P.O. Box 321012
Alexandria, VA 22320
703-566-9550
Sheila RyanAreas of Expertise
Client services, project development, operation management, staff training, and research
About Sheila Ryan
Sheila comes to ACF&A having spent the past decade in media operations at WorldNetDaily (WND) and most recently at the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). There she handled logistics for numerous projects including documentary and news productions, and provided research and analysis for senior leadership, media personalities, and reporters. Sheila has extensive experience working with non-profit organizations, including both NGOs and USAID. She also spent few years interning at the Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC) in Norfolk, Virginia.
Sheila holds a bachelor degree in Political Science from The University of Texas and a Master’s degree in International Studies from Old Dominion University. She resides in Alexandria, VA.
David KulivanAreas of Expertise
Development strategy, corporate partnerships, relationship management, donor recognition & stewardship
About David Kulivan
David combines nearly 20 years of experience in the nonprofit arena with a deep background in development. He has designed and led large, sophisticated development operations for nonprofits, advocacy groups, and a Super PAC, as well as young start-up organizations. He has successfully led a full spectrum of relationship management with individual, corporate, and foundation donors. He has also guided nonprofit boards and helped them understand development and navigate its processes.
Prior to joining A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates, David served as the Assistant Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations as well as an Advancement Officer at the National Rifle Association of America, Director of Development for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, and Senior Director of Development at Allegiance Strategies. He also owned a consulting company focused on nonprofit management.
A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, David earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Louisiana State University. He resides in Northern Virginia with his wife and children.
Nathan WirebaughAreas of Expertise
Individual and Foundation Research, Cultivation, Database Management, Direct Mail, and Donor Relations
About Nathan Wirebaugh
Nathan Wirebaugh got his start in development at the Leadership Institute where he worked with their donor communications team. While at LI Nathan learned the importance of donor communication and cultivation, direct mail, and major gift research.
Before joining A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates Nathan worked with several political nonprofits in the Washington DC area including: FreedomWorks, the American Conservative Union, and the American Principles Project.
Nathan earned his B.A. in History from Cedarville University. He is originally from Toledo, Ohio but now lives with his wife in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Ken MarotteAreas of Expertise
Foundation and corporate fundraising, grant proposals and reports, donor communications, editing and proofreading, and process creation, analysis, and improvement
About Ken Marotte
Ken comes to the firm with vast experience in nonprofit, journalistic, and academic writing. Most recently he spent nearly seven years at the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he enhanced and maintained a deadline-intensive portfolio system to compose and submit hundreds of grant proposals, renewals, and reports. In doing so, he was instrumental in raising nearly $25 million with a success rate upward of 70 percent. He was also responsible for writing and editing a variety of donor newsletters, event materials, prospecting letters, and email blasts.
Ken earned a B.A. in political science from Georgetown College (Ky.) and an M.A. in Asian Studies from The Ohio State University. With a particular interest in Japanese history and culture, Ken teaches Asian history classes at Aquinas College, and has been published by outlets such as The Diplomat, Korea Times, and Acton PowerBlog.
Ken is active in the Grand Rapids Grant Writers Roundtable, a group of professionals who meet monthly to discuss and hone their craft.
He and his family live in Grand Rapids.
Sarah FergusonAreas of Expertise
Management, staff development, organization structure and operations, messaging, major gift fundraising, strategic planning
About Sarah Ferguson
Sarah has more than a decade of experience in fundraising, management, operations, and major gift strategy and communication. She specializes in organization messaging for donors, including creative products, both in style and language; personnel management and staff development; and major gift operations and fundraising.
Before joining A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates, Sarah worked more than 10 years at The Heritage Foundation where she oversaw the major gift communication and operations team. Sarah has worked with small companies, both as an East Coast tour guide and a bookstore manager. She graduated from Oral Roberts University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations, and presently, she is working on a Masters in Management Fundraising through Avila University.
Sarah and her husband have three children and reside near Austin, Texas.
David HoytAreas of Expertise
Major gifts, direct mail, online solicitation, communications strategy, database management, development processes and workflows
About David Hoyt
David’s fundraising career began with Young Americans for Liberty, where he served as its first-ever Director of Development. At YAL, David oversaw its funding growth from a fledgling start-up to a multimillion-dollar organization, and he has worked with many organizations since. David’s experience spans many fundraising core processes, as he has helped a variety of c3 and c4 organizations design and implement comprehensive development plans.
Prior to joining A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates, David served as the Director of Development at America’s Future Foundation. Before his time with AFF, he offered fundraising counsel to several groups including The Leadership Institute, Project Veritas, the Coalition to Reduce Spending, American Majority, the American Family Association of Michigan, Americans for Prosperity, as well as candidates and members of Congress.
Karen KulivanAreas of Expertise
Donor communications, proposal writing, donor and prospect research
About Karen Kulivan
Karen Kulivan has played many roles in the nonprofit sector, from serving large national organizations to helping build local nonprofits from the ground up. At A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates, she assists with research and writing projects for our clients.
Karen holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Thiel College in Greenville, PA and is pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Liberty University. She lives in Virginia with her family.
Samantha AudiaAreas of Expertise
Donor and prospect research, systems management, social media
About Samantha Audia
Samantha draws upon her organizational and research skills to serve as a resource for clients, and provides support to the firm’s consultants with in-depth research projects and prospect portfolios. She also contributes to the team’s marketing efforts, drawing on her communications experience her previous work in journalism.
Samantha holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Michigan. While completing her undergraduate degree, she worked with the Michigan Municipal League, The Heritage Foundation, and the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, all of which allowed her to develop an interest in policy advocacy and the nonprofit sector. Originally from Michigan, she currently resides in Arlington, Virginia.
Megan RitterAreas of Expertise
Grantmaking foundations, strategic communications, donor relations
About Megan Ritter
Megan is an expert in foundation fundraising with a wealth of experience developing donor communications pieces and building a nonprofit from the startup phase into a thriving enterprise. Prior to joining A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates, she served as grants manager and development writer for the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity. There, she took the lead in building a coordinated donor communications strategy, including newsletters, annual reports, email fundraising, and planned giving as well as foundation strategy and proposal writing.
She has also worked on local, state, and national campaigns and with the Tax Foundation. Megan earned a bachelor’s degree in history and political science, with a concentration in Holocaust and genocide studies, from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia.
Jonathan MoodyAreas of Expertise
Strategic planning, major gifts fundraising, new initiatives and campaigns, and communications
About Jonathan Moody
Jonathan has extensive experience in fundraising, strategic planning, marketing, public policy, and coalition and grassroots engagement. In his various roles, he has worked alongside local, national and international leaders to increase freedom and opportunity for their constituents.
Prior to joining A.C. Fitzgerald, he served as the Managing Director of PovertyCure, a global media and educational initiative of the Acton Institute (Grand Rapids, MI). In that role he led a partner network of 400+ organizations spread across 144 countries in the advance of civil society solutions to domestic and international poverty. This experience afforded him an up close and nuanced look at the world of international affairs and economic development throughout the United States, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Prior to that, he served as the Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). During his tenure at FEE, the organization’s revenue doubled.
During his time at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), he served in multiple roles: Director of Donor Relations, Policy Coordinator, and Elections and Ethics Subcommittee Manager. He worked alongside ALEC’s senior leadership to develop an individual donor program, increase private sector contributions by more than 15%, increase public sector membership by more than 30%, and develop new policy initiatives.
As the Director of Membership for the American Conservative Union (ACU), he oversaw a more than 20% increase in donor engagement.
Jonathan graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Baltimore with a B.A. in Government and Public Policy.
Jonathan lives near Grand Rapids, MI, with his wife, Esther, and their two energetic children.
Susan E. MangelsAreas of Expertise
Board and leadership development, major gifts fundraising, and nonprofit management
About Susan E. Mangels
Susan E. Mangels is Senior Vice President of Consulting Services. She holds a B.A. from Furman University, Ed.M. from Harvard University, and Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Illinois. Prior to joining A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates, Dr. Mangels was Chief Development Officer at the Independent Institute. She has served as Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Lindenwood University, President of Lexington College, Dean of Oakcrest School (McLean, VA) and Assistant Head of Montrose School (Medfield, MA).
Dr. Mangels serves on the boards of FOCUS St. Louis, Montrose School, Catholic Charities of St. Louis, and the Women’s Leadership Cabinet of the United Way of St. Louis. She has also served on the American Council on Education’s Commission on Women in Higher Education and on the national board of directors of the Women’s Foodservice Forum. She is a past Trustee of Morgan Park Academy and Kingswood Academy, as well as past Board Chair of the Chicago Culinary Guild. She is also a member of the St. Louis Forum and she publicly speaks frequently on the topics of executive leadership, career theory, and work-life balance. Susan resides in St. Louis, Missouri.
Amanda RobeyAreas of Expertise
Grassroots fundraising, major gifts fundraising, development staffing, donor communications
About Amanda Robey
Amanda has more than a decade of of experience in fundraising and has developed tailored fundraising strategies for c3, c4, and political organizations. With her expertise in building fundraising department infrastructures she provides counsel in in recruiting, hiring, and managing fundraising staff. She also guides organizations in maximizing their fundraising efficiency by improving operations and systems. She has extensive experience in developing solicitation strategies for donors across multiple giving channels and evaluating their effectiveness.
Prior to joining A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates, Amanda served as Vice President of Development at the Susan B. Anthony List where she was tasked with increasing donor outreach. Her work played a vital role in achieving the organization’s most successful cycle in both fundraising and election efforts.
Amanda began her career in candidate fundraising, working closely with members of Congress in high profile nationally funded campaigns. Soon after she took a position working for former Federal Election Commission Chairman Brad Smith at his newly founded think tank, Center for Competitive Politics. While at CCP, she created sustainable revenue raising programs using highly persuasive foundation and major donor appeals. Amanda holds a bachelor’s degree from Liberty University and lives with her family in Oakton, Virginia.
Michelle TaylorAreas of Expertise
Developing new nonprofits, major gifts fundraising, donor strategy implementation, systems integration, case development
About Michelle Taylor
Michelle has worked with a diverse array of nonprofit clients around the country, from start-ups to those with multi-million dollar budgets. She is an expert at developing successful strategies to a variety of situations and client needs. She has extensive experience working with both c3 and c4 nonprofits to improve their fundraising operations, increase their revenue and enhance their impact. Michelle also has expertise in major gifts fundraising, managing fundraising staff, crafting compelling communications and improving internal systems.
Prior to joining, A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates, Michelle was director of development at Citizens United, where she implemented a major gifts program, increased revenue, improved communications and expanded the major gift donor base. She also worked on the marketing and distribution of three of Citizens United’s films. Michelle previously worked for Young America’s Foundation at the Reagan Ranch and served on the management team responsible for the construction of the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, California. As part of the development team, Taylor focused on raising funds and awareness for the Foundation’s student programs as well as the preservation of the Reagan Ranch.
Michelle holds an executive certificate in business administration from the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor’s degree in information technology from California Baptist University. She and her husband live in New York City.
Ann C. FitzgeraldAreas of Expertise
Strategic planning, nonprofit best practices, fundraising audits, board and leadership development
About Ann Fitzgerald
Ann earned a master’s degree in philanthropic studies from Indiana University. She has more than two decades of experience in sales, management, fundraising, publishing and marketing. Her expertise in analyzing nonprofit performance and creating tailored solutions has allowed her nonprofit clients to achieve their missions, raise more money and maximize personnel resources.
Prior to starting the firm, Ann was director of development for The Heritage Foundation, where she helped increase contributions income by twenty percent by establishing integrated programs for direct marketing, major gifts, and planned giving. Ann regularly writes and speaks on fundraising topics, including donor relations, grant writing, systems management and prospect research.
Ann is a graduate of The Catholic University of America. She started her career at BNA Software, now part of Bloomberg BNA, holding both sales and marketing positions. She serves on the alumni board of Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Ann and her husband live in Alexandria, Virginia.
