now because of prospective donors I identified.
• Do you have favorite research tool, site, or trick you can share?: Is it weird to say how much I love Foundation Center? There’s just something very satisfying about reviewing 990s and having years of giving laid out so you can identify patterns in gift size, frequency, type…
• What is your bucket list vacation destination and why?: My bucket list vacation is a hike to Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail. The combination of the rugged mountains and the ruins is breathtaking.

PRESIDENT-ELECT

Jennifer Vincent, Prospect Development Manager at UNC-Wilmington

• How many years have you worked in fundraising/prospect research?: 11 years
• Briefly summarize your background: When I applied for my first job in prospect research I had no clue what it was – only that it sounded really interesting. I loved it instantly. I couldn’t believe the university was paying me to spy on people! I used to describe my job as “Legal Professional Stalker” to friends and family. Slowly we phased out the long profiles, which led to a shift in responsibilities. We changed from Prospect Management & Research to Prospect Development and my position was promoted to Prospect Development Analyst. In this position, I focused my attention on a meta-analysis of our donors and seeking out proactive leads, rather than reactively researching. From there, then became the head of Prospect Development, where I primarily focus on strategizing development efforts and maintaining development proposals and portfolios.
• How long have you served on the Apra Carolinas board? What inspired you to join the board?: I joined the Apra Carolinas board in 2017 after Beth Inman reached out looking for a Membership chair. This group has been so much fun to work with and it has created a built-in brain trust of knowledgeable Prospect Development colleagues that I can turn to with questions.
• What are you most proud of in your work?: I have been very fortunate to have supervisors who believe in Prospect Development and in me, personally. This has afforded amazing opportunities to follow the trends toward more strategic approaches in fundraising. I am most proud of being able to try new things and watch the fundraising dollars increase due, in part, to that work.  
• Do you have favorite research tool, site, or trick you can share?: Privately owned planes are often associated with wealth. You can search for plane owners by name at registry.faa.gov and use the make/model information on the plane to find a value online. If the plane is in a county with good searchable property tax records, you can often find the taxable value of the aircraft in the county records. You can also download data for the entire county to get a list of people/companies that own aircraft in your county. This can then serve as a good proactive research tool for finding wealth nearby.
• What is your bucket list vacation destination and why?: Antarctica. I love traveling anywhere that feels like a completely different planet, and I think Antarctica fits that perfectly. Plus, I love the cold. That said, my next big achievable vacation destination is Iceland. Lava fields, geothermal springs, aurora borealis, and renewable energy? I may not leave once I’m there.

PAST PRESIDENT

Beth Inman, National Director, Prospect Management at JDRF

• How many years have you worked in fundraising/prospect research? 11 years
• Briefly summarize your background: I am currently the National Director, Prospect Management for JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), a position I’ve held since November 2017 and am I based in Charleston, SC. Prior to joining JDRF, I was the Senior Director of Prospect Management & Research Analysis at the University of South Carolina and Director of Development Services at The Citadel Foundation. At all three of these organizations, I was hired into new positions created to introduce prospect management systems to drive the work of the major gifts enterprises.  Before my development career, I was the associate curator of American and decorative art at the Columbia Museum of Art. I am currently on the Ethics & Compliance Committee for Apra International and serves as Immediate Past President of Apra Carolinas. I am a native of Charlotte, NC and hold a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master’s degree in art history from the University of South Carolina
• How long have you served on the Apra Carolinas board? What inspired you to join the board?: I have been on the board since 2013 and was inspired to join because in the short time I’d been involved with the chapter at the time, I knew I wanted to be more involved and knew our chapter had a lot of potential.
• What are you most proud of in your work?: I am most proud of my ability to create an awesome pivot table complete with charts to summarize data! Seriously, though, I am proud of being able to advocate for my teams and the work they do – the profile of the prospect development field is changing and in a good way! We have a lot to bring to the table for fundraising success and I’ve worked hard at the organizations I’ve been a part of to communicate the value we bring to the team.
• Do you have favorite research tool, site, or trick you can share?: If you are able, get 2 monitors. Not having to toggle back and forth when working on a report or a profile makes life so much easier!
• What is your bucket list vacation destination and why?: Cuba and I will be able to check it off my list in Feb 2020 when I travel there! I’ve always been intrigued by Cuba – the history, the culture, the food!

TREASURER

Kathy Mills, Senior Donor Identification Analyst at Wake Forest University

• Briefly summarize your background: For 14 years, I ran my own one-person research business, providing research to ad agencies and other clients. It was a lot of fun but crazy at times since I was everything from the CEO to the accountant to the IT staff. When I was ready for a change, I looked for a prospect research position because I knew it would be a good fit for me. I have a MLIS degree but never intended to work in a library. I only wanted to do research.
• How long have you served on the Apra Carolinas board? What inspired you to join the board?: I have served as treasurer for six years and was inspired to join by a co-worker, who was treasurer at the time. He had been treasurer for several years and was ready to pass the torch, and I saw it as a good networking opportunity.
• What are you most proud of in your work?: I am most proud of the way I get along well with our gift officers. They are very appreciative of the work I provide, and that gives me a lot of satisfaction.
• Do you have favorite research tool, site, or trick you can share?: I really like Alumnifinder for tracking down cell phone numbers and email addresses.
• What is your bucket list vacation destination and why?: When I retire (many years from now), the first thing I’m going to do is go to Australia. I’ve been saving airline miles for years for this trip.

SECRETARY

Mimi Slade, Prospect Research Analyst at the University of South Carolina 

• How many years have you worked in fundraising/prospect research?: I have worked in prospect research for two years.
• Briefly summarize your background: My current position is Prospect Research Analyst at the University of South Carolina, and I have been with the University for two years. Previously, I worked in a law office and real estate office. I graduated from Clemson University in 2017 with a B.S. in Business Management.
• How long have you served on the Apra Carolinas board? What inspired you to join the board?: I just joined the Apra Carolinas board and am very excited to be a part of the team! I was inspired to join the board because I have gained so much from the three Apra Carolinas conferences that I have attended from rating prospects to managing the pipeline. Additionally, previous blog postings and webinars provided by Apra Carolinas really helped me get oriented with the prospect research and management field when I first started at USC. 
• What are you most proud of in your work?: I am most proud of my work when I can see a donor who started as a proactive lead or on a travel list move through the pipeline to a major gift, especially when it is a donor who was previously underrated.
• Do you have favorite research tool, site, or trick you can share?: My favorite research tool is iWave. iWave is such a comprehensive tool set with so many useful capabilities. I especially like to use it when I need to get a brief overview of a person.
• What is your bucket list vacation destination and why?: Mykonos

EDUCATION CHAIR

Rachael Walker, Director of Prospect Research and Reporting at Western Carolina University

• How many years have you worked in fundraising/prospect research?: 9 years in prospect research.
• Briefly summarize your background: I have a BA in Classical Civilization and Ancient Greek and a MLIS, so clearly I have an information/trivia brain. Like a lot of people I stumbled into prospect research by sheer chance, and I'm so happy I did!
• How long have you served on the Apra Carolinas board? What inspired you to join the board?: This is my second year on the board; I joined because I believe strongly in the power of our professional community and want to do everything I can to encourage people to make connections. 
• What are you most proud of in your work?: I'm most proud of becoming the "validating wealth screenings" guru. Just like my prospect research career, it sort of happened accidentally; I never set out to be an expert! But several presentations and a couple of articles later, it looks to be my legacy.
• Do you have favorite research tool, site, or trick you can share?: Never underestimate the tools available at your academic or public library. You may have more resources available to you than you realized - the kind of things you might otherwise have to pay a lot for!
• What is your bucket list vacation destination and why?: I really want to do a cross-country train trip in luxury. My plan is to do a little bit of that this summer - just not quite as fancy accommodations as I might like. 

COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR

Vacant

MEMBERSHIP CHAIR

Christa Newkirk, Director, Prospect Research & Alumni Relations at Central Piedmont Community College

• How many years have you worked in fundraising/prospect research?: I have over 3 years in fundraising but am still new to prospect research.
• Briefly summarize your background: Over the last 10 years I’ve worked with data in some capacity across a few industries and sectors. In my early years I managed the donor database and that experience has carried me well into my current role of conducting research for the Central Piedmont Community College Foundation development team.
• How long have you served on the Apra Carolinas board? What inspired you to join the board?: This is my first year/term on the board. I was inspired by my predecessor who touted the support and community of Apra Carolinas. I enjoy jumping in to serve and helping where I can.
• What are you most proud of in your work?: Knowing that I’m not alone. Though I’m a one-person team, there is a community of people in the prospect research world and beyond that get me.
• Do you have favorite research tool, site, or trick you can share?: Ask the right questions. And then ask google or your software of choice. I love a good puzzle but any clues in advance go a long way.
• What is your bucket list vacation destination and why?: I’d like to visit El Salvador, Brazil to soak up the culture and make use of my active visa (I went to Iguassu Falls a few years back). I also want to visit Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe. Or Zanzibar. So many places to see and go.

NC REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE

Sarah Crotts, Prospect Research Analyst at UNC General Administration

• How many years have you worked in fundraising/prospect research?: Four years
• Briefly summarize your background: I stumbled into prospect research after graduating with a writing and history degree and no plan for what to do next. Prospect research turned out to be a great fit! I’ve spent my career thus far as part of the UNC System’s shared services program, providing prospect research to ten constituent campuses.
• How long have you served on the Apra Carolinas board? What inspired you to join the board?: This is my first term on the Apra Carolinas board. I jumped at the chance to serve, because Apra has been my go-to resource for professional development and networking. I’ve met so many talented researchers at regional Apra conferences and I never fail to come away with new ideas after attending.
• What are you most proud of in your work?: Being able to provide support for campuses that don’t have the budget for a full-time researcher has been hugely fulfilling to me. I’m proud to be part of shared services, and it’s been great to see my client campuses succeed over the years.
• Do you have favorite research tool, site, or trick you can share?: This might be old news for everyone, but just in case: http://www.digitalnc.org/collections/yearbooks/ is a collection of digitized yearbooks from most NC universities (public and private) as well as quite a few high schools.
• What is your bucket list vacation destination and why?: Iceland. Viking ships, active volcanoes, elves – what’s not to love?

SC REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE

Vacant

**Post updated 4/19/19**