Gary Alpert
Vice President of Business Development, Caring.com
Gary Alpert is an experienced entrepreneur and company builder, with over 20 years of general management, marketing, sales, venture fundraising, M&A, and business development experience. From 1994 to 2007, Gary was the CEO and co-founder of WetFeet, Inc., a leading provider of recruitment management services to corporations, universities, and college-educated talent. WetFeet has been a pioneer in the online recruitment industry, and in 2006, the firm was acquired by Universum Communications, a global employer branding consultancy based in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2008, Gary joined the management team at Caring.com. Caring.com is rapidly becoming the leading destination on the Internet for eldercare content and community, a comprehensive and trusted online resource for the 34 million baby boomers in the U.S. today who are currently caring for their aging parents. In addition to his work with Caring.com, Gary has worked extensively in the consulting, health care, and non-profit sectors, and he is a founding board member of the MBA-Nonprofit Connection. Gary earned an MBA and Certificate in Public Management from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University.
Samantha Barbee
Vice President, Finance, Administration and IT/Chief Financial Officer, International Youth Foundation
Samantha Barbee joined IYF in January 2001, serving as Director of Operations before becoming CFO in January 2004. Before coming to IYF, she worked as a senior associate at La Piana Associates, Inc, a firm specializing in strategic restructuring (a.k.a. mergers) for nonprofit organizations, and prior to that as Associate Director of the Nonprofit and Public Management Program and the Director of MBA Student Services at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Samantha grew up in Costa Rica and received her undergraduate degree in government at Georgetown University. Before moving to California to pursue an MBA from Haas, Samantha worked for a consulting firm that managed the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program of the United States Department of Justice. There she served as a Field Representative throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean, and as the Country Program Director in Bogota, Colombia.
Michael Blake
Vice President of Finance, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
Michael Blake oversees the $600 million investment portfolio of the Haas, Jr. Fund, a family foundation. He is the immediate past president of the Foundation Financial Officers Group, a worldwide association of chief financial officers of large private foundations. Before joining the Haas, Jr. Fund, he worked as a consultant to the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, conducting a comprehensive survey of the capital needs of San Francisco nonprofit organizations. Before that, he served for five years as the Country Director for the Peace Corps in the Central African Republic. In the 1980s, Michael served as administrative director of the Hesperian Foundation, a nonprofit publisher of health manuals for the Third World. Before joining Hesperian, Michael was a Peace Corps teacher, leader and teacher-trainer for the organization’s teaching of English as a Foreign Language, as well as chairman of the National English Commission in Central Africa. Michael earned an M.B.A. at UC Berkeley, with a concentration in nonprofit management, and a B.A. in Economics at Duke University.
Derek Brown
Executive Director, Peace Appeal Foundation
Derek Brown heads the Peace Appeal Foundation, which facilitates and supports peace processes with innovative tools and methodologies to achieve just and fair outcomes. The foundation’s work is presently focused in South Asia, where it provides ongoing assistance to peace initiatives and multi-stakeholder dialogues in Nepal and Sri Lanka. Prior to joining the Peace Appeal Foundation, Derek was Vice President and Associate Chair of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, a global institution investing in leading social entrepreneurs in over 50 countries. Derek holds an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and a BA in History from Yale College.
Retha Howard
Director, Finance & Administration, Public Advocates, Inc.
As Director of Finance & Administration, Retha Howard oversees financial management, human resources and information technology at Public Advocates. Public Advocates is a nonprofit that challenges the systemic causes of poverty and discrimination by defending and expanding civil rights through advocacy, litigation, and partnerships.Before coming to Public Advocates in January, 2006, Retha was the Chief Operating Officer for Girls Incorporated, a non-profit organization in San Leandro, CA. At Girls, Inc., Retha was responsible for all financial aspects of the organization, had primary responsibility for setting up the Human Resources Department, and oversaw administration and the organization’s volunteer activities. Prior to working in the nonprofit sector, Retha worked in senior management roles both domestically and internationally with large corporations such as GTE (currently Verizon), Time Warner and WorldCom and as a business management consultant with Mercer Management. She enjoys travel, performing arts and the sport of triathlon in her spare time. Retha received her MBA from The Wharton Business School in 1993 and a BA in Finance & Accounting from the University of Washington in 1987.
Maureen McNulty
Director of Principal and Major Gifts/Western U.S., Alzheimer’s Association, Mountain View, CA
Maureen McNulty is a major fundraiser for the nation's leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimercare,support and research. Before joining the Alzheimer’s Association, Maureen was CEO of Coro Northern California, a leadership and community development organization. Prior to that she was Director of Marketing and Development at the Children's Health Council. At Stanford University she served as Associate Dean, External Relations at the School of Education and as Director of the Career Management Center at the Graduate School of Business. Before that she worked at Santa Clara University as Director of Career Services. Maureen holds a Master’s degree in Administration and Policy Analysis from the Stanford School of Education and a BA in Sociology from the University of California-Davis.