Meet The Team
Peter Heller
Founder
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With over more than 30 years in the nonprofit world, Peter is a nationally recognized thought leader who has raised millions of dollars for many organizations through capital campaigns, other fundraising initiatives, and strengthening their strategic thinking.
Since 2004 the Heller Fundraising Group’s consulting success has been a product of his extensive experience as a development staff member prior to launching his own firm, and his vast knowledge of capital campaigns and individual donor cultivation and his understanding of the client’s needs not only from the outside looking in, but vice versa. Utilizing these skills he has recruited a stellar team to support nonprofits.
In addition to founding the Heller Group, Peter loves sharing what he knows through webinars and training programs, and has taught at Candid (The Foundation Center) and in Columbia’s Fundraising Management Graduate Program.
For the 10 years prior to beginning his consulting business (1994-2004), Peter raised millions of dollars as a fundraiser and administrator for Columbia University, and became the Director of Development for Columbia’s Engineering School. In securing support for University funding priorities, he worked closely with the Engineering School’s Dean and other University administrators, raising significant dollars through his personal efforts, and dramatically moving forward the School’s organizational strength. Peter also traveled extensively in the US and Asia to cultivate the support of potential donors.
Before his years at Columbia, Peter held development positions at several world-class universities during their campaigns including UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco (Associate Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations) and the American Friends of Tel Aviv University (Director of Corporations and Foundations). He started his career with a brief stint at his alma mater, College of the Atlantic (ME).
Peter spent 10 years producing films including project oversight, script development, and raising funds. His credits include the documentaries Vanishing of the Bees and Big Men. Before his nonprofit career, Peter ran his own vegetarian cooking and catering business in New York.
Peter attended Wesleyan University (CT) and College of the Atlantic, receiving a B.A. in Human Ecology from the latter in 1985.Peter serves on the board of the Sant Bani School, a K-8 independent school in Sanbornton, NH.
You can read Peter’s fundraising blogs here.
Katherine Jaeger-Thomas
CEO
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Kate Jaeger-Thomas was named the Heller Fundraising Group’s first Chief Executive Officer in May of 2026, after serving as Consulting Services Director for over three years. She has spent her 20+ year career helping organizations grow stronger so they continue to positively impact their communities for years to come.
Kate’s career in fundraising began in 2003 in hopes of building a sustainable future for her fledgling theatre company, Ripple Productions. The company relocated to Seattle, WA in 2006, and is expanding into its future home in downtown Pioneer Square in 2027.
Kate’s first major campaign came during her tenure as Director of Development at Signature Theatre Company in NYC. She led the $70 Million capital campaign to build its new 75,000 square foot home, the Frank Gehry-designed Pershing Square Signature Center. In addition to surpassing over 90% of its capital goal within three years, the campaign secured an additional $25 million to subsidize 1 million low cost tickets with The Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access.
Her experience at Signature sparked her passion for the transformative impact of major fundraising campaigns, laying the path that led her to the Heller Group. Since joining the team in 2023, Kate has grown the consulting team to assess and manage campaigns ranging from $5 million to $200 million+. While her career began in the arts, it has been exceptionally rewarding to expand her impact and expertise across the full breadth of the nonprofit sector, including education, faith-based institutions, and social services.
She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York University. After twenty years in New York City, Kate now lives in West Orange, NJ, with her two teenage children.
Emma Camp
Operations Manager
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Emma is the Operations Manager at Heller Fundraising Group, where she plays a central role in supporting the company’s growth and operational excellence. Emma oversees internal systems and workflows, manages relationships with key vendors, and ensures the team has the tools and support they need to deliver high-quality consulting services to nonprofit clients. Her responsibilities include contract and subcontract oversight, software and subscription management, HR coordination, and company-wide process improvement initiatives.
Emma joined Heller Fundraising Group in Fall 2016 and has held a variety of client-facing and internal support roles. Her deep knowledge of the company’s systems, values, and team dynamics informs her work as the organization enters a new phase of growth.
Emma is a proud graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts New Studio on Broadway, where she earned a BFA in musical theater/drama and a minor in producing with high academic honors. Her previous experience includes literary work with The Atlantic Theater Company, casting at Ulrich, Dawson, Kritzer Casting, production and teaching assistance at Idyllwild Arts Academy, and substitute dance instruction at NYU Tisch.
In addition to her work at Heller Group, Emma actively pursues her career in the arts, performing Off-Broadway, regionally, and on screen. You can catch her laughing at Lenny Bruce on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 2, Episode 5), or regularly onstage in NYC at the Irish Repertory Theater.
Jess Domain
Marketing Manager
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Jess holds a degree in International Relations and Public Policy from Florida International University. As Senior Project Manager of Creative Strategy at Heller Fundraising Group, she specializes in conceptualizing and implementing effective strategies. Jess's responsibilities encompass media planning, establishing brand identity, and project management. Additionally, as the company's webmaster, she oversees analytics, develops SEO-friendly content, and designs keyword strategies to optimize digital visibility and engagement.
Originally from Michigan, Jess conceived and co-chaired Alive, an annual benefit concert and auction that raises awareness about organ and tissue donation. Since its inception in 2002, the event has grown each year and continues to bring together NGOs and government organizations, including the Michigan Department of State, National Kidney Foundation, The Gift Of Life, 35 area hospitals, and various Detroit businesses.
In addition to her nonprofit work, Jess is an accomplished multidisciplinary artist. She has toured with Aretha Franklin, showcasing her musical talents. Jess has also been recognized with an ASCAPlus Songwriters Award, further establishing her credentials in the industry. Her artistic endeavors include performing in Sleep No More, a wildly popular immersive theatrical production that reimagines Shakespeare's Macbeth. Most recently, she starred Off-Broadway as the lead actor in her original play, The Culture Of Now.
Megan Hodges
Consulting Services Director
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From her early work broadening access to higher education at Princeton University to expanding opportunities for tens of thousands of low-income public school students through DREAM (formerly Harlem RBI) and Success Academy Charter Schools in New York City, Megan is motivated by the ability of individuals and organizations to translate mission and vision into measurable impact.
She has driven over $250 million in philanthropic support, built and led high-performing teams, and guided organizational expansion to new states and cities. Megan spent five years on the team providing overarching strategy and day-to-day oversight for Princeton University's $2 billion Aspire capital campaign and successfully led DREAM’s $25 million Level the Field capital campaign.
As Consulting Services Director, Megan manages client engagement as well as our exceptional team of collaborating consultants. She advises a broad range of clients on feasibility studies, capital campaigns, major gift fundraising, and strategies to drive organizational success.
Megan earned a B.S. in Media Theory and Communications from New York University. She is based in Richmond, VA, with her three dogs, enjoys cooking, and is planning her next adventure touring the gardens of the UK and hopes to learn Spanish.
Kaylana Sareen
Consulting Associate
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Kaylana is the Consulting Associate at the Heller Fundraising Group, where she provides essential support to clients and senior consultants through prospect research, data management, coordination, and standard process implementation, contributing to impactful fundraising campaigns that advance each nonprofit’s mission. She joins our team with a robust background in philanthropy and operational strategy, most recently as Project Manager, Principal Giving from 2022 to 2025 at Success Academy Charter Schools in New York City. While there, she directly supported senior leadership in raising over $100 million of a $500 million campaign through her work in donor cultivation, prospect research, database management, and high-level solicitation strategy. As part of this effort, she played a crucial role by securing donor meetings, writing detailed briefings for the CEO, and coordinating follow-up after enabling Success Academy to reach 16 high-level meetings per month.
Kaylana’s experience spans both domestic and international nonprofit sectors. In 2021-2022, while based in Nairobi, Kenya she served as Fundraising and Impact Manager for Mukuru Clean Stoves, working alongside the CEO to triple the organization’s grant revenue from $500,000 to $1.5 million and establish a foundational development infrastructure. During her time in Kenya, she also provided consulting services to early-stage startups and nonprofits across East Africa, creating strategic plans, developing data-driven processes, and writing grant proposals, to prepare these organizations for the solicitations of major funders.
She holds a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from New York University.
Emmy Torruellas
Senior Consultant
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A passionate social justice advocate and DC-area native, Emmy Torruellas has supported numerous area nonprofits in their efforts to raise awareness and funds for their work over the past 13 years. Her work spans all facets of development, including but not limited to fundraising strategy, major donor engagement, annual fund development, capital campaign leadership, and institutional funding. With leadership and fundraising experience across direct service organizations, policy hubs, and education nonprofits, Emmy is fiercely determined to ensure our community has access to the resources (and policies) that will allow everyone to achieve their goals and believes that there is nothing more important than connecting those with the desire to help with the opportunities to do so. Prior to her consulting career, Emmy was the Chief Development Officer at A Wider Circle from 2020 to 2023, where she oversaw the transition from a founder-led organization to a new leadership structure, all while building a development team from scratch and increasing major donor revenue by 40%.
From 2011 to 2020, Emmy moved up the ranks at Bread for the City, from Development Coordinator to Associate Director of Development, Individual Giving, creating their first major gifts program and helping the organization grow from a $6M operation to a $14M nonprofit with more individual donors than ever before. She was also responsible for individual donor engagement and solicitation for BFC's $22M capital campaign, securing gifts ranging from $25,000 to $1M, while also recruiting and managing the capital campaign committee. In her consulting business, she has worked with DC Fiscal Policy Institute to establish a new annual fund, helped New Endeavors by Women close a fiscal year budget gap, supported all fundraising initiatives for Free Minds Book Club, oversaw Rising for Justice's annual fundraising gala and event committee, and several others. Additionally, she supported Jewish on Campus to create their first-ever fundraising calendar and major donor engagement program for 2024.
When Emmy is not working, she loves to spend her time supporting social justice efforts in DC, checking out the local breweries, volunteering with her synagogue, and being outdoors with her husband and two sons. A passionate cook, she can also be found at her local farmers market getting inspiration for new recipes.
Tias Volker
Executive Assistant
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Tias comes to the Heller Fundraising Group with extensive experience as a personal assistant, administrative officer, researcher, and client support specialist. They are excited to be joining the team and supporting both coworkers and clients through documentation, research, scheduling, and organization.
From linguistics lab research assistant to karaoke technician to salon manager, Tias’ career has made him a jack-of-all-trades. Most recently he worked at Waking Giants as a Client Support Coordinator, overseeing day-to-day client relations and deliverables. He has also worked in a freelance capacity in website management, grant writing and research, social media management, and donor relations. Past Clients include Gwenn Gebhard Consulting, Tamed Spaces, Pilot Collective, HiTOPS, and Do Moore Good.
Tias has a passion for data and has over seven years of customer service, managerial, and administrative experience at nonprofits and for-profits across the US. Outside of work, Tias enjoys reading with his partner, watching reality tv, and exploring the park near his house. He is a cat stepdad to two beautiful boys.
Dan Baker
Collaborating Consultant
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Dan Baker's career in advancement, spanning four decades, has focused on major gifts, donor and trustee relations, and management.
As a consultant, Dan integrates a unique blend of strategic planning along with practical skills and creative problem-solving techniques. He believes that excellence in the not-for-profit sector can be found at the intersection of mission, integrity, and performance. To Dan that means that those of us who serve the public good must keep the higher calling of our organizations always in focus; adhere to the highest ethical standards; and do our jobs to the very best of our ability.
At Columbia for more than a decade, Dan was focused on engagement with the University’s top donors. He established the University's donor relations and stewardship program. Before Columbia, Dan was CEO of the Jewish Center for Community Services in Bridgeport, CT. Prior to that, he was executive director of the supporting foundation of the Jewish Home for the Elderly of Fairfield County. A Boston native, Dan graduated from Columbia where he began his career. He returned to Boston to direct the development program of the Boston Ballet and subsequently served at senior levels at two Boston teaching hospitals.
Leslie Brand
Collaborating Consultant
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Leslie is a nonprofit fundraiser and facilitator working to build a more just world. As a consultant, she partners with nonprofit organizations to build sustainable development programs grounded in values of equity and justice. Her background spans across development functions, including capital campaigns, major donor strategy, event planning, grant writing, and development operations.
Over 15 years in nonprofit development, Leslie has supported organizations working both in community and on a national scale. From 2016-2022, she managed the ACLU’s Centennial Campaign, an unprecedented, nationwide fundraising effort raising $2.6 billion across the national office and 54 state affiliates. With an emphasis on building capacity, she worked with a cross-functional team to design the ACLU’s “nationwide fundraising model,” developed campaign strategy to shore up fundraising capacity in the South, and spearheaded the organization’s first-ever nationwide fundraising gala. Previously, she built out The Public Theater’s development operations unit, centralizing database management, reporting, prospect research, and donor stewardship. She has worked with many organizations at moments of transformative growth, including current work with The Nature Conservancy on an audacious, $12 billion comprehensive global campaign.
With experience across all development functions, Leslie is at her best when designing new strategies from the ground up. She has helped organizations build a next generation Board pipeline, establish new endowments, implement community centric fundraising practices, and solicit their first seven-figure gifts. She is a passionate advocate for development strategy that centers equity and brings this lens to all of her consulting work.
Leslie received her MFA in Performing Arts Management from Brooklyn College and BA in Individualized Study from NYU, where she studied the role of performance as a catalyst for social change. She currently lives in Boston, but will always call New York City home.
Kim Catley
Collaborating Consultant
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Kim is a writer, editor and content strategist with more than 15 years of experience in higher education and nonprofit communications. She often uses storytelling to bring university priorities to life. She has contributed to print and digital publications for several institutions, including the University of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University, Williams College, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, the U.S. Naval Academy, and Fordham University.
Prior to her communications consulting practice, Kim was the associate director for print and digital content at VCUarts. She oversaw a team of writers and visual content producers, and implemented a content strategy and process for several key institutional publications, including development case statements, the admissions viewbook, and the annual magazine. Each involved coordination and integration with school and university leadership, faculty, and communications team members.
Before Kim worked at VCUarts, she was a senior writer in the University of Richmond communications office, where she served as the lead writer for the university’s capital campaign. She worked closely with the advancement and communications teams and university administrators to draft case statements for major campus initiatives, as well as institutional materials related to strategic planning and presidential reports.
Kim recently completed her term as president of the board of directors for the nonprofit Project Yoga Richmond. She received her bachelor’s degree in Media Arts and Design from James Madison University.
Seanna Crosley
Collaborating Consultant
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Seanna is a development consultant working with nonprofit organizations to reach their fundraising goals. Seanna has broad philanthropic and fundraising expertise with seventeen years of accomplishments working for nonprofits nationally including La Salle University (2004-2007), The Wharton School (2008-2010), The Michael J. Fox Foundation (2010 – 2013), iMentor (2013-2014), The One Love Foundation in honor of Yeardley Love (2014 – 2019) and Make-A-Wish (2019 – 2021). At these organizations, she worked in all fundraising areas including - corporate and foundation partnerships, major gifts, special events, annual fund, grassroots community fundraising, and campaigns.
In her most recent position, Seanna was the Vice President of Development for Make-A-Wish Philadelphia, Delaware and Susquehanna Valley where she successfully managed the development and marketing departments and a $4.5 million annual fundraising goal through the global pandemic.
Prior to Make-A-Wish, Seanna was a senior leader of a startup nonprofit, the One Love Foundation in honor of Yeardley Love. One Love is the lead educator of young people on the topic of healthy and unhealthy relationships. In her role, Seanna was a ground floor member of the leadership team that scaled One Love from a team of three to a team of 36 in under four years and was an integral part in scaling the organization nationally. She successfully grew the organization’s fundraising from $1M to $7M in 4 years and supported the launch of three offices across the country including San Francisco, Seattle and Baltimore.
Jen Fenwick
Collaborating Consultant
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Jen is a foundation strategist with over 20 years of experience working for nonprofit organizations. She began her career as an educator, researcher, and leader in science museums, and in 2007 shifted her focus to grant writing and fundraising. Since then, Jen raised millions of dollars annually through foundation, corporate, and government grants for organizations by which she has been employed. She has worked with hundreds of program officers, Board members, founders, and executives at grant making organizations across the United States. Jen is based in New York City.
Jen helps organizations understand the nuances and realities of foundation and grants fundraising. Beyond fundraising strategy, she also offers services in development planning, creating organizational infrastructure for fundraising programs, prospect research, staff and Board training, grant writing and budgeting, proposal process management, and funder communications.
Jen has completed successful grant fundraising projects for education, foster care social work, economic development, social science research, journalism, and public television. Her current and past clients include Uplifting Nonprofits, SAE Associates, Fostering Change for Children, the Will & Deni McIntyre Foundation, Knology, League of Young Inventors, Instrumentl, and Associated Universities, Inc. through Heller Fundraising Group.
Jen received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from William Jewell College and studied abroad at Hong Kong Baptist University. She holds a master’s degree in Science Education from the University of California, Berkeley. In addition, she completed a Certificate in Design Thinking from IDEO, and completed the Support Center for Nonprofit Management’s interim executive director training program.
Gary Friedmann
Collaborating Consultant
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Gary hired Peter Heller for his first fundraising job at College of the Atlantic 25 years ago and has been a mentor and colleague ever since. Recently, Peter and Gary have been collaborating on several consulting assignments including the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue campaign.
From 2004-2007 Gary was President of his Bangor, Maine Reform congregation, Beth El, and led two capital campaigns for their growth.
Gary has helped dozens of nonprofits raise over $60 million over the last 30 years. In addition to designing and carrying out dynamic fundraising campaigns and writing many cases for support, Gary has trained more than one thousand volunteers and professionals in the theory and practice of successful fundraising in seminars and workshops. He served as Director of Development for College of the Atlantic and Director of Operations for Maine Coast Heritage Trust. Gary lives in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Lori Kranczer
Collaborating Consultant
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As a philanthropic advisor, Lori Kranczer works with individuals to determine the best way for them to incorporate philanthropy into their lives and to maximize their potential and make a strategic impact.
Lori has over 25 years of experience advising nonprofit organizations on conceptualizing and building legacy giving programs, training volunteer leadership and staff, soliciting and closing significant planned giving arrangements, and working with donors, their families, and advisors on structuring the appropriate gifts to meet their philanthropic and financial goals.
Prior to consulting, Lori held senior planned giving roles at major New York-based nonprofits, and in each, expanded the reach and depth of the legacy programs. An experienced attorney, Lori applies her knowledge of complex giving structures to the practice. She graduated from Binghamton University and New York Law School.
Lori lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn with her husband and two children. In her spare time, she enjoys renovating her 100+ years old creaky Victorian house.
Devon Lawrence
Collaborating Consultant
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For the past ten years, Devon has been working with non-profits big and small, both domestic and international, to advance their capabilities around development operations, fundraising events, project management, and leadership. She focuses on building foundational tools for non-profits to help enhance their fundraising infrastructure and to efficiently and successfully reach their goals. Her clients have praised her ability to be well attuned to the needs, opportunities, and challenges of non-profit organizations and her reliability as a source of guidance on fundraising and organizational development.
Prior to consulting, in 2017 Devon was the Director of Development for the Lowline, leading fundraising strategy and operations for a $100MM capital campaign. From 2010 to 2017, Devon held strategic roles at two of the most formidable fundraising institutions in New York City: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Robin Hood Foundation. At The Met, she led the planning and fundraising for high-end capital campaign events for the Southwest Wing Project, a multi-year $600MM effort to rebuild the contemporary art wing, and also ran the Travel with The Met program representing 30 trips, 600 travelers, and 50+ countries per year. At Robin Hood, she managed the year-end donor solicitation campaigns and increased fiscal year donation fulfillment by 15% over 3 years, ran cultivation events, and improved protocols for processing $80MM in donor funding.
Erica Levin
Collaborating Consultant
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Erica Levin is an accomplished nonprofit development leader based in Fredericksburg, VA with over 20 years of success driving fundraising growth and donor engagement in the areas of education, arts, and the Jewish community. She has held senior development roles at leading institutions including Columbia University, Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Jewish Theological Seminary.
At Columbia, Erica advanced through multiple roles to become a Major Gifts Officer and was the first development professional chosen to lead the University’s West Coast advancement efforts. In addition to her ongoing annual campaign responsibilities, Erica raised $1 million in capital gifts supporting the renovation of Hamilton Hall and the Center for the Core Curriculum at Columbia College. As Co-Director of the New York Region for the Jewish Theological Seminary, she exceeded fundraising goals for two consecutive years, working together to raise more than $8 million, a record for the NY region in 2007. Erica also facilitated and managed an overhaul of database and marketing operations, dramatically improving prospect outreach and donor conversion rates.
After relocating to Virginia in 2013, Erica became the inaugural Director of Development at the Fredericksburg SPCA. She built the organization’s first multi-faceted fundraising program, achieved 50% year-over-year growth in her first two years and eventually growing the department from one to 3 full time employees. During her tenure Erica launched several signature events that have become established fixtures on the Fredericksburg, Virginia community calendar.
Erica and her husband are actively involved in the lay leadership of Beth Sholom Temple in Fredericksburg, VA. Both have served as Board members and have held leadership roles within the Temple community. In her spare time Erica is a character actor, happily performing in local theater productions.
Erica earned her bachelor’s degree in Drama/Arts Administration from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Ross Mudrick
Collaborating Consultant
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Ross brings more than a decade of development experience to his work as a writer for nonprofit organizations, including two years as an independent consultant and nearly ten years in-house with organizations where he helped develop messaging to engage constituencies including individual donors, foundations, corporations, governments, volunteers, and voters. He has a Master’s in Public Administration from NYU Wagner, a Bachelor’s from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and hands-on fundraising experience working with organizations that build diverse communities committed to progressive values.
Organizations he has worked with include New York City Economic Development Corporation, Working Narratives, Citizen Engagement Lab, NEO Philanthropy, Coalition for Engaged Education, You Tell Me Stories, P.S. Science, Junior State of America, Seeds of Peace, Presente, Color of Change, 18 Million Rising, CoWorker.org, CultureStrike, The Peace Project, The Opportunity Agenda, The Urban Death Project, Seneca Family of Agencies, and Future Speak.
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