Helping people participate & vote since 2005

Matthew L. Evans, Director of Public Policy

Matthew L. Evans currently serves as the Director of Public Policy for United Philanthropy Forum. In this role, he is responsible for engaging in government relations, advocacy, and public policy work on behalf of the largest network in American philanthropy and the broader philanthropic sector.

Matthew has more than 14 years of government relations and external affairs experience. Before joining the Forum he served as Director of Public Policy & Special Projects for the Southeastern Council on Foundations in Atlanta, where he worked to ensure the legislative and regulatory success of the philanthropic sector in the South. Throughout his career, Matthew has had direct experience in working with elected officials, corporate entities, and associations, leading advocacy efforts for several national organizations.

He currently sits on the Public Policy Committees of both United Philanthropy Forum and Independent Sector. Mr. Evans holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Tennessee State University.

Cheryl Clyburn-Crawford, Executive Director

Cheryl Clyburn-Crawford grew up in Boston and has worked for many years in communities of color advocating for voting and civil rights. She sits on the Executive Board of the NAACP-Boston Branch as 2nd Vice President and is an Executive Board Member and former Board Chair of Emerge Massachusetts. Before joining MassVOTE in 2008, Clyburn-Crawford served as Chief of Staff to State Representative Willie Mae Allen. She frequently serves as a poll worker for the City of Boston and is a graduate of Lesley College.

Martina Bouey*, Independent Consultant

Martina Bouey is currently working as an independent consultant. She previously served as the Deputy Director at South Africa Partners, a Boston-based nonprofit that builds mutually beneficial partnerships between the United States and South Africa in the areas of health and education. Bouey previously served as Program Manager for the Center for Women & Enterprise and the Director of Administration for Hunt Alternatives Foundation where she had opportunities to develop, operate, manage and evaluate programs that enabled individuals to empower themselves on local, national and international levels. She holds a Masters of Public Policy from Tufts University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Business from Hendrix College.

Rachid Elabed, Advocacy & Civic Engagement Specialist

Rachid Elabed is the Advocacy & Civic Engagement Specialist with the National Network for Arab American Communities, a project of ACCESS. In this capacity, he leads all advocacy, civic engagement, and field programs within Michigan. This includes leading campaigns, community organizing, youth organizing, and public events. Rachid also has extensive experience in nonpartisan voter engagement work, including voter registration and GOTV. ACCESS is the largest Arab American human services nonprofit in the United States, located in Deerborn, Michigan.

Tiffany Gourley Carter, Policy Counsel

Tiffany Gourley Carter joined the Council of Nonprofits’ Team as State Policy Counsel in 2016. She moved to DC from Honolulu, where she served as a legislative attorney for the Hawaii Legislature, supporting legislators on a wide range of issues. Previously, she externed at the Hawai`i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, tracking legislation of interest to nonprofit organizations, and at the Hawaii Attorney General’s Office, working in the Tax and Charities Division researching nonprofit compliance.

Earlier, Tiffany started a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on raising and disbursing funds for educational scholarships and volunteer grants and has since helped create and consult on several 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

David Heinen*, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy

Through his role at the N.C. Center for Nonprofits, David Heinen advocates on issues affecting North Carolina’s nonprofit sector. He monitors and analyzes federal and state public policy, keeps nonprofits informed about important legal and policy developments, engages in research about the state’s nonprofit sector, provides training on nonprofit advocacy and legal compliance, and convenes nonprofit coalitions.

Prior to joining the N.C. Center for Nonprofits, Heinen spent seven years as an attorney with a D.C. law firm that serves the nonprofit community, advising nonprofits on a wide range of legal issues. Heinen is a graduate of Duke University and the William and Mary School of Law, as well as a member of the bars in North Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Jatrice Martel Gaiter, Executive Vice President of External Affairs

As the Executive Vice President of External Affairs, Gaiter works to build national awareness for Volunteers of America and support its mission to provide programs and services for America’s most vulnerable. She is passionate about the nonprofit sector’s strength and relevance, which is reflected in her work as vice chair of the board of the National Human Services Assembly. She is a frequent speaker on nonprofit management, health, social justice and women’s issues.

Prior to her work at Volunteer America, she was the President and CEO Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington D.C. Gaiter’s skills include fundraising, public policy, public speaking on issues related to health, women, families and organizational positioning.

Jeffrey Moore, Chief Strategy Officer

Jeff Moore currently serves as chief strategy officer, supporting the organization’s critical strategic visioning efforts as it guides the sector to meet the future needs of democratic society. He is a senior leader with broad experience in the nonprofit field, government, and industry. He most recently served in an executive role in the health-systems research field.

Jeff has served as a senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense and as legislative director to Congressman Thomas J. Downey (NY). In each of his positions, he has built critical partnerships and alliances that have accelerated organizational and mission success. His leadership style—he was described by one of his former board members as being “the weaver of the cloth”—and career experiences create a unique foundation for advancing critical thinking, strategic development, and organizational performance.

Donna Murray-Brown, President and CEO

Donna Murray-Brown is the President and CEO for Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA). She leads the strategic direction and overall operations of MNA’s body of work. MNA is a statewide membership organization dedicated to serving the diverse nonprofit sector by offering services, resources and systems nonprofits need to improve and strengthen their communities.

Prior to being named President and CEO in 2013, Ms. Murray-Brown served as Director of the Metro Detroit Partnership Office and Senior Director of Capacity-building for MNA. In this dual role, she led a successful strategic alliance program for arts and culture organizations in metro Detroit; led the merger negotiations of four organizations to create the Belle Isle Park Conservancy; and attracted national program partnerships and investment to the region including New York-based National Urban Fellows and Wisconsin-based Public Allies.

Jeff Narabrook*, Elections Administrator

Jeff is an Elections Administrator with the City of Minneapolis. His primary role is training the city’s 2,000 poll workers. Prior to that, Jeff directed the voter outreach, civic engagement and civic education efforts of the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. While there, he implemented a statewide outreach plan to provide voter education and voter registration assistance, especially to communities that vote at rates below average. Jeff was previously at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, where he supported nonpartisan, nonprofit voter engagement efforts, and lead the Minnesota Voting Rights Coalition. He is very proud of the state’s record of civic participation— Minnesota consistently leads the nation in voter turnout!

Thao Nyugen, Vice President of Advocacy

Thao is the Vice President of Advocacy at Feeding America, the largest anti-hunger relief and food rescue organization in the country. She oversees the organization’s advocacy strategies and programs that helps the food bank network and the people we serve leverage their voices with lawmakers. She has more than 15 years of experience advocating for working families who are low-income. Most recently, she oversaw advocacy campaigns that impact the lives of women and their families at the National Women’s Law Center and previous to that oversaw the policy and advocacy work at The Women’s Collective, an organization dedicated to empowering women of color living with HIV/AIDS.

Thao received her undergraduate degree in English from the University of California, Irvine and a graduate degree in International and Comparative Legal Studies with an emphasis on Human Rights Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Maggie Osborn, President and CEO

Maggie Gunther Osborn is a seasoned social sector practitioner with more that twenty-five years of experience holding positions from across the entire continuum of philanthropy and leadership. She is known for her presentation skills, direct and sharp thinking, generosity and sense of humor. Ms. Osborn currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer and Sr. Vice President of United Philanthropy Forum. She joined the Forum in July 2016 after serving as President of the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy.

Before joining the Council, Osborn served as Vice President of the Florida Philanthropic Network, Grant Director for the Conn Memorial Foundation, Vice President of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay and Chief Development Officer for The Florida Aquarium among other posts following an early career in the designer fashion industry. MGO Partners, Osborn’s consulting firm from 1998-2013, provided training and capacity building support to the social purpose sector acting as a liaison between grassroots organizations and grantmakers.

Maggie holds a master’s degree in leadership & philanthropy from Antioch University and a BA from Notre Dame of Maryland University, where she was a Morrissy Scholar. She is a member of the National Cathedral Racial Justice Task Force, Leadership Council of Non-Profit VOTE, Co-Chair of the Horizons Project Advisory Board, Census Legacies Advisory Committee, Racial Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Baltimore Women’s Giving Circle and serves as a mentor and resource to many.

Lindsay Torrico, Director of Policy and Advocacy

*Lindsay is also on the Advisory Board

Lindsay Torrico is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at United Way Worldwide and fights to improve education, increase job opportunities and empower individuals to be active and engaged members in their communities. She has led grassroots advocacy campaigns to expand quality early learning for children, fight against funding cuts for critical public services and call for an end to human trafficking in our generation.

Lindsay has dedicated her career in the nonprofit and government sectors to advocating for the most vulnerable children and families. As a legislative correspondent and aide for United State Senator John Kerry, she spearheaded legislation to provide stable housing to youth who are aging out of foster care. She also worked on education and social policy at the local level at City Year-Los Angeles, where she developed its five-year government relations strategy, and at the office of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, she coordinated a county-wide literacy campaign challenging students to read millions of words outside of the classroom.

Laura Walling, Director of Advocacy and Legislative Affairs

Laura Walling joined Goodwill Industries International (GII) in February 2005 as state affairs manager, and in June 2007 she became the director of member relations. In March 2009, Walling returned to the public policy team as director of advocacy and legislative affairs. In her current role, Walling directs GII’s legislative efforts, implements grassroots advocacy programs, and works to increase visibility and opportunity for GII’s public policy agenda. Prior to joining GII, Walling served as a senior research analyst and staff attorney with MultiState Associates, Inc., a state government affairs firm based in Alexandria, VA.

She has also worked for state and federal legislators. Walling holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rutgers University and a law degree from Pace University School of Law. She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association, Women in Government Relations, the Washington Area State Relations Group, the Women’s Information Network and the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of DC, where she has served as board chair.

Terry Ao Minnis, Director of Census and Voting Programs

Terry co-chairs the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Census Task Force and sat on the U.S Department of Commerce’s 2010 Census Advisory Committee from 2002 through 2011, when the committee’s charter ran out. She has published several articles, including “When the Voting Rights Act Became Un-American: The Misguided Vilification of Section 203” (Alabama Law Review). Terry has been counsel on numerous amicus briefs filed before the Supreme Court, including Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, Arizona v. The InterTribal Council of Arizona, Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder and Crawford v. Marion County Election Board.

She was also counsel on a joint amicus brief with MALDEF in Bartlett vs. Strickland. She was one of the key leaders in campaigns on reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act in 2006 and Census 2010 and is actively engaged in addressing the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder.

Michael Weekes*, President & CEO

Michael Weekes is the President and CEO of the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, the state’s largest statewide human services association. He previously served as the deputy commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Social Services and was a founder of Massachusetts Families for Kids. Weekes has served on numerous commissions and task forces focused on the human service, government and nonprofit sectors, including as a former Board Chair of the National Council of Nonprofits.