Bio

Lynnette Adams is a distinguished nonprofit leadership and development figure with a career spanning over 15 years that blends academic achievement with practical expertise. She offers real-world insights and fosters the development of future nonprofit leaders. Her dedication to fostering positive societal change is reflected in her teaching as she guides students through the complexities of nonprofit management with a focus on effective leadership and organizational growth.

Education

Lynnette received her B.A. in Journalism from Eastern Michigan University, her MFA in Public Relations from Wayne State University, her MBA from the University of Phoenix, and her Ph.D. in Global Leadership from Pepperdine University.

Professional Background

Lynnette has held development positions at organizations such as the Community College of Aurora Foundation and the Crisis Center. Formerly, she served as the Director of Development at Black in Marine Science (BIMS), where she bridged theory with impactful action. Currently, Lynnette is the owner of Joy Eco System, a unique fusion of the for-profit The Joy Architect and the nonprofit The Joy Lab Inc., where she serves as Chief Joy Officer. Through this work, she leads initiatives to cultivate joy-centered leadership, healing, and connection in individuals, organizations, and communities.

Motivation for Teaching

Lynnette is passionate about nonprofit storytelling and seeks to develop the next generation of successful nonprofit professionals. She is not just an educator but also a mentor, equipping students with the knowledge and skills to drive meaningful change.

Helping Students Be Successful

Lynnette places joy and well-being at the forefront of learning, recognizing their importance to academic success and leadership sustainability. She prioritizes emotionally safe learning environments and remains accessible through email, phone, and virtual Zoom sessions to provide guidance and support with empathy and grace. Her goal is to help students become compassionate, capable nonprofit leaders.

Bio

Rebecca Arno is the CEO of Prosperity Denver Fund, a sales tax-funded organization that provides funding to help Denver students on their college or career journeys after high school.

Rebecca has more than three decades of experience in the philanthropic sector, including as Vice President for Operations and Communications for The Denver Foundation, Chief Impact and Innovation Officer of the Barton Institute for Community Action, and Vice President of Communications for the Daniels Fund. She has served on numerous boards, including as chair of the Washington, D.C.-based Communications Network and of the Colorado Nonprofit Association. She is currently board chair of Lighthouse Writers Workshop, serves as a board member of the Colorado Safe Parking Initiative, and as member of the Reisher Scholarship Committee through the Denver Foundation.

Education

Rebecca earned her master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from Regis University and her bachelor’s degree in English from San Francisco State University.

Bio

Barry Baresi is the CEO of Association Ventures and an advisor/investor in two venture philanthropy firms. In these roles, he helps nonprofit organizations embrace innovation to advance their mission, social impact, and financial goals.

Barry’s teaching at DU draws from three decades of experience as a social impact entrepreneur, clinician executive, and public health policy advocate. He has extensive expertise in strategy, business model innovation, and digital transformation. In his student teaching and advising at DU, he applies this expertise to support students in gaining leadership capacity to start up and scale up sustainable social enterprises in various sectors, including healthcare innovation, community design, and inclusive education reform.

Education

Barry holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration from New York University, Wagner School of Public Service, as well as an OD in Optometry from the New England College of Optometry and a B.A. in Biology and Sociology from College of the Holy Cross and completing the Harvard Medical School Executive Education program in Digital Transformation in Health Care.

Bio

Janney Carpenter is an independent consultant with 30 years of global consulting experience in social enterprise strategy and impact management. She helps social-purpose organizations, funders, and impact investors design effective strategy, manage social impact, and strengthen financial viability, with a focus on engaging markets for sustainable change.

Education

Janney holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a B.A. from Stanford University.

Professional Background

Janney has taught graduate-level courses at DU since 2010, including at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, the Nonprofit Leadership Program at the College of Professional Studies, and the Daniels College of Business Denver MBA Program. In 2023, she received the University of Denver’s highest award for excellence in teaching, the Ruth Murray Underhill Award. Previously, she served as Faculty Director for DU’s Barton Institute Social Enterprise Fellowship program, and she spent five years as adjunct faculty at the Kellogg Graduate School of Business at Northwestern University. Her consulting work in social enterprise strategy and impact management has focused on helping social-purpose organizations learn about problems and customer needs, develop and strengthen strategy, communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders and funders, and measure and manage their impact.

Janney has worked with non-profit and for-profit social enterprises, philanthropic funders and impact investors, and public sector entities. Prior to her work as an independent consultant, she worked in development finance at ShoreBank Advisory Services and in corporate finance at JP Morgan.

Teaching Philosophy

Janney wants to share her experience with social enterprises as effective local development actors and inspire students with case studies and project-based learning opportunities that bring course content to life. Her goal is to provide students with critical thinking frameworks for understanding how social enterprises can drive market and systems change. Janney brings practitioner voices and experiences into the classroom to connect students to diverse social impact strategies and leadership challenges, and shares examples from international development, corporate sustainability, and local social enterprises.

Bio

Paul Deckard is a corporate finance leader specializing in financial transformation and strategic management. With a unique career spanning nonprofit arts finance to enterprise finance leadership, he has led multi-million dollar capital initiatives, ERP and EPM transformation, and financial reporting optimizations. Paul leverages technology and Agile methodologies to drive efficiency and data-driven decision making. His leadership philosophy centers on adaptability, innovation, and aligning financial strategy with business objectives to drive long-term success.

Education

Paul holds a Master of International Business from Hult International Business School and a Master of Accountancy from the University of Denver.

Bio

Renny Fagan was the President & CEO of the Colorado Nonprofit Association for almost 12 years. With 1,400 nonprofit member organizations statewide, the association provides knowledge resources and advocates for the entire nonprofit sector. During his tenure, the association initiated legislation to increase charitable giving, including a 2018 law that enables Coloradans to donate their state income tax refund to any eligible nonprofit of their choice.

Renny is a former state legislator, director of the Colorado Department of Revenue, deputy attorney general and state director for U.S. Senator Ken Salazar. He serves on the boards of the Colorado Channel Authority and Colorado Education Initiative. He was formerly a board member and chair of the National Council of Nonprofits.

Renny now consults with nonprofits and government entities about strategic direction, board governance, stakeholder facilitation and public policy advocacy.

Education

Renny earned a J.D. from Northwestern University.

Bio

Alice L. Ferris is a partner and founder of GoalBusters Consulting, providing comprehensive leadership for small nonprofit teams. With 30+ years of fundraising experience in public media, rural healthcare, education, and science, Alice excels in finding creative solutions and teaching practical tactics. As an Advanced Certified Fundraising Executive (ACFRE) and a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), she is a sought-after consultant, mentor, and speaker. She designed the curriculum for the course NFP 4120: Technology Strategy for Fundraising using her expertise in helping organizations with needs assessments and software migrations since 1994. She has taught at the graduate level since 2018 and at DU since 2020.

Education

Alice earned a B.A. in Communication Arts and Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA in Accounting and Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Bio

Dean Gualco has served in many high-profile public/private-sector positions as a human resource and library director (for two California cities, the University of California, and an entity created by the Governor of California). He has published nine books, the latest titled Take the Right Road: Finding the Right Job, Being the Right Employee, and Becoming the Right Person. Dean has appeared in over 150 national media forums, including television, radio, and magazines.

Education

Dean holds a doctorate from the University of the Pacific, an MBA, and an MPA from the University of Southern California.

Bio

Dr. Neena Jain has focused for decades on global health, humanitarian assistance, and international development, including social determinants of health, decolonization, strategic planning, program design, project management and implementation, monitoring/evaluation and impact measurement.

Education

Neena completed her B.A. in Human Biology at Stanford University, MS in Tropical Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health, MD at SUNY Brooklyn Health Sciences Center, and Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. After becoming board-certified in emergency medicine, Neena was an attending physician at Swedish and Denver Health Medical Centers. Additionally, she completed epidemiological studies and public heath projects with the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Professional Background

Neena’s work in international humanitarian assistance and global health included serving as Program Manager, Country Medical Director, Health Sector Lead, and Technical Advisor with international organizations throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean, including Doctors Without Borders, International Medical Corps, Australian Aid International, Save the Children, and the World Health Organization. Building on this experience, she designed and directed a global nonprofit organization dedicated to emboldening locally led solutions with marginalized communities globally, navigating over 90 community-led partnerships in 25 countries.

Neena currently serves as the Project Manager for the Global Mental Health Psychosocial Network through DU Graduate School of Professional Psychology and teaches with DU’s Office of Internationalization. She previously directed the Program in Humanitarian Assistance at DU Korbel School of International Studies and led core courses in the Global Health Affairs Program. Neena has also directed the Center for Community Safety and Resilience at University of Colorado-Denver School of Public Affairs and created innovative courses with multiple schools at University of Colorado Anschutz.

Teaching Philosophy

Using practical applications, real-life examples, and hands-on exercises in the classroom, Neena draws on decades working directly with crisis-affected and marginalized communities, often in complex contexts. She cares deeply about advancing the nonprofit sector and maximizing positive equitable social impact and global justice for all communities as well as for our planetary well-being.

Bio

Steve Jenks is a career researcher with over 10 years of experience in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research for industries ranging from universities to non-profits to global e-commerce and social media platforms. He has a passion for helping organizations make data-informed decisions that lead to positive, sustainable change.

Steve currently serves as an UX Researcher at MeasuringU, a Denver-based research agency, where he provides research services including study design, data collection, analysis, and reporting, using surveys, interviews, and in-person product trials. Previously, he served as a course strategist for edX, a researcher for the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges, and in program evaluation roles at Cornell University, Ithaca College and the University of Tennessee.

Education

Steve earned a B.S. in African-American Studies from Florida State University, an M.S. in College Student Personnel from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in Higher Education (cognate in Research Methods and Statistics) from the University of Denver.

Motivation for Teaching

Steve loves learning about real-world challenges in different industries and coaching people through the process of discovering potential solutions. He believes that research should be accessible to everyone and strives to help students understand how to be better consumers of research while learning ways to better inform their professional work as well.

Helping Students be Successful

Steve teaches students research processes by breaking down complex ideas and tasks into individual components, striving to help students make connections to prior professional and life experiences to make learning personal and practical. He loves coaching students through all steps of research, and often helps students with future projects after courses have ended.