This diverse cohort brings tremendous experience to the program, which includes opportunities to collaborate with other talented emerging leaders, interact with seasoned leaders, and contribute to addressing the critical challenges facing the nonprofit and philanthropic community.

Their final report examined how emerging leaders across sectors can contribute to a conversation that generates collaborative solutions to society’s most pressing problems.

The 2009 American Express NGen Fellows:

• Bridget Clark Whitney, executive director, Kids' Food Basket
• David McKinney, vice president of programs, Public Allies
• Kevin Bolduc, vice president of assessment tools, The Center for Effective Philanthropy
• Larry Smith, senior vice president of advancement and strategic planning, YMCA of Greater Indianapolis (formerly director, Third Millennium Initiative, Indiana University Center on Philanthropy)
• Maya Enista, chief executive officer, Mobilize.org
• Monica Maggiano, director, Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, Catholic Charities USA
• Neel Hajra, president and CEO, Nonprofit Enterprise at Work (NEW)
• Rahsaan Harris, program executive, The Atlantic Philanthropies
• Roopal Saran, director of client services, KaBOOM!
• Scott Beale, CEO and founder, Atlas Service Corps
• Toby Chalberg, founder and executive director, New South Ventures (formerly chief strategy officer and VP of public policy, Points of Light Institute)
• Trish Tchume, director of civic engagement, The Building Movement Project (Demos)
  
  

Bridget Clark Whitney is executive director of Kids’ Food Basket, a hunger relief organization which provides daily “sack suppers” for food- insecure children in Kent County, Michigan. Drawing volunteers and financial support from all aspects of the Grand Rapids community, KFB provides these suppers at elementary schools where 80 percent of the students live at or below the poverty level. During Ms. Whitney’s tenure in this role, KFB has grown from serving 125 children each weekday in 2002 to 1,700 children in 2009.

David McKinney is vice president of programs at Public Allies, where he manages national program development, government relations, and alumni engagement strategies. Prior to his current role, Mr. McKinney served as national chief of staff, where he advised senior management in achieving Public Allies’ national strategic priorities. He spent three years as a program officer with Public Allies’ national office, where he supported a portfolio of six local programs and co-developed an integrated online program evaluation system currently used in 15 communities. Mr. McKinney advises and volunteers on a range of endeavors, including consulting with the Case Foundation and serving as vice president of the Board of Tikkun Ha’Ir, a Jewish social justice organization.

Kevin Bolduc is vice president of assessment tools at the Center for Effective Philanthropy. He leads the delivery of CEP’s performance assessment tools to funders, and oversees the design of new tools and the refinement of CEP’s suite of assessment offerings. Mr. Bolduc helped design CEP’s groundbreaking Grantee Perception Report and Staff Perception Report. He led phase one of CEP’s study of foundation strategy, and co-authored its 2007 report, Beyond the Rhetoric: Foundation Strategy. Previously Mr. Bolduc was a consultant with The Parthenon Group. He is also co-author of a case study on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s approach to performance assessment, Listening to Grantees: What Nonprofits Value in Their Foundation Funders. He is a steering committee member of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy’s Greater Boston chapter. Mr. Bolduc graduated with a B.A. in biology from Williams College.

Larry Smith is vice president of strategy at the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis. At the time of his selection as a fellow, he was director of the Millennium Philanthropy and Leadership Initiative at the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy. Millennium involves the development and support of people of color, women, and youth through convenings, peer networking, research, and technical assistance. Before joining the center, Mr. Smith worked at Cummins Inc., most recently as director of corporate strategy. He also served as deputy director of Civil Society Programs for Hudson Institute. Mr. Smith received a “40 Under 40” award from the Indianapolis Business Journal, and also received a “Best and Brightest Award” from Junior Achievement. Currently, Mr. Smith is a board member of several nonprofit organizations, and serves as an associate minister at New Horizons Church in Indianapolis. Mr. Smith earned a B.A. from Williams College and an M.S. from Stanford Business School.

Maya Enista is chief executive officer of Mobilize.org, which is dedicated to educating, empowering, and energizing young people to increase their civic engagement and political participation. Previously she worked in the organization’s Washington, D.C., and California offices as chief operating officer. Ms. Enista was national field director for the Hip Hop Civic Engagement Project, which grew out of the successful National Hip Hop Political Convention, and began her career as the East Coast coordinator for Rock The Vote. Ms. Enista serves on the Steering Committee for the November 5 th Coalition, an all-partisan alliance committed to civic partnerships that address our democracy’s biggest challenges. She was also recently appointed to the Youth Service California board of directors. She was awarded the first Rock The Vote “Rockin’ The Street’s” award. Ms. Enista attended Rutgers University.

Monica Maggiano is director of the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America at Catholic Charities USA. Prior to becoming director, Ms. Maggiano served as the coordinator of CCUSA’s Katrina Aid Today program, a national disaster case management program. She has also worked for the North Carolina Office of the Governor, at the Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service and in the Office of Hispanic/Latino affairs. She participated in the Women and Politics’ WeLead leadership development program at American University and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in nonprofit management at Regis University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology and Spanish at the University of North Carolina.

Neel Hajra is president and CEO of Nonprofit Enterprise at Work, Inc., a nonprofit whose mission is to help other nonprofits succeed. NEW provides innovative governance, technology, and operational support to charitable organizations throughout southeast Michigan. Mr. Hajra joined the organization while on sabbatical from Ford Motor Company, where he served as an attorney in the Global Business Operations Group. He has twice been named to the Teaching Honor Roll at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy. He sits on the national steering committee for the NonprofitCenters Network, a community of nonprofits dedicated to supporting the creation and operation of quality nonprofit office and program space. Mr. Hajra received both his bachelor of science in physics and his J.D. from the University of Michigan.

Rahsaan Harris is a fellow at The Atlantic Philanthropies, working across Atlantic’s programs in the United States to focus on integrating social justice principles into grantmaking. Mr. Harris joined Atlantic as the special assistant to the then-president and CEO. He assumed grantmaking for Atlantic’s Bermuda program, supporting local organizations commitment to improving the lives of Bermuda youth and older adults. Previously, Mr. Harris was executive director of Playing2Win, a community technology center in Harlem. He received a fellowship from the Open Society Institute to work with HarlemLive, a web-based publication run by Harlem teens. Mr. Harris has master’s degrees from New York University and Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Princeton University. He is presently working towards a doctorate in public and urban policy at New School University.

Roopal Saran is director of client services at KaBOOM!, which is committed to ensuring that all children have great places to play. Ms. Saran leads two teams: one that manages relationships with KaBOOM! funders (including corporations, foundations, government agencies, sports teams, and individuals) and the other that screens nonprofit, child-serving organizations to be matched with funders for playground build opportunities. Prior to KaBOOM!, Ms. Roopal worked at First Book, a national nonprofit that brings new books to children from low-income families. There, she trained volunteers across the country in community building and fundraising. She also worked on bringing First Book's national cause-based marketing campaigns to the local level. Ms. Saran has also worked as an attorney representing school districts throughout Illinois. She has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in education from Stanford University, and a J.D. from the University of Illinois.

Scott Beale is the founder of Atlas Corps, which develops leaders, strengthens organizations, and promotes innovation in the international nonprofit sector through long-term, overseas fellowships for skilled nonprofit leaders. Previously he worked for the U.S. State Department in India fighting human trafficking, at Ashoka’s Youth Venture promoting social entrepreneurship, in the White House advocating for governors, and in Bosnia in the mid-1990s organizing elections. He is the author of Millennial Manifesto, which examines the politics of the Millennial Generation. The Youth Vote Coalition named Mr. Beale as one of “30 people under 30 Changing Politics in America.” Mr. Beale was a White House Fellow National Finalist and was recognized by the U.N. for his work fighting modern day slavery. He has a B.A. from Georgetown University and an M.P.A. from the University of Delaware.

Toby Chalberg is founder and director of New South Ventures. At the time of his selection as a fellow, he was chief strategy officer and vice president of public policy at Points of Light Institute. Over the past eight years he has been part of the leadership team of HandsOn Network, growing from a $1.5 million organization to a $35 million international enterprise whose mission is to equip, mobilize, and inspire people to take action that changes the world. In his role at Points of Light Institute he launched and leads the public policy, government relations, and advocacy efforts. He is a two-time alumnus of AmeriCorps National Service, serving with AmeriCorps*NCCC and with City Year, where he was honored as the Comcast Alumni of the Year in 2007. Mr. Chalberg is a graduate of Vanderbilt University with an interdisciplinary honors degree in international development and globalization.

Trish Tchume is director of civic engagement for the Building Movement Project, supporting the project’s work of integrating social change values and practices into nonprofit service organizations. She previously was a campus organizer and then as a community outreach manager for Action Without Borders/Idealist.org. Additionally, she has served on Independent Sector’s NGen Program Advisory Group, has been a national board member for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, a founding board member for Philadelphia’s Young Nonprofit Leaders, and served on the advisory groups for programs such as American Humanics’ Workforce Coalition.