Community Wealth Ventures: Our Team

In 1997, Bill Shore founded Community Wealth Ventures (CWV), Inc., a for-profit subsidiary of Share Our Strength, one of the nation’s leading anti-hunger and anti-poverty organizations. Since its founding, Share Our Strength has raised more than $190 million to support more than 1,000 anti-hunger, anti-poverty groups worldwide.

From 1978 through 1987, Bill served on the senatorial and presidential campaign staffs of U.S. Senator Gary Hart (D-Colo.) From 1988 to 1991, Bill served as chief of staff for U.S. Senator Robert Kerrey (D-Neb.) His transition from politics to innovative community service and his prescription for community change are documented in his first book Revolution of the Heart (Riverhead Press, 1995). Bill’s second book, The Cathedral Within (Random House, 1999) profiles a new breed of community leaders who are tapping every sector of society to improve community life. Bill’s most recent book, The Light of Conscience, published in February of 2004, explores how acts of conscience can and have changed the world.

Bill earned his B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He currently serves on the board of directors of The Timberland Company, City Year, College Summit, and Venture Philanthropy Partners. Bill teaches a class on social entrepreneurship at New York University’s Stern School of Business as an adjunct professor and has been a guest lecturer at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. In October 2005, US News & World Report selected Bill as one of America's Best Leaders.

As a Managing Director at Community Wealth Ventures, Amy Celep oversees the sales, marketing and implementation of the firm’s Community Wealth Collaboratives—ten-month venture development projects aimed at assisting nonprofits in developing earned income business ventures. Since joining CWV in 2002, Amy has worked with both nonprofit and foundation clients, including developing a multi-year international social enterprise initiative for a corporate foundation, growing a temporary staffing agency housed within a large job training organization, and formulating corporate partnership development strategies on behalf of clients.

Amy joined CWV after serving as a resource development professional for an international development nonprofit where she secured corporate and foundation gifts. She also worked as a television news producer for a CBS affiliate, where she designed and launched a new morning program and served as the producer for the station’s award-winning evening news.

Amy received her MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and earned a B.S. in Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

In her role as Director at CWV, Sara Brenner leads nonprofits through the development of business plans, and the implementation of social enterprise businesses. Her work has involved advising and supporting the implementation of a potential multimillion dollar healthcare disease management business. Sara has also helped clients evaluate the feasibility of business opportunities and secure corporate partnerships to fuel the growth of their emerging businesses. In addition to working for clients, Sara created a firm-wide evaluation system for CWV to improve the firm’s performance management and outcomes tracking. Sara currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association where she is responsible for spearheading the organization’s strategic plan and expanding the organization’s support network domestically and internationally.

Prior to joining CWV, Sara worked as a lead consultant with The Gallup Organization where she advised the largest health systems in the country on strategic priorities and worked with a federal government agency to develop a strategic plan for new programs. Sara also directed research in Gallup’s healthcare polling division, and presented Medicaid findings at the Center for Health Transformation’s 2nd Annual Medicaid conference. Previously, Sara worked as a Director with the Advisory Board Company, overseeing the delivery of best practice research and consulting advice to 500 clients in the areas of strategic planning, product development, marketing and market research, human capital and operations.

Sara received her MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and earned a B.A. with distinction in History and History of Culture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

As a Senior Consultant at CWV, Alysia Johnson Fullen has lead nonprofits in Newark, New Jersey through the firm’s ten-month Collaborative business planning process. She has also developed social enterprise business plans for numerous nonprofit clients and conducted research on the social enterprise movement. Prior to joining CWV, she worked with IBM Global Business Services as a management consultant. At IBM, she focused on performance tracking, management and evaluation systems and the design and delivery of adult learning training programs, serving clients such as U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Department of State. She has also worked with nonprofits including the National Albanian American’s Hope Fellowship Program and Georgetown University’s Center for Intercultural Education and Development.

Alysia holds a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and a MS in Local Economic Development from the London School of Economics. She served as a Small Business Development Peace Corps Volunteer in Boaco, Nicaragua.

Nicole Hanrahan has spent the majority of her career working in companies with social enterprises in the nonprofit sector. As a Director at Community Wealth Ventures, Nicole has consulted to an array of organizations pursuing business ventures in the areas of economic development, education, international development and human services. Besides working with individual clients, Nicole has also run regional initiatives in Ohio, New Jersey, and Massachusetts where she has trained cohorts of nonprofit executives to develop social enterprise business plans.

Prior to joining Community Wealth Ventures, Nicole Hanrahan was the Executive Director of Regulatory Reform for the Governor of Illinois, where she made regulatory improvements for business, including speeding the turn around time for professional licenses by 400%.

After completing her MBA, she ran a workforce and small business development program to help urban entrepreneurs in the food industry and directed research and strategic planning for the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union, a Boston-based women’s economic development organization that opened its first social enterprise in 1877. Before business school, Nicole was the Director of Project Renewal’s Next Step Program, which helps homeless people in New York obtain education, training and jobs. In her personal time, she has been involved with Jobs Have Priority, a DC-based nonprofit that helps homeless people secure housing and jobs. Currently, she serves as the Board Treasurer of Jobs Have Priority.

Nicole holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BA in Public Policy from Brown University.

As a Senior Consultant with the Nonprofit Services practice, Diana Peacock leads individual client engagements to develop growth strategies for existing ventures, assess new business opportunities, and craft business plans for mission-related programs. Since joining CWV almost two years ago, she has worked with organizations that represent such diverse mission areas as: youth development, leadership development, safety awareness, arts education for youth, health services for people with disabilities, economic development and microfinance. Project work has included customer analysis, feasibility studies for new ventures, business planning, financial modeling, organizational design, growth strategy formulation, funding and partnership pitch development, and corporate partnership strategy formulation.

Diana joined CWV with consulting experience in the nonprofit, corporate and public sectors. Across industries and sectors, her work has focused heavily on customer relationship management. As a consultant with Accenture she worked for start-up, middle-market and Fortune 500 companies clients on a range of business problems from program management and business process definition to strategic systems planning and business case development. She has also consulted with nonprofit arts organizations on organizational design, marketing planning and festival production, as well as the Department of Homeland Security on business process re-engineering. Diana graduated at the top of her class with a M.A. in Arts Administration from Meadows School of the Arts and MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. She received her B.A. in Economics, magna cum laude, from Wake Forest University.

Heather Peeler blends more than ten years of experience in the nonprofit sector with years in management consulting. She has worked in a variety of fields including the arts, publishing, health care, and philanthropy. Prior to joining CWV, she was a senior associate at Innovation Network, where she oversaw business development, public relations, marketing and new product development for a consulting firm serving nonprofits and foundations. Prior to joining Innovation Network, Heather served as the Managing Editor for Foundation News & Commentary, the flagship publication of the Council on Foundations, where she oversaw the magazine's circulation and advertising programs and wrote features and organizational profiles.

After receiving an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA, Heather was the Executive Director of Small Press Distribution, a nonprofit located in Berkeley, CA that provides distribution services for independent literary publishers. While living in the Bay Area, she co-founded GenArt/SF, a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to increasing young people's participation in the visual arts.

As a Senior Consultant, Tanya Smith-Evans has assisted nonprofit organizations in their pursuits to become more efficient and self-sustaining through group planning processes that assist organizations generate and increase business venture revenues and through individualized consulting engagements that identity and craft distinctive business solutions.

Tanya has lead two 10-month group Collaborative business planning processes in Boston, Massachusetts and San Antonio, Texas. She is currently leading a new 10-month Collaborative in the Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky market. Tanya developed the initial curriculum and subsequently led a 6-month group workshop series process in Tyler, Texas.

Prior to joining CWV, Tanya worked as a consultant with A.T. Kearney for 10 years, in the Chicago, Illinois and Alexandria, Virginia offices. She was responsible for developing project strategies and leading client and consulting teams to strategic and operational improvements. Her clients ranged from top Fortune 50 companies to museums and other nonprofits.

Tanya graduated from the University of Virginia with a BS in Commerce with concentrations in marketing and management and holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

In her role as a Senior Consultant for Community Wealth Ventures, Suzanne Steffens works alongside non-profits to achieve break-through results. She is currently co-leading the Community Wealth Collaborative in Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky.

Before joining CWV, Suzanne spent twelve years in various roles in the social sector. She recently worked with Common Good Ventures, a venture philanthropy, on a growth strategy for the Alzheimer's Association. She also recently worked with the authors of Forces for Good and Duke Corporate Education to develop a training series for the book. Before those roles, she served as Director of Obesity Initiatives at the National Center of the American Heart Association. In that role, she provided strategic direction for the Association's obesity initiatives, including alliances with the William J. Clinton Foundation and the National Football League. Prior to that position, she served AHA as an advocacy consultant and guided state advocacy staff across the country on legislative efforts. Prior to joining AHA, she served as Director of Planning for Phoenix House, the nation's premier substance abuse non-profit, in Texas. She has also lobbied for a number of for-profit and non-profit clients for Government Relations Resources and worked for Texas Municipal League and the City of Garland.

She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a government degree and holds an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business where she was the recipient of the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship Social Sector Scholarship and the Dean's Recognition Award.

Dan Elitzer, a Senior Associate at Community Wealth Ventures, has conducted market research and financial analysis to support nonprofit organizations in assessing potential business ventures across a variety of industries, including janitorial services, home healthcare, education and food services. Dan brings expertise in the franchise sector from CWV's Social Franchise Ventures initiative, where he develops strategies to help nonprofits partner with franchise companies to launch successful businesses. To this end, he researches and communicates with top-performing franchise companies to assess their financial performance and mission-fit for nonprofit organizations.

Prior to CWV, Dan identified and supported leading social entrepreneurs at Ashoka-Innovators for the Public and helped organize communities and register voters with Tennessee Citizen Action. Dan graduated from Pomona College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

As a Senior Associate with Community Wealth Ventures, Meghan Kappus supports both the organizations participating in the Community Wealth Collaborative and Workshop Series programs, and those receiving customized support through the Nonprofit Services Practice. In this capacity, Meghan has provided market research and data analysis support to nonprofit organizations participating in the Cleveland, Newark, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Cincinnati Collaborative programs, as well as the North Central Massachusetts Workshop Series program. Meghan has also worked with nonprofit clients to assess the feasibility of business opportunities in a variety of industries, including financial services, construction, healthcare, and automobile sales.

Meghan has a background in marketing, promotions, and business development. Prior to joining CWV, Meghan served as Marketing Coordinator for Huthwaite, Inc., a leading sales performance improvement company, focusing on lead development and CRM optimization.

Meghan graduated Magna Cum Laude from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Economics and Management, focusing on Marketing and Communication.

Katie McNerney is a Senior Consultant with CWV. She has returned to CWV after many years in the for-profit and philanthropic sectors. Currently, Katie's primary areas of focus includes assisting clients with strategic, operational, and financial planning, project management, partnership development, and marketing. Most recently, Katie was a Vice President with the Endeavor Group, a boutique consulting firm in Washington, D.C. serving the business and philanthropic interests of a portfolio of high net worth individuals, celebrities, family foundations, and nonprofit organizations. At Endeavor, Katie focused on creating and implementing high-impact initiatives and partnerships to achieve clients' philanthropic objectives.

Prior to joining Endeavor, Katie's experience included strategy consulting, project management, marketing, operations management, and executive education in the corporate and non-profit sectors. At eBay, Katie managed a marketing and education program targeting small businesses. Her work at Corporate Executive Board involved managing client relationships and leading research and consulting projects for Fortune 500 companies.

She earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ashlee Miller is a Consultant with CWV’s Nonprofit Services practice. In this capacity, she provides research support and strategic guidance to a variety of nonprofit clients on both earned income and programmatic opportunities. Among other work, Ashlee has conducted strategic planning for new business models and corporate partnerships for nonprofits with youth development, home safety, microfinance and anti-hunger related missions.

Prior to joining CWV, Ashlee served as Account Director with the Corporate Executive Board, a leading management research and executive education firm. In this role, she provided Fortune 500/Global 3000 business executives with guidance in the areas of organizational design, operational strategy, corporate governance, and performance measurement.

Ashlee graduated from Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Science in General Business.

As a Senior Associate with CWV’s Nonprofit Services practice, Christina Ng consults with nonprofit clients interested in launching or growing earned income ventures as well as with clients interested in building asset-based strategies for organizational growth or sustainability. Much of Christina’s work at CWV has focused on identifying opportunities for earned income ventures through feasibility studies as well as developing business and strategic growth plans, including financial model and pricing assessments, enterprise scaling strategies and merger and partnership development. Christina’s clients represent a broad range of missions, including health, human services, youth education, and microfinance and economic development organizations.

Christina graduated cum laude from Duke University with degrees in Public Policy Studies, focusing on nonprofit organizations and community development, and Economics. She comes to CWV with experience in public affairs and strategic communications consulting.

As an Associate, Brittany Vasseur provides strategic support for CWV’s Nonprofit Services Practice through primary and secondary research, analysis, and writing for client projects. To date, Brittany has worked on Nonprofit Services projects in the eldercare, financial services, education, home healthcare, and publishing industries. In addition, Brittany provides market research support for organizations participating in CWV’s Foundation Services engagements. In this capacity, she has worked with organizations in the Cleveland, New Orleans and North Texas Community Wealth Initiatives.

Brittany comes to CWV with a background in social innovation, nonprofit operations, market research and business. Before joining CWV, Brittany worked in research roles at several premier nonprofits and at a U.S. Government foreign aid reform commission. Most recently, she worked as an Associate on the Venture team at Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, identifying leading social entrepreneurs in Africa.

Brittany graduated Cum Laude from the George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs and a double concentration in Development and Economics.

Jason Wares, a Senior Consultant at Community Wealth Ventures, is co-leading the Community Wealth Collaborative in Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky.

Jason came to CWV with more than ten years experience helping organizations and small businesses improve results and launch new ventures. He started his career working on the Fair Labor Association (FLA), a Clinton Administrative Initiative to improve labor standards for apparel and footwear companies. Hired as the second employee of that organization he helped build it into an association of companies such as Nike, Reebok and Adidas as well as over 20 non profit organizations and 150 universities. Following the FLA, he worked with the Global Education Partnership where he led an effort to improve results and launch new project offerings in the Oakland School District. Additionally, at GEP, Jason developed financial management and control strategies for the organization's offices in five countries, and implemented a cash flow strategy that increased reserves fourfold, and included managing mid- and long-term investments. For the last five years, Jason has worked with CHF International, where he worked with small firms to help them identify strategies for long-term growth.

Jason holds an MBA in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a BA in Political Science from the University of Florida. In addition to his work at CWV, Jason is currently an entrepreneur himself focused on opening a community based day care center in Washington, DC and co-founding a private equity fund that operates in East Africa.