Sheila Ryan

Director of Operations

Areas 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 Kulivan

Senior Consultant

Areas 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 Wirebaugh

Philanthropic Research and Database Associate

Areas 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 Marotte

Senior Writer and Managing Director

Areas 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.

David Hoyt

Senior Consultant 

Areas 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.

Megan Ritter

Vice President of Communications

Areas 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.

Susan E. Mangels

Senior Vice President of Consulting Services

Areas 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.

Ann C. Fitzgerald

President

Areas 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.