Keynote and Panel Member
Chloe Hakim-Moore, Founder of NEXT Memphis, Wellness Strategist, Entrepreneur, Sociologist, Forbes 30 under 30, TEDx speaker
Chloe Hakim-Moore is an internationally acclaimed social impact designer, sociologist, and entrepreneur. To date, she leads over $2 Billion in social impact systems transformations - all designed to deepen personal wellness, interpersonal resilience, community safety and abundance, and human + civil rights. In 2020, Forbes called Chloe "a key revolutionary changing the course, and the face, of business” and society and named her to their renowned Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Gracing stages around the world, Chloe has delivered a viral TEDx talk; spoken alongside Nobel Peace Prize nominees, such as Stacey Abrams; trained multi-national corporations on well-being, social Impact, and more. As an activist, she pushes leaders in the streets and in boardrooms, alike, to reimagine well-being beyond personal wellness and assess their own role in transforming systems for a better world, starting within. Her life mission is to transform societal systems to guarantee a global well-being and equip ambitious leaders to do the same. Chloe’s awards include Forbes 30 Under 30, TEDx speaker, Salzburg Global YCI fellow, Inside Memphis Business Innovator of the Year, Rhodes College Alumni of the Year, Public Anthropology Award.
Session Presenter
Andrew Bartolotta, Director of Digital Media at CityCurrent
Andrew Bartolotta is a digital media professional who has connected passion with purpose through technology for over a decade. As Director of Digital Media for cityCURRENT, he develops and manages various events and media efforts to advance the corporate activation landscape and coordinate digital media resources to help cityCURRENT Partners and the community utilize digital media for their CSR initiatives. Equipped with both design and marketing skills, Andrew uses his expansive network to empower community problem solvers to ignite change through digital media. He regularly partners with organizations to host workshops on digital media and has been able to impact over 285 nonprofit organizations; helping them effectively share their mission and impact.
Panel Moderator
Kela Jones, Deputy Executive Director at CodeCrew
Kela Jones exudes passion and love through her work, community and life. Kela serves as deputy executive director for CodeCrew, a nonprofit changing lives with programs that focus on ensuring youth and adults are taught the principles of information, computation, how digital systems work, and ensuring students learn how to put this knowledge to use through programming and software development concepts. In 2019, Kela joined CodeCrew as its first, full-time staff person solely devoted to pursuing local, regional, national, and international funding opportunities. During this short time, Kela has grown CodeCrew’s revenue streams, exponentially increasing funding. She has had similar successes during her tenure at other nonprofits. Kela loaned her talents to Miami while serving as the community relations manager for Homestead-Miami Speedway, home of NASCAR’s Championship Track. She has served the Memphis community in a variety of development and community relation roles at BRIDGES, Peer Power Foundation, Memphis Music Initiative, Boys & Clubs of Greater Memphis, Memphis Urban League and the Memphis Redbirds. She has given her time, talent, and treasure as a volunteer and board member for The Junior League of Memphis, AngelStreet, The JC Runyun Foundation, and Memphis Scholars. Kela is the epitome of a Memphian that is a vital change agent for the city. She is the definition of a doer, dreamer, believer and most importantly, a giver. Her most important role is mom to her son, Kaden, bonus mom to Brittany, and KeKe to Aubrey, Ava, Addison, and Autumn.
Panel Member
Chessie Hayes, MPA, CFRE, CNP, Fundraising Consultant
Chessie (Biggam) Hayes, MPA, CFRE, CNP, Fundraising Consultant, has been an active member of the fundraising community and creates thoughtful, strategic plans to enhance donor engagement. She received the award for AFP International Outstanding Young Professionals, Memphis’ Top 20 Under 30, and Greater Memphis Chamber’s Young Memphis Class of 2020 award. She serves as the President-Elect for AFP Memphis and on the Emerging Leaders Initiative, Membership Division, and Editorial Committee for AFP Global. She also has served as the Vice-President for the Grant Professional Association of the Mid-South. Chessie enjoys focusing on fundraising trends for young professionals working the fundraising sector, millennial giving, and advocating for yourself for better employees benefits and being your champion!
Panel Member
Dr. Allison Quintanilla Plattsmier, CFRE, CNP, GPC, Executive Director at Edgehill Neighborhood Partnership and Owner and Consultant at APQ Consulting
Dr. Allison Quintanilla Plattsmier has twelve years of experience in the nonprofit sector and has collectively raised approximately $4.5 million for over 50 organizations. She currently serves as Executive Director of Edgehill Neighborhood Partnership and runs her own nonprofit consulting firm, AQP Consulting, where she helps grassroots nonprofits with fundraising strategy, strategic planning, board development, and grant writing. She is also a contributing faculty member at the Institute of Nonprofit Leadership and Community Development. Allison is a vocal advocate for gender parity, closing the wage gap, and ending the motherhood penalty. With accolades such as AFP’s Outstanding Young Fundraising Professional, Nashville’s Top 30 Under 30, NBJ’s 40 Under 40, Diversity MBA’s Top 100 Under 50 Executive Leaders, 2021 National Latino Leader, and 2022 Women Who Rock Nashville Social Justice Award, Dr. Quintanilla Plattsmier is a true emerging leader in the Middle Tennessee community.
Panel Member
Beverly Robertson, President & CEO at The Greater Memphis Chamber
Named one of the USA TODAY’s “Women of the Century” in 2020, Beverly Robertson is the president and chief executive officer of the Greater Memphis Chamber since 2019. At head of the lead economic development organization for the region, she has championed shared prosperity, secured a historic number of jobs and investments, and raised funds to put the Chamber in its best financial position ever. Before joining the Chamber, Robertson served as president of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis from 1997 to 2014. During her tenure, she led the museum in raising $43 million to fund a massive renovation that turned the museum and the attached Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, into an internationally known destination. She also built the museum’s annual Freedom Awards into a nationally and internationally recognized ceremony, even personally persuading former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela to come to Memphis to receive the award. A graduate of the University of Memphis, Robertson started her career in education before spending 19 years at Holiday Inn Worldwide, becoming acting vice president of marketing communications. A graduate of the Wharton School of Business’ Leadership and Management Certificate program at the University of Pennsylvania and has competed the prestigious Getty Museum Leadership Institute in Los Angeles, Robertson serves on several local and national boards. She and husband Howard also own and operate TrusT Marketing. Together, they have three adult children and are also grandparents.
Panel Moderator
Linda McNeil, Nonprofit Consultant at Gaskill Strategies
A lifelong Memphian, Linda graduated LeMoyne-Owen College with a business administration degree and committed herself to improve her community. She began her professional fundraising career in LeMoyne-Owen College's offices of Alumni Affairs and Institutional of Advancement, where she spent seven years. Over her 25+ years in the nonprofit industry, Linda has served as the chief fundraiser for some of the city's most noteworthy nonprofits – BRIDGES, MIFA and the Soulsville Foundation. She currently works as a nonprofit consultant for Gaskill Strategies, a firm that provides fundraising, communications and strategic planning counsel for nonprofits. Their clients include Collage Dance Collective, Code Crew, Girls Inc. of Memphis, Mid-South Food Bank, Memphis Botanic Gardens, Binghampton Christian Academy, Ballet Memphis, and Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Linda is known for "her quick smile, no-nonsense attitude to raising funds, her charm, grace, brains, and hard work." She has made her mark on the nonprofit and fundraising community at large and, in 2011, received the Association of Fundraising Professionals Crystal Award for Fundraising Executive of the Year. She also received the Tri-State Defender's Women of Excellence in 2015. In 2021, Linda was honored as one of the Memphis Grizzlies 2021 HBCU Empowerment Awards recipients for her positive contributions and impact in the Memphis community. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the Association of Fundraising Professionals, a graduate of New Memphis Institute's Fellows and LDI programs, Leadership Memphis, a founding member of Opus One and Mei-Ann's Circle of Friends for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and a founding member of Give 365 for the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis. Linda currently serves on the boards of the LeMoyne-Owen College National Alumni Association, St. Mary's Episcopal School and is a member of the Community Foundation's Strengthening Nonprofits Grants Committee. She has served on the boards of Collage Dance Collective, Memphis Music Initiative and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Linda is a trusted and valued mentor for many young professionals. She is quick to share her expertise and knowledge and loves nothing more than mentoring newcomers to the fields of fundraising, nonprofit management, and community service. She recently published a book of short stories, The Nonprofit Adventures of Amber Reed, inspired by her work in the fundraising profession.
Panel Member
Mauricio Calvo, Executive Director at Latino Memphis
For the past 30 years, Mauricio Calvo has chosen Memphis as his home. When he moved to Memphis in 1993 from Mexico City, he found a city full of kindness, diversity, and a wealth of opportunity. He and his team at Latino Memphis strive every day to make the growing community of Latino Memphians feel as welcome and hopeful as he did. Over the course of his career, he has worked tirelessly to help ensure that the Memphis community has been heard. Through his leadership, serving as the executive director of Latino Memphis, he has worked with diverse and underrepresented populations within and outside of the city. Using this platform, he has fearlessly spoken out against acts of injustice, both local and national, to uplift the voices of those in need. Mauricio, who is openly bi, married his best friend 19 years ago, local artist Yancy Villa-Calvo. Together they are figuring out how to raise three future leaders. When he is not working with Latino Memphis or spending quality time with his family, Mauricio dedicates time to contributing to other parts of the Memphis community. He has served on various boards, including the Downtown Memphis Commission, Hope Credit Union, Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, We Are Memphis, Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, and the National Leadership Council for LeBonheur Children's Hospital, among others.
Panel Member
Kevin Dean, CEO at Momentum Nonprofit Partners
Kevin Dean is Chief Executive Officer of Momentum Nonprofit Partners. His previous positions include Executive Director of Literacy Mid-South, Community Services Director at Volunteer Memphis and Director of Development at Hope House. In 2022, he was named one of the CEOs of the Year by Memphis Magazine. Kevin received his Bachelor’s in Communications from the University of Memphis in 2002. In 2009, he completed his Master’s Degree in Executive Leadership from Christian Brothers University. He received his doctorate in Organizational Leadership and Learning from Vanderbilt University in 2021.
Panel Member
Lori Spicer Robertson, Founder & CEO at Wundher and VP, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Lori Spicer Robertson is a creative change agent always pursuing opportunities to transform lives and foster sustainable progress. As a natural connector and multi-hyphenate, she currently serves as the VP, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, founder of The DEI Collective - an industry agnostic collaborative of DEI leaders creating more just work environments and communities, and the founder and Chief Joymaker of an experiential platform and membership community created to reconnect women and mothers to a life of joy called Wundher. Most recently, she held the role of VP, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Saks Fifth Avenue to design a more inclusive experience for employees, customers, and partners. A thought leader on women and mothers; diversity, equity, and inclusion; leadership and authentic joy, Lori is sought after by companies, universities, and organizations annually to share her narrative. She is wife to her fellow community crusader Eric Robertson, mother to her amazing boys - Liam and Emory, and they all believe in their family motto to "live in your vision and not your circumstances."
Panel Member
Tracee Walls, Managing Director, Human Resources – Equity, Inclusion & Engagement at FedEx Ground
Tracee Walls is Managing Director, Equity, Inclusion and Engagement, for FedEx Ground headquartered in Moon Township, PA. Tracee has more than 10 years of Diversity and Inclusion and communications experience at multiple FedEx operating companies, most recently serving as Manager of Diversity and Inclusion at FedEx Services. In 2020, Tracee assumed her current role, where she oversees the company’s strategy and action plans related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Prior to joining FedEx, Tracee spent 12 years at International Paper working across global customer service roles and supply chain logistics. In each of her roles, she has been a leader in developing team members and collaborating with organizations to expand educational and career opportunities in diverse communities. As an active member of her community, Tracee has worked closely with organizations such as Junior Achievement Worldwide, Memphis Challenge, Teach for America, Facing History and Ourselves, New Leaders, Inc., and many more. She is also a current Advisory Council member of Make-A-Wish Mid-South and Governing Board member of the Grizzlies Prep Charter School. Tracee has received numerous awards and recognitions for her professional and personal accomplishments including the prestigious FedEx Five Star Award – the highest honor given to team members at FedEx – the Tri-State Defender’s Women of Excellence Award, the Three Doctors Foundation Champion of Education award and was named Superwoman in Business by the Memphis Business Journal. Tracee and her husband Kevin reside in Memphis and are the proud parents of two children, Deja and Sidney.