Community Heart & Soul Coaches

Hillary is an Independent Community Heart & Soul Certified Coach living in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She works as a Grant writer/Fundraiser/Volunteer Coordinator for a large non profit child care center. She is a small business owner, selling her products at the local Farmers Market. Hillary enjoys cooking, travel, camping, music festivals, thrift store shopping and a good book.

Vickie showed early signs of her vocation as a community developer when she created a school newspaper in fifth grade called the Nosy Noodles. As a college student, Vickie became immersed in social justice and poverty issues. She was quickly recruited to work with local food producers as a Volunteer In Service To America (VISTA). Since earning her Master's degree in community development, Vickie has focused her career on assisting small towns by building local capacity and creating partnerships to bring resources needed to implement community-driven projects. As director of community economic development for a rural electric cooperative, Vickie developed programs and partnerships to advance small business development, tourism, strategic planning and local community trusts and foundations. For over twelve years, Vickie has developed and implemented programs that bring the expertise and enthusiasm of university faculty and students to work in partnership with communities on projects such as park design, recreation planning, food security, tourism, and downtown enhancement. In mid-career, Vickie accepted a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, packed her fiddle, and studied at the National University of Ireland Galway. Forever curious, she continues to travel and explore with her husband Jim.

DiAnn, Grand County Economic Development Director, is engaged in leading many diverse community and economic development county efforts ranging from identifying an economic resilience and diversification strategy to working with our towns on their creative economy, downtown assessments, business and customer-centric culture development (using The Disney Way Principles) and young entrepreneurship programs. She is currently working with Grand Lake Heart & Soul.

Ramona is a Capacity Development Specialist in the Office of Policy and Strategic Development at VA Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Before coming to DHCD she was a Management Analyst with the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority (CRHA). She is a native of Charlottesville, VA. Ramona has served on nonprofit boards, is a member of the Virginia Parliamentarian Association and loves agriculture. She enjoys volunteering with several urban gardens in the Charlottesville and Richmond, VA areas. Mona holds a Master of Science in Health Administration and minor in Higher Education Administration.

Cynthia Curtis joined Arras Foundation in January 2018 as a Community Investment Officer to support partners in Lancaster and Chester counties address their health and wellness development challenges, revitalize their towns and communities, and strengthen their organizations. In July 2018 she began serving as the Heart & Soul Coach in Kershaw, SC. Her life and work experience in the development field includes 21 years in El Salvador working with international cooperation for development in the Central American region around local and economic development, equity, youth and women’s participation. In 2008, she facilitated the establishment of the Global Platform in El Salvador, a learning platform for international and local youth grassroots organizations and development practitioners that provides training for intercultural cooperation for social transformation. In 2013, she relocated to Chester, SC, where she worked with the City of Chester as Grants & Community Development Coordinator and as Development Coordinator with the Chester Downtown Development Association. She is currently studying Anthropology and Native American Studies at the University of South Carolina Lancaster. Cynthia is accompanied by her human, canine and feline family in Lancaster.

Jen Danifo is senior program officer at the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and works closely with grantees to provide capacity-building support for program development, learning and evaluation. A large part of her work is overseeing the search and selection of Pennsylvania Heart & Soul communities, supporting external coaches working with communities in the field and managing the development of training and assessments for communities. Currently, Jen is working to become a certified Community Heart & Soul coach. She is working directly with three communities in PA: Cameron County, Upper Chichester, and Dillsburg. Her work is rooted in the belief that the humanities inspire individuals to uncover and claim their own stories – and the stories of the communities in which they live – as a way to build understanding, foster resilience and inspire action. Jen has an M.F.A in creative writing from Rosemont College and a certificate in organizational development and leadership from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM).

Bob has over 41 years of experience in economic development, downtown revitalization, urban redevelopment, historic preservation, brownfield redevelopment, place making, marketing and community planning at the local, county, state and national levels as well as the private sector. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan. Bob also has a Graduate Certification in Historic Preservation Planning from Eastern Michigan University and is a U.S. Navy Veteran – Honorable Discharge. Bob has served as an Adjunct Professor at Lawrence Technical University and Eastern Michigan University. A Certified Main Street Manager (CMSM), Bob is recognized throughout Michigan and the United States as a successful economic development and downtown revitalization expert and leader.

As the Community Manager at the Community Foundation of South Jersey (CFSJ), Erik is responsible for the execution of CFSJ’s latest community leadership initiative, Transform South Jersey, which aims to strengthen the social, cultural and economic vibrancy of South Jersey communities by empowering residents to shape the future of their towns based on what matters most to them.

Prior to joining CFSJ, Erik served in a variety of roles with multiple national program offices of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Most recently, he helped launch Forward Promise, a national program office established to promote the health and well-being of boys and young men of color. Based out of the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, Erik developed and implemented the program’s grantmaking and technical assistance strategies. Before that, he managed research and evaluation initiatives of RWJF’s statewide grantmaking program, New Jersey Health Initiatives (NJHI). In addition to studying the feasibility and impact of NJHI’s field building efforts, he worked closely with their youth-focused and capacity building programs as well.

Erik’s introduction to philanthropy came by way of National Urban Fellows, a rigorous leadership development and graduate degree program in which he earned a Master of Public Administration from Bernard M. Baruch College in New York, while completing a nine-month fellowship with RWJF. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Affairs – Community Development at Rutgers University at Camden.

Michelle is currently executive director of Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development, a community-based nonprofit committed to preserving, promoting, and protecting the unique assets of rural western Iowa. She has worked in the nonprofit sector for more than 30 years and enjoys helping local people dream big and put those ideas into action. A native Iowan, Michelle brought her Pittsburgh-born husband back to her home state where they have raised their two children near Hastings, Iowa (population 110 plus the occasional roaming chicken). She is a graduate of the University of Iowa and holds a Masters from the University of Cincinnati. On a summer night, you'll probably find her enjoying a glass of wine while watching lightening bugs sparkle in the soybean fields.

Holly Furr works for the Lancaster County (SC) Sheriff’s Office serving as Project Coordinator of a federal grant dealing with the local opioid crisis. Holly is an elder at First Presbyterian Church in Lancaster. She is currently chair of the Lancaster County Community Foundation. She is Past-President for the Lancaster Breakfast Rotary Club. She has been trained and participated as a small group leader for Montreat Youth Conferences. She is a past trainer for the FAST (Families and Schools Together) program. Holly has spent over 20 years working in the not-for-profit arena. She is a 2012 Hull Fellow with the Southeastern Council of Foundations. Holly is past chair of the South Carolina Grantmakers Network, a state-wide organization of foundations and philanthropic organizations. She has a certificate in Nonprofit Management from Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC. A native of Lancaster, Holly holds a BA degree in Psychology from Columbia College in Columbia, SC.

Ann Glave is the Executive Director for Fredericksburg VA Main Street Inc. Ann’s career path has taken her into many directions. She held her broker’s license in Massachusetts where she worked with Century 21 and Re/ Max over 10+ year as a residential realtor. Her love for retail and family brought her to Virginia in 2000 where she ran a successful handcrafted jewelry and craft store for over 5 years in Fredericksburg. Prior to Fredericksburg VA Main Street, her involvement was with an arts and cultural nonprofit organization located in Montpelier VA as their Executive Director. In 2015, she was recognized at the Art Advocate of the Year for Central Region of Virginia Art Educators for her work with the Hanover County Public Schools system and The Montpelier Center for Arts & Education for the Growing with the Arts project, that partnered with the National Endowment for the Arts. She holds an MBA from VCU in Business Administration, along with an undergraduate degree in Business from VA Tech and 2 nonprofit certificates from University of Richmond. Her career path gives her insight to various stakeholders as in the property owners, business owners, and residents of downtown main street district.

Lois is a proud New Jersey native with a passion for community and making the world more beautiful. She has had the privilege of working in place-based philanthropy for over 20 years while at the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation, helping residents develop and implement neighborhood revitalization plans. She also has experience both asking for and lending money to support projects within the social sector through her prior employment at Wells Fargo, Goodwill Industries and JPMorgan/Chase. Her joys are investing in her three beautiful children, building community with others, traveling to amazing places, and Broadway musicals.

Catherine is proud to be a multi-generational Mainer who has worked hard to remain in the state that she loves. After a leave of absence for education and work, Catherine moved back to Maine in 2009. Catherine served as the project coordinator for the Mahoousc Heart & Soul project from 2016-2019. This Community Heart & Soul was named after the Mahoosuc Mountain range which borders the landscape of this four town region in Western Maine. In addition to beginning a new role as a Community Heart & Soul Coach, for the state of Maine, she continues in a stewardship role for the Mahoosucs by volunteering in community groups and serving on the board of the Age Friendly Community Initiative. She founded a consulting company in 2021, CEI Consultants to focus on rural community building in Maine and Northern New Hampshire. She has a bachelor of arts in planning and policy from the University of Maine Farmington, a certification in Nonprofit Management, and a member of the 3rd Cohort of the Community Practitioner's Network with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation in Northern New Hampshire. She lives in Bethel with her adventure dog Moxie.

Douglas Jackson provides facilitation, technical assistance, and strategic support to community partners of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Doug served as an officer in the US Navy and holds degrees in Duke (economics); UC Irvine (urban and regional planning); and Hollins (creative writing). During an 11-year stint on the Roanoke Arts Commission, he co-chaired the development of Roanoke’s Arts and Cultural element of the comprehensive plan. A self-proclaimed book nerd, he’s now exploring the Roanoke Valley’s literary scene through the strategic blog BOOK CITY Roanoke.

Jane is owner and proprietor of JB Lafleur Consultants which was formed in 2016 after 30+ years in the public, private and non-profit sectors in Maine and northern New England. JB Lafleur Consultants provides community development, planning, citizen engagement and civic leadership training and educational programs throughout Maine and the US. Her work includes community facilitation, town planning, walkability and place-making training and audits and other community assessments, as well as coaching Community Heart & Soul teams through the two-year community development process. Her firm also designs and manages The Community Institute, a training program for community leaders, decision makers and volunteers. Lafleur has worked with communities, community organizations and the public as a facilitator, teacher, coach and leader. She has received the Professional Planner of the Year Award from both the Maine Association of Planners and the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association, as well as other honors. She lives in Camden, Maine with her husband Joel.

Jim lives in the city of Forest Acres, a town of just over 10,000 residents located in the Midlands area of South Carolina. He and his wife, Sandra C. Manning, Ph.D., have two adult sons -- Jim, who lives with his wife Amanda in New York City, and Luke, who resides in Columbia. Jim retired after his first career as a social worker and administrator in S.C. state government. He then worked with the non-profit organization Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services for more than 10 years. Now in his third career, he is an enterpriser who created an eclectic consulting business, Gray Hair Solutions LLC, where he offers conundrum alleviation. Jim has been an Adjunct College Professor for nearly three decades and was elected for three terms to the Richland County Council, from which he stepped aside in 2020. In late 2017, Jim connected as a coach with Community Heart & Soul. Utilizing his master’s degrees in Public Administration and Social Work and decades of multifaceted professional experiences, Jim approaches every opportunity with passion and eagerness. Jim also does historic preservation through adaptive reuse and Main Street work, along with statewide advocacy for anti-human trafficking initiatives. Finally, he creates personal well-being by long-distance running, humoring their Cockapoo puppy (Gigi Camaro), attending his church, sightseeing, and pondering.

Steve Mason is the Vice President and COO of Northeast Kingdom Tamarack, Inc. and its subsidiary /d/b/a/ NEKTI Consulting. In that capacity, Steve provides an extensive background of executive and special project leadership, community & business development, and human resource management; he brings research, writing skills and technical support to a variety of projects. Steve has over 30 years experience in international relations, special education, legal research, non-profit management, sports training and management, human resources, corporate communications and development and non-profit governance. Currently he works closely with a broad range of business and community leaders in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and beyond. As a volunteer, Steve shares his expertise and skills as a board member with a select group of local and state-wide organizations that include Orleans County Restorative Justice and a Trustee of the Goodrich Memorial Library in Newport, VT. He also serves as Chair of the School Board for the Lowell Graded School (15 years), and is the chair of the North Country Union Supervisory School (6 years). Steve is also the Chair of the Board at PSI Family Services, Inc. in Washington, DC where he worked for 16 years. After spending 10 years working for Special Olympics in Washington, DC. Steve received his Bachelor’s degree from St. Michael’s College where he majored in political science and minored in English. He received his Master’s degree and completed his doctoral coursework in International Relations at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Steve’s career has been full of change and is best described as eclectic; it is a combination of experience in higher education, research, sports management, entrepreneurship, and advocacy. He remains through it all primarily a student of human nature. In 2004 he returned to his beloved Northeast Kingdom of Vermont after 30 years in Washington, DC to be close to his father and the woods, fields and streams of his youth.

Kyle is a market-driven and client-focused urban planner with over 10 years of experience in project management, community development, and commercial revitalization. He enjoys leading responsible and energetic planning teams and working with community allies to catalyze downtown revitalization. Currently, he manages Virginia Main Street (VMS), a program of advanced, asset-based, commercial district economic development housed in the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. Through VMS he provides downtown and neighborhood commercial revitalization technical assistance and resources to designated Virginia Main Street communities and affiliates, CDBG grantees and to any other organizations, city, town or county governments across the state. He received his undergraduate degree from James Madison University and his graduate degree in urban and regional planning from Virginia Commonwealth University. Kyle grew up in the Richmond region, has an avid taste for music and art, and enjoys outdoor, recreational pursuits and adventure travel.

Ian enjoys working within his community as a soccer coach and serves as President of the township youth soccer association. He is the past chair of the Parent/Community Advisory Board of his local Family Success Center and is currently a member of the Winslow Board of Education Citizens Advisory Committee. His background is in higher education student support and administration in the United Kingdom, but since moving to New Jersey he has moved into information technology and website development. This has developed a wide range of people focused skills, complemented by technical knowledge, that have proved useful when assisting community led projects. When not coaching or playing soccer Ian enjoys finding other reasons to be outside.

Tripp is principal at Arnett Muldrow & Associates in Greenville, SC. A native of Greenville; Tripp graduated from Clemson University with a Masters in City and Regional Planning. He began his career with the Greenville City Economic Development Department where he worked on downtown and commercial revitalization. After leaving the city, Tripp spent several years consulting with other firms. In 2002, Tripp and his business partners started their own firm concentrating on Planning, Image Building, and Economic Development for small and medium sized communities. The firm has evolved a specialty niche in downtown economic development and community branding and has completed projects in over 450 communities in 37 states. Tripp is a Fellow in the American Institute of Certified Planners, Past President of the SC Chapter of APA, was Faculty at the SC Mayor’s Institute for Community Design, and served on the board of the SC Main Street program. Tripp is active in Greenville having served as the on City Planning Commission, the Leadership Greenville Board of Regents, on the boards of the Historic Greenville Foundation, the Greenville Housing Authority, and Friends of the Reedy River.

Jason is the Heart & Soul Coordinator at the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque (CFGD). He works with rural communities in the CFGD seven-county region to provide coaching, technical assistance, and planning support for Community Heart & Soul projects. Originally from Dubuque, Neises has spent most of his career in adult education and working with non-profits, including Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Chicago Architecture Foundation, and the Peace Corps. He volunteers in the community with the Dubuque County Historic Preservation Commission, Cub Scouts, Dubuque Museum of Art, the Dubuque Winter Farmers’ Market, and the Thomas Determan Global Perspectives Endowment. Neises has an education degree from the University of Northern Iowa. He lives on a small farm north of Dubuque with his wife and two boys.

Jenny serves as Manager of Community Development with Georgia Electric Membership Corporation, which is the statewide trade association for Georgia’s 41 electric membership cooperatives (co-ops). Robbins is an experienced facilitator who specializes in helping communities successfully prepare to grow their local economies through leadership development and strategic planning. Robbins has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Communications from Valdosta State University. She gained local experience as a Main Street Manager for the City of Homerville and with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension as a Family and Consumer Science Agent and an Energy Educator. Robbins is a current member of the Georgia Economic Developers Association, the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, Georgia Downtown Association, and the National Rural Economic Developers Association. She and her husband Len reside in Homerville, Georgia (population 2,450) with their three children, two cats, and one dog.

Kirsten Sackett is a professional City Planner with 13 years of experience working in municipal government, and is currently serving as Community Development Director for Ellensburg, WA. Prior to that she worked for the City of Cortez, Colorado for nine years. She has overseen the creation of new Comprehensive Plans for each community, and has worked extensively on drafting code amendments to bring land use regulations into sync with identified community values. She is a successful grant writer, a trained facilitator, and enjoys both current and long range planning. While in Colorado she served four years as a member of a local food task force, and seven years as a board member of a non-profit housing organization. She has a B.A. in English, with graduate work in the field of political science and public policy. In her spare time, she loves reading novels from the likes of Austen and Bronte, or going on camping excursions with her husband Joe and three children, Christian, McKenzie and Madeline.

Trish is recognized internationally for her skills in coalition building, networking for opportunities with tenacious follow-up for impact, community outreach, and advocacy. She has a proven track record of working in challenging environments with facility and bringing diverse groups together in project development and advancing results for positive impact. Located in Lowell, VT, Sears is co-founder of NEKTI Consulting, a strategic communications firm providing government and community-relations expertise to growing businesses, organizations and communities. For seven years she served as the founding executive director of the award-winning Newport City Renaissance Corporation, Newport VT’s downtown organization. Currently, Sears serves as Vermont’s Governor-appointee representing Smart Growth to the Vermont Downtown Development Board, and has served on the board of directors for a variety of nonprofits. For five years, Sears and her business and life partner, Steve Mason, have hosted the #BarnPitch site of the annual #RoadPitch, Vermont’s premier business pitch event with motorcycle riding influential business experts and investors. (She rides two-up with Steve.)

Jeff has assisted hundreds of communities with their revitalization, economic sustainability, and community development over the course of his career. Utilizing a background in urban planning, downtown district management, revitalization, real estate, economics and organizational development, his diverse background and expertise lends a unique vantage point for addressing community concerns. What Jeff lacks in patience and eloquence, he makes up for in passion and honesty. He believes revitalizing communities is the most important work we can do. Revitalization has the power to transform people’s lives by fostering a stronger sense of community. Revitalization enhances quality of life, it provides people with more enriching experiences, and Jeff has dedicated himself to killing apathy- one town at a time. When Jeff is not agitating benevolent community volunteers, he dedicates his agitation efforts at his lovely wife Amber and their four occasionally obedient children.

Danielle is a native to Ohio and loves all parts of her home state, especially rural downtowns. She has a passion for historic preservation and learned to write municipal and other grants to support preservation of historic commercial structures. She lives in Toledo with her husband, son and two feline fur-babies but can be found anywhere between Lake Erie and the Ohio River on any given week day. She works with dozens of communities throughout Ohio and northern Kentucky doing whatever it takes to make projects happen: planning, consensus building, funding, phasing, and finding whatever other resources are necessary to make dreams real.

Brian serves as the President & CEO of the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation in Findlay, OH. Prior to this role, he was a Program Director where part of his responsibilities included facilitating the Heart & Soul process in Hancock County. He coached McComb and Mt. Blanchard in the Heart & Soul process. Prior to his coming to the Foundation, he served as Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life at The University of Findlay, where he still serves as an adjunct faculty member in the College of Education. Brian has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from UF. In 2010, he earned his doctorate in education, with a focus in organizational leadership, from Northcentral University. He also has training in Nonviolent Crisis Intervention and is a trained weather spotter through the National Weather Service. In the community, Brian serves on the boards of the Center for Civic Engagement, Hancock County Credit Union, is on the University of Findlay Alumni Board of Governors, and the UF College of Education Dean’s Advisory Board.

Alice is a Penn State University graduate and a registered landscape architect. She has worked in land development, recreation and rivers conservation planning, and now provides technical assistance to river towns for re-visioning their relationship with the river through the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership (SGP). She is the project director for Heart of Williamsport– a Heart and Soul project collaboration with SGP, the City of Williamsport, the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Orton Family Foundation and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. She resides in Loyalsock Township (Pennsylvania) with her husband Rich, son Curtis, Gracie (dog) and Manny (cat). Alice enjoys assisting with Odyssey of the Mind, cooking, gardening, camping and hiking.

A New Jersey native, with time in Ohio before moving to Wisconsin, Darrin has spent his professional career building great places for all. He thought his path lie in historic preservation, but an internship with the German Village Society in Columbus, OH, helped him to understand that saving old buildings was a means to creating authentic places and building community. His time in this historic neighborhood just south of downtown, allowed him to experience the power of inter-generational community and shaped his future work. Darrin continued to hone his craft in Orrville, OH through downtown development, nonprofit leadership, and entrepreneurship (he and his wife, Stephanie, opened a natural pet market) and most recently with Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s Wisconsin Main Street communities before joining AARP-WI.

Darrin holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from The Ohio State University and a Masters of Business Administration from Kent State University. He shares a house in Madison with his wife, three kids (Ashton, Cora, and Grayson), four dogs (Moose, Lola, Panda Bear, and Louis) and two chickens (Porsche and Mercedes).

Ira Weissman is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with 40+ years of experience in project\program management, quality and training. He has 20+ years of experience in high-level volunteer positions. He has also been a volunteer coordinator for a non-profit agency. Ira combined his Lean Six Sigma knowledge and his passion for non-profits by writing the chapter “Operational Excellence in Non-Profits” for the book Driving Operation Excellence.

Ira’s background includes being: • The first college student board member of the Jewish Federation of Worcester, MA • The Curator-Director of the Air Victory Museum • A member of the Tuskegee Airmen's strategic planning committee • A board member of the Non-Profit Development Center of Southern NJ (NPDCSNJ) • A member of the Diocese of Camden’s Community Relations Advisory Board • Co-Founder/Chairperson of the Camden Youth Aviation Program (CYAP)

Ira and CYAP were recognized with the NJ Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and Camden City’s Department of Human Resources for the 2018 Best Non-Profit Collaboration by the NPDCSNJ for forming the Camden Cadet Squadron of CAP. Ira and CYAP worked with the FAA and Hopeworks-N’-Camden to create Hopeworks’ drone training program. Ira’s firm Idea Innovations, LLC helps businesses, government agencies and non-profits become more effective, efficient and successful.