The PM Podcast

Brent Grinna is the founder and President of EverTrue, a platform reimagining how nonprofits connect with their supporters. Raised on a farm in Iowa, he went on to Brown University, where he captained the varsity football team and chaired the senior class gift campaign, before moving into the private equity and then earning his MBA at Harvard Business School. His early experiences in alumni fundraising led him to see how outdated s...

David Callahan is the founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy, the leading site tracking “who’s funding what, and why,” and founder of Blue Tent, which guides progressive donors. Raised in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, he earned a B.A. from Hampshire College and a Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton. The author of nine books, including The Cheating Culture and The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age, Callahan...

Dr. Abraham George is the founder of Shanti Bhavan and The George Foundation, dedicated to transforming the lives of India’s most disadvantaged children. A former captain in the Indian Army, he moved to the United States, earned an MBA and Ph.D. at NYU, and built a successful career in international finance before turning to philanthropy. His work at Shanti Bhavan—featured in the Netflix series Daughters of Destiny—continues to bre...

In this episode, we speak with two leaders in philanthropy.

Lee Ernst is Chief Executive Officer and Senior Consultant at Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates, where she leads strategic partnerships and new product development while advising nonprofit clients across education, the arts, and social services. Her career spans major institutions, including a leadership role at the University of Chicago during the institution’s $2 billi...

H. Art Taylor is the President and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, representing fundraisers who generate over $100 billion in charitable support each year. He previously led the BBB Wise Giving Alliance for 23 years, advancing nonprofit transparency and donor trust, launching the Accredited Charity Seal and GiveSafely.io, and hosting The Heart of Giving Podcast. In this conversation, we explore his life and car...

Kay Sprinkel Grace is one of the most respected voices in global fundraising and board leadership. As the founder of Transforming Philanthropy, she has worked with over 1,000 organizations worldwide and authored seven influential books, including "Beyond Fundraising" and "The AAA Way to Fundraising Success." Her impact has been recognized with some of the sector’s highest honors, including the Henry A. Rosso Medal for lifetime achi...

Sydney Moss is a junior at Dunwoody High School in Georgia and one of two recipients of the 2025 William R. Simms Award for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy, presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Born with a rare liver disease, Sydney turned her health journey into a mission—launching Concert for a Cause while awaiting a transplant. Since then, she’s raised over $75,000 for biliary atresia research at Children...

Xavier “Javi” Swinarski is a junior at Gilmour Academy and one of two recipients of the 2025 William R. Simms Award for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy, presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Javi launched his annual “SOCKtober” sock drive in the fourth grade after learning that socks are the most requested item in homeless shelters. Since then, he has mobilized classmates, local organizations, and national pa...

Brian Marquez-Hall is a Development Officer at the Southern Scholarship Foundation and one of two recipients of the 2025 Outstanding Young Professional award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. From launching inclusive initiatives and tripling donor gifts at Elder Care Services to raising $100,000 in just ten weeks at SSF, Brian has consistently delivered results rooted in equity, innovation, and authentic engagement...

Dwayne Ashley is the Founder and CEO of Bridge Philanthropic Consulting, the nation’s only full-service Black-owned fundraising firm. A passionate champion for social justice, he has raised over $2 billion to support communities of color. With more than 30 years of experience, he’s a respected leader, author, and advocate for equity in philanthropy. We spoke with Dwayne about his personal and professional journey—beginning with the...

Roger Ali is Chair of the AFP Global Board and one of the most respected voices in nonprofit leadership. With more than two decades in the field, he has led teams that have raised over $150 million through transformative capital campaigns and major gift strategies, holding senior roles at Niagara Health Foundation, Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation, and The Bishop Strachan School Foundation. Today, Roger is an independent consult...

Abby Trahan is the Associate Director of Philanthropy at MD Anderson Cancer Center and one of two recipients of the 2025 Outstanding Young Professional award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In just five years, Abby has delivered transformational fundraising results—from growing monthly giving at the Houston Food Bank to securing major gifts and endowed support at the University of Houston Law Center. Now at MD An...

Martha Schumacher is a global philanthropy strategist, leadership coach, and past chair of AFP International. As President of Hazen Consulting and founder of the Hazen Institute for Leadership Training, she’s spent over 25 years helping mission-driven organizations grow their impact—and their people. In this conversation, we explore the trails she has taken, both literally and figuratively, beginning with one near where she lives t...

Professor Jen Shang is Co-Founder and Director of the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy, and the world’s only philanthropic psychologist. She was the first person to earn a PhD in Philanthropy, and her research on donor identity and meaning has been featured in the New York Times, BBC, and Chronicle of Philanthropy. In 2025, she received AFP’s prestigious Skystone Prize for Meaningful Philanthropy, co-authored with Dr. Adrian ...

Jeremy Wells is the Senior Vice President of Philanthropic Services at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation. With more than twenty-five years of experience in fundraising and nonprofit leadership, he's been instrumental in advancing equity and community-led solutions through philanthropy. In recognition of his outstanding contributions, Jeremy was named the 2025 Outstanding Fundraising Professional of the Year by the Associati...

Ashley Hufft is President and CEO of Unbound, an international nonprofit based in Kansas City that partners with families worldwide on their self-directed paths out of poverty. A Harvard-trained attorney and anthropologist, Ashley has built a distinguished career advancing sustainable solutions to poverty, food insecurity, education, and gender equity. In this conversation, we explore her journey from corporate law to global develo...

Tom Ahern is one of the most influential voices in donor communications. The New York Times has called him “one of the country’s most sought-after creators of fundraising messages.” A self-described writer before he could write, he has authored multiple acclaimed books, trained thousands of fundraisers around the world, and most recently published Sim One—a powerful reflection on love and loss after the death of his wife and partne...

Sabrina Walker Hernandez is a consultant, coach, and facilitator who helps small nonprofits grow leadership, strengthen boards, and raise more money. She began her career in 1996 and spent 20 years with the Boys & Girls Clubs, including 11 as CEO in Edinburg, Texas, where she led a $12 million capital campaign, built a $500,000 endowment, and tripled revenue in one of the nation’s poorest counties. Now, as President and CEO of ...