Apra Greater Houston Annual Conference
Thursday, May 23rd, 2019
United Way of Houston Community Resource Center
50 Waugh Dr, Houston, TX 77007
Featuring speakers specializing in prospect research, volunteer development, data visualization and more!
Thank you to our sponsors
Tentative Conference Agenda
8:15 – 8:45: Registration, Light Breakfast, and Networking
8:45 – 9:00: Welcome Remarks
9:00 – 9:45: The Board Game – Mike Pede, Associate Vice President, University of Houston Alumni Association
This session will be a discussion on Board member dynamics and how to ensure a diverse board for your organization
9:45 – 10:00: Break
10:00 – 10:45: Data Analytics and Business Intelligence – Mark Walcott, Executive Director, Advancement Information Systems, Reporting, and Analytics, University of Houston
This session is designed for the management-level advancement services professional who wants to have a deeper understanding of data analytics and business intelligence.
10:45 – 11:00: Break
11:00 – 11:45: Match the Hatch-Making the Most of Your Research Time, Elizabeth C. Hickman, Vice President, Thompson & Associates
This session will provide an overview of the various vehicle’s donors can use for their giving and clarify the differences in these vehicles. We will also discuss research considerations for effectively identifying appropriate foundations or individuals whose interests and funding matches your organization's mission.
11:45 – 1:00: Lunch (included with registration)
Informal lunch round table with table topics, board members and conference speakers
1:00 – 2:30: A Public Struggle with Private Companies, Roslyn P. Clarke, Director of Prospect Research Services, Bentz Whaley Flessner
Struggle with private company valuations? Trouble finding credible sources for revenue, sales and profit? Have that occasional crisis of confidence when delivering actionable results? Welcome to this session! In this interactive workshop, take a deep dive into private companies, walking through high-level concepts to the nittty gritty of estimating private company value, using a few choose-your-own adventure case studies. We will explore how this unique asset affects prospect strategies and working with gift officers on aspirational and realistic approaches. Attendees will learn where to find reliable information, what it means, how to use it, and how to best present the results.
2:30 – 2:45: Closing Remarks
2:45 – 3:30: Business Card Blitz
Networking opportunity that will combine opportunities of meeting colleagues and discussing topics relevant to prospect development.
Speaker Biographies:
Roslyn P. Clarke is the director of prospect research services, on the BWF Insight team. She manages all outsourced research projects, leads a team of researchers, conducts trainings, and provides prospect research counsel.
Before joining BWF Insight, Roslyn served as director of prospect research at Morehouse College and assistant director at Harvard University, where she was responsible for education and training for development research and specialized in the financial industry. At Harvard, Roslyn also lead research efforts for the principal gifts team and New York fundraising region while working to educate gift officers on wealth and philanthropic trends. Prior to Harvard, Roslyn worked at Brown University and Hebrew SeniorLife.
Roslyn is a seasoned conference speaker, frequent conference faculty member, and has conducted countless prospect research bootcamps. Over the years, she has presented for Apra, CASE, NEDRA, and AFP.
Elizabeth C. Hickman is the vice president at Thompson & Associates. Elizabeth has over 35 years in the financial services world. She brings significant trust and wealth management experience to the team. Her knowledge of family and estate-planning issues, wealth preservation and wealth transfer, added to her expertise in private foundations, charitable trusts and the needs of the nonprofit sector, enhance the team’s abilities to meet the needs of its clients.
Active in the charitable community, Elizabeth has served on the boards of both local and national organizations, while serving on numerous professional advisors boards for Houston nonprofits.
She has taught at the Advanced Trust School of the Texas Bankers Association on subjects relating to charitable trusts and private foundations. She earned the Five Star Wealth Manager designation for seven consecutive years.
Elizabeth is a proud sixth generation Texan. She is married for over 20 years to Greg and currently lives in Houston. They are active in their church, where they have both served in various leadership positions. They enjoy using their gifts of hospitality with family, friends and strangers. They love to read, travel and are passionate about encouraging others to live generous lives.
Mike Pede, AVP for Alumni Relations at UH, enters his 10th year in service to UHAA. A 1989 graduate of UH’s Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Mike and his wife, fellow UH graduate Melanie Stinson Pede (’91), are UHAA Life Members and the proud parents of daughters Kelsey (’17) and Krista (Class of ‘21) . Mike has served or currently serves on advisory boards for Bank of America and Liberty Mutual alumni affinity programs, and Council of Alumni Association Executives. He also has served CASE as Chair of the 2017 CASE IV Conference and as Programming Chair for the 2014 Conference in Houston. Also a member of the global CASE Commission on Alumni Relations. Mike also serves on committees at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Greater Houston Basketball Committee and the Texas Bowl. He is in his third term as Chair of the American Athletic Conference Alumni Council and is a past board member of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators. Following graduation Mike served in several capacities at UH Athletics from 1989-1993, before serving 13 years as Assistant and Associate AD for Rice University. Beginning in 2006, Mike was in private business for three years and also extended his resume as VP of North American Music for LiveNation in Houston. Now Associate VP for Alumni Relations at UH, Mike has been leading UH alumni relations programs since rejoining his alma mater in 2010 with UHAA. In whatever time is left, he enjoys spending quality time with his family, golf and travel.
Mark Walcott is the Executive Director, Advancement Information Systems, Reporting, and Analytics at the University of Houston. Mark has over 9 years of experience in advancement services where he has transformed various aspects of Illinois State University, University of Houston, and University of California, Davis. His vision for the profession is to continue to find innovative ways to enhance the relationship between an organization and its donors, constituents, and friends.
Mark also serves on the board of directors for AASP.
