On Tuesday, Aug. 27, the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Women’s Initiative will host the next installment of its Professional Series. Featuring Impact100 members as panelists, Growing by Giving Back: The Impact of Philanthropy will be a discussion to empower more women to become involved with nonprofit boards and committees and in more leadership roles to feel their purpose and use their voices to better the space around us.
Taking place from 7:30-10:30 a.m. at the Kenton County Public Library (401 Kenton Lands Road, Erlanger), the event will be moderated by Shelly Deavy, assistant vice president of development for Northern Kentucky University.
Panelists Angel Beets (Gilman Partners), Clare Blankemeyer (Private Family Foundation), Laura Menge (Greater Cincinnati Foundation), and Tiarra Owens (National 4-H Council) will speak on their journeys in philanthropy, how it’s made a difference in their personal and professional lives, how philanthropy can forge meaningful connections and networks, and how it can help others create a better future for all.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Shelly Deavy, Assistant Vice President of Development, Northern Kentucky University
Deavy leads a team of professional gift officers to cultivate meaningful relationships and secure private support for Northern Kentucky University. She believes in the power of education as a means to multi-generational economic mobility and strong, culturally vibrant and civically engaged communities. A strategic leader, Deavy is known for recruiting, building and retaining positive and high-performing teams, collaborative problem solving and planning for sustainable, long-term growth. She is also a member of Impact 100 comprised of women improving the community by collectively funding grants.
Angel Beets, CEO, Gilman Partners
Beets is responsible for the overall strategy, profitability, and organizational makeup of Gilman Partners. She serves as the Director of GP Elevate, the firm’s leadership development program designed to prepare high-potential leaders for executive roles. She also develops custom training programs for leadership teams across the region and leads strengths training sessions for businesses and nonprofit groups. Beets served as Professor of Communication at Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana for a decade and has taught a wide range of courses at Indiana University East, Northern Kentucky University, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Sinclair Community College. She is a member of Impact 100 and serves on the board of Crayons to Computers.
Clare Blankemeyer, Director of Philanthropy, Private Family Foundation
Blankemeyer thrives in connecting people to create change. She is a firm believer that representative community engagement and data-driven impact are not mutually exclusive. Through her leadership at local and national philanthropic entities, GreenLight Fund Cincinnati, and as a service-learning consultant to hundreds of educators, she has been connected at various degrees of proximity to our communities’ most pressing needs; from housing and homelessness and economic mobility to educational equity and the teacher pipeline.
Laura Menge, Senior Philanthropic Advisor, Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Menge helps generous individuals, families, and companies achieve their charitable goals through lifetime giving and estate plans. She leads GCF’s Northern Kentucky Fund and a suite of endowments designated for the permanent support of nonprofits in Kenton, Campbell, and Boone counties. Menge has served on the boards of the Metropolitan Club, the DevouGood Foundation, Renaissance Covington, and the Historic Licking Riverside Civic Association, as well as on the Planned Giving Committees for the St. Elizabeth Foundation and Easterseals Redwood. She is a member of Impact 100, the women’s collective giving program for which she led the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Young Philanthropist Scholarship Program, and she was appointed to the Endow Kentucky Commission by Governor Andy Beshear.
Tiarra Owens, Senior Manager, National 4-H Council
Owens is committed to empowering youth and families through fundraising and education. With over ten years of experience in the nonprofit sector, she is a skilled and dedicated professional with a proven track record of fundraising, relationship management, event planning, and student support. In her current role at National 4-H Council, Owens leads the fundraising strategy and execution by working with foundations, corporations, and individuals to support positive youth outcomes. She joined Impact 100 in 2022 as a Young Philanthropist and has remained involved by joining Grant Review Teams and volunteering to support with event coordination.
Registration for WI Professional Series “Growing by Giving Back: The Impact of Philanthropy” is $25 for NKY Chamber members and $30 for future Chamber members. The NKYP rate is $15; Free with NKYP Event Pass. To register, or for more information, visit www.NKYChamber.com/events.