Our Staff

Contact Dave for key leadership opportunities that will expand our work to serve the sector, new partnership or resource development opportunities, or if you have questions or thoughts about Forum strategy and future directions.

David Biemesderfer is a President and CEO of United Philanthropy Forum, a role he began in January 2016. Since starting at the Forum, David has led the organization through a period of notable growth and transformation. He was named to the "2018 NPT Power & Influence Top 50" list by The NonProfit Times.

David is a seasoned executive with more than 25 years of experience in the philanthropic sector and deep expertise in communications, public policy, research and association management. Prior to his role at the Forum, David served as President and CEO of Florida Philanthropic Network (FPN), a statewide network of philanthropic organizations working to strengthen and grow philanthropy in Florida. He joined FPN in 2009 as Vice President and served as FPN’s President & CEO starting in June 2010. Under David’s leadership, FPN’s membership grew sevenfold, its budget grew fourfold and its statewide presence increased significantly. He served on the Forum’s Board of Directors for six years.

David’s past experience also includes working for 10 years at the Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF). He left MCF in 2004 as its Vice President of Communications and Information Services. David has also served as a consultant for a variety of foundations and other philanthropic clients in the areas of communications, public policy and accountability.

David has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Gustavus Adolphus College and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Minnesota.

Contact Ivana for assistance with any scheduling requests for our President or with any matters related to the Forum’s general office operations, membership services and benefits, and annual Forum research. She is also a good initial point of contact for general inquiries or if you aren’t sure who to contact on the Forum team to address your particular question or need.

Ivana Bikombe joined the United Philanthropy Forum in April 2019 as the Administrative Associate. Prior to this role, she served as the Executive Assistant for the Boston-based nonprofit organization Smart from the Start where she managed the daily administrative operations. Ivana graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Boston University. During her time at BU, she interned at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General.

Contact Matthew about inquiries and opportunities regarding federal or state public policy, advocacy, and government relations for philanthropy, as well as the Forum’s Foundations on the Hill event and the Philanthropy + Policy Institute for Philanthropy capacity-building initiative. You can also contact Matthew about the Forum's Public Policy Peer Community and the Forum's ongoing efforts to bring a racial equity lens to our policy work.

Matthew L. Evans is the Forum’s Director of Public Policy. Matthew brings to the Forum more than 14 years of public policy, government relations, and external affairs experience. Before joining the Forum he was Director of Public Policy & Special Projects for the Southeastern Council on Foundations in Atlanta, where he worked to ensure the legislative and regulatory success of the philanthropic sector in the South. Prior to that, he worked as Senior Manager of Government Relations for SmithBucklin in Washington, D.C., where he directed the legislative and regulatory affairs efforts of multiple clients from a diverse group of industry sectors.

Most of Matthew's professional career has been shaped in Washington, D.C., having held multiple positions that gave him direct experience in working with elected officials, corporations, and associations, leading advocacy efforts for several national organizations. He currently serves as the staff lead for the Forum Public Policy Committee and is a member of the Nonprofit VOTE National Leadership Council. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Tennessee State University, an HBCU in Nashville, Tennessee.

Contact Brandon about the philanthropy field calendar, and coordinating the distribution of content in the Forum’s communications channels.

Brandon joined the Forum in June 2018 as a Newman's Own Foundation Fellow and joined the Forum staff as Communications & Program Associate in June 2019. Throughout his time at Sewanee: The University of the South, Brandon took on multiple leadership roles and internship positions that focused on advocating sustainable change with social issues such as equity, diversity, and inclusion. He served as president of the Student Government and previously served as president of the African American Alliance. He received a Posse Foundation Full-Tuition Leadership Merit Scholarship for 2014-2018. Brandon’s work as an undergraduate student sparked his interest in gaining a better understanding of how philanthropic serving organizations develop and operate. Brandon has attained his BA in psychology and earned his creative writing certificate.

Contact Colette with support requests related to the collective technology platform, new Knowledge Management Collaborative partner onboarding and available support resources for the Drupal-Salesforce platform.

Colette joins the United Philanthropy Forum as Associate of Knowledge Services. She arrives at the Forum after working in the philanthropic sector for over a decade in Colorado. Colette managed all things programs, operations and communications at Philanthropy Colorado as Program and Member Services Manager, including the implementation and management of the organization’s Drupal-Salesforce platform. She then joined Rose Community Foundation as Communications Manager, developing key strategic initiatives across the foundation. She was also an active member of several peer learning networks, including Colorado Funders for Inclusiveness and Equity. 

Prior to her career in the philanthropic sector, Colette worked in wealth management after receiving her B.S. Finance from the University of Denver. She then returned to University of Denver to earn her M.A. International Human Rights and worked for nonprofits in both India and Haiti. Overall, Colette has a passion for helping organizations increase their capacity and streamline systems, all while using a social justice lens.

Contact Courtney for general information about Forum membership and services, program logistics, member surveys, and onboarding for new staff.

Courtney Moore joined the Forum in 2006 as an intern and currently serves as Director of Member Services. Over her more than 13 years with the Forum, Courtney’s role has expanded to include onboarding new members, website and newsletter content, Salesforce management and training, and program and conference logistics. Courtney has a BA from American University.

Contact Brooke with support requests related to the collective technology platform, new Knowledge Management Collaborative partner onboarding and available support resources for the Drupal-Salesforce platform.

Brooke joins the Forum as the Senior Associate of Knowledge Services. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Providence College, where she graduated Cum Laude. As a full-time student Brooke was an American Savings Foundation Robert T. Kenney Scholar and initiated her nonprofit career with program, development, and communications internships at Gifts of Love, the Providence Children’s Museum, and Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island respectively.

Brooke continued her philanthropic career with the Giving in Connecticut annual report (IRS Statistics of Income data) and the Get on the Map campaign during her tenure with the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy. She moved to Denver in 2016 and engaged Philanthropy Colorado’s members at myriad programs including the C(3) Forum and Powering Partnerships Luncheon.

Most recently Brooke spent three years pursuing Colorado Public Radio’s aggressive fundraising communications goals specifically for #GivingTuesday and Calendar Year-End campaigns.

Contact Leslie with questions regarding media relations and the coordination and distribution of content on Forum communications channels, including our website, newsletter, and social media.

Before coming to the Forum, Leslie served as the Copy Editor and Weekend Editor for the digital media outlet Blavity News. Among her many previous communications roles, she was the Assistant Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Baton Rouge Community College, the Public Relations Consultant for Build Baton Rouge, and Editor-In-Chief for two sister GateHouse Media publications in Louisiana. Leslie has worked extensively as a journalist for community, city, and national publications throughout her two-decade career. She has also managed communications for arts-based and youth development organizations, among countless independent projects. Overall, Leslie has a passion for streamlining procedures, writing the critical stories that need to be read, and being hands-on with her community.  

Leslie also has performing arts experience and has competed in several national poetry slams. Her creative writing and performances have been published and featured on Passages North, Indiefeed, All Def Poetry, and midnight & indigo. She has four research papers published in The St. James Encyclopedia of Hip Hop Culture, 1st Edition (2018, Gale/St. James Press). She is also the author of the full-length journalism-inspired book of poetry, The Newsroom. Leslie is a proud HBCU graduate who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mass communication with a minor in creative writing from Xavier University of Louisiana.

Contact Val with questions about the Forum's Knowledge Management Collaborative, knowledge services programs, vendor partnerships, membership databases, and any issues relating to technology, integrations, and/or electronic communications.

Val Rozansky is Vice President of Knowledge Services at United Philanthropy Forum with over 15 years of experience in the organization. Val leads the efforts to develop, maintain, and expand an interactive technology platform built on integrated Salesforce and Drupal solutions that leverages intellectual assets of the Forum and advances its knowledge sharing efforts.

Most recently, Val served as the Senior Managing Director of Tong Bert Communications, a specialized knowledge products and training firm. Previously, he was with Microsoft Corporation as market development strategist for .NET and bCentral teams in the EMEA markets. Prior positions include knowledge management consulting for the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank.

Val received his BA, magna cum laude with High Honors from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Masters in Strategic Technology Management from CERAM School of Business (France) and University of Stirling (UK).

Contact Traci for Forum’s member education and networking opportunities, including the Forum’s Annual Conference, Peer Communities, webinars and other education programs. You can also contact Traci regarding the Forum's ongoing work to embed and advance racial equity through both external programming and resources for members and internal learning for staff.

Traci Slater-Rigaud is the Director of Member Engagement & Partnerships at the United Philanthropy Forum. Prior to coming to the Forum, Traci served as the Director of the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards with the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities for over 12 years, most recently under the Obama administration. She is the former Program Coordinator for Arts in Education with the National PTA where she managed the Reflections Program. Before the National PTA, Traci was the Curator of Education at Miami Art Museum. Her background also includes the role of Public Programs Manager at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Traci also remains connected to her first love, arts education, through her work with the Lewis Prize for Music. She currently serves on the board for the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (SEEC) as well as a member of the Arts & Advocacy Curatorial Committee for the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE).

At the core of every endeavor throughout her career is catalyzing racial equity and social justice through the arts and philanthropy. Traci holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Science and a Masters of Arts in Art Education, both from the University of Cincinnati.

Contact Kim with questions and support queries related to the collective technology platform, Managed Solution agreements, custom development, reporting, and integrated/streamlined mass mailing and surveying tools.

Most recently, Kim served as the director of operations at the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers, a philanthropy-serving organization for the state of Maryland. During her 11-year tenure she was responsible for designing and managing the internal processes that supported the engagement of a diverse network of philanthropies, stakeholders and partners across Maryland. She led the development, implementation and management of the Association’s Drupal-Salesforce platform and worked closely with the entire team to design and support all direct member engagement efforts. Additionally, she served on the Forum’s Knowledge Management Collaborative’s Advisory Group, Salesforce Working Group and presented at Dreamforce in 2013 and is a Certified Salesforce Administrator.

She graduated from Wheaton College in Norton, MA with a B.A. in Political Science and Women’s Studies and holds a M.S. in Women’s Studies from Towson University. She joined the Forum team in October 2018.