About Us

Alan Lesher

Alan Lesher is the Chief Financial Officer & Finance Director of YMCA of the Inland Northwest in Spokane, Washington. For five months in 2012, in addition to serving as CFO, he also served as Interim President and CEO while their Board conducted a nationwide search for a new CEO.

Prior to joining the YMCA, Alan was Controller and then Vice President and General Manager of Roses & More in Spokane. Alan’s long list of volunteer and community activities includes work for the YMCA, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Allied Wholesale Study Group, the International Floral Distributors Board, Eastern Washington University Alumni Advisory Board, and the Boy Scouts of America.

Craig Opperman

Since 2004, Craig Opperman has been President & Chief Executive Officer of Looking Glass Youth and Family Services, Inc., in Eugene, Oregon, a private nonprofit organization whose mission is to build a better future for youth and families.

For eight years prior to that he was with Christie School in Marylhurst, Oregon. While there he d irected community-based residential treatment for emotionally disturbed youth and developed innovative, nationally recognized program models of treatment.

From 2001 to 2004 he also served as Director of Multnomah County Children’s Receiving Center in Portland. Craig earned a Masters of Science in Counseling and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, both at Southern Illinois University.

Angie Julian

Angie Julian is the Chief Financial Officer & Information Technology Director of ARCA, a nonprofit organization in Albuquerque, New Mexico. ARCA is the largest provider of lifelong, customized services for infants through seniors with intellectual and developmental disabilities in New Mexico.

Before joining ARCA, Angie was an auditor in public accounting for 13 years, where she gained extensive experience in accounting and auditing, operations management, operational controls and processes, and risk management. She acquired her Bachelor of Accountancy from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico and has been a Certified Public Accountant since 2006. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New Mexico Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Sharon Ellis

Sharon Ellis is the Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity of Orange County in Santa Ana, California. She joined the organization in November 2005.

Sharon’s prior experience includes more than 20 years in the field of education. She began her teaching career in Connecticut and Ohio before moving to California. She decided to leave education and join Habitat for Humanity of Orange County to help create more stable homes for children from low-income families in Orange County.

Sharon is currently on the board of governors of the OC Housing Trust and St Mary and All Angels School in Aliso Viejo. She is also president of the Southern California Association of Affiliates

Julie Gilbertson

Julie Rae Gilbertson, PHR is the Chief Human Resources Officer of Community Bridges in Aptos, California. She has been with the organization for more than 20 years.

She began her work at Community Bridges under the Child & Adult Food Program. She has more than a dozen years of hands on experience working with team building and coaching, employee recruitment and development, job analysis, policies and procedures; benefits, talent management, and collective bargaining.

Julie has served on the Employers Advisory Council Board since 2008 and has been PHR certified since 2010.

Debby Graham

Debby Graham has been the executive director of CenterForce in Lakewood, Washington since 1994. Her organization provides employment and training assistance to people with disabilities.

Debby, who has been in the human service field for more than 30 years, has worked in various agencies in California, Oregon and Arizona. She has a Master of Arts degree in Applied Behavioral/Instructional Analysis from California State University at Chico. She is a Certified Mental Health Counselor, a CARF surveyor and has a Professional in Human Resources certification.

Peter Grignon

Peter Grignon is CFO of United Way of Pierce County where he has over 26 years of experience in financial oversight. He also overseas the financial operations of two other entities related to the United Way mission: First Five Fundamentals of Pierce County and Tacoma 360. First Five Fundamental’s goal is to increase the number of children that are ready to learn by the time they reach kindergarten. Tacoma 360 is focused on increasing high school graduation rates.

A CPA by training. Peter also servers as a member of the United Way of America Financial Issues Committee. He was nominated by his peers for CFO of the year. Peter served as former chair of the Northwest Agencies Trust – a predecessor of 501(c) Agencies Trust.

Jack Holmes

Jack Holmes’ nonprofit career spans 35 years. He currently sits on the Board of Directors at ARCA, an agency serving the developmentally disabled. Jack was CEO and President of United Way of Central New Mexico and Boy Scouts of America, just to name a few of his contributions in the nonprofit sector.

After taking a two year sabbatical to do humanitarian services and disaster relief involving 15 countries, Jack returned to begin his own consulting services for a “Change for Good.”

He is currently on the Board of Directors at ARCA, an agency serving the developmentally disabled.

Alana Humphrey

Alana Humphrey joined Boys & Girls Clubs in 2002 as the Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tanana Valley (Fairbanks). After bringing the Tanana Valley organization through financial crisis, she successfully merged the organization with Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska (Anchorage) and worked in Clubhouse Operations and Resource Development before being named CEO in 2012.

Early in her career, Alana worked primarily in health care and insurance settings in billing and accounting. She has a degree in Accounting from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Ryan Kusumoto

Since August 2014, Ryan has served as the President/CEO for Parents And Children Together, a statewide not-for-profit organization in Hawaii that specializes in: domestic violence programs, child abuse programs, sex trafficking programs, early childhood education, mental health programs and community building programs.

Previously, he has worked at Hawaii Pacific Health, Queen’s Hospital, Goodwill Industries of Hawaii, Inc., and has owned his own business.  He has an operations background along with a specialty in finance and human resource management.

John Miller

John Miller is the Senior Vice President-Field Services for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He began his career in Boys & Girls Clubs when he was hired as the Summer Camp Program Director in Toledo, Ohio. In 1994, he moved to Saint Paul where he become the organization’s first Director of Operations. In 2002, John was appointed as a National Vice President of Organizational & Executive Development Services, responsible for five regional service teams, club liaison services and the national conference.

Nancy Owens

Nancy Owens is SVP and Chief Financial Officer at Y-USA where she provides strategic leadership in overseeing financial plans and policies. She also partners with Y-USA’s service delivery professionals to help define and implement best practices at local YMCAs. Nancy joined Y-USA in 2000 and previously served as Senior Director of Finance and Controller. Before joining the Y, she was SVP and CFO with PGI, Inc., Director of Internal Audit with Borg-Warner Security Corporation and Senior Manager with Deloitte. Nancy is a CPA, and earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in business administration from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Lee Sherman

Lee Sherman is the President and CEO of the National Human Services Assembly and National Assembly Business Services, Inc., a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary of the National Assembly which operates PurchasingPoint^®. In his role as President & CEO, he leads the strategic direction of the organization, with a significant focus on building and maintaining key relationships with funders, members, and partners in the sector.

Liane Sugimoto

Liane Sugimoto is a Certified Public Accountant and the Chief Financial Officer of Kalihi-Palama Health Center (KPHC) in Honolulu, Hawaii.

KPHC is a non-profit organization and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that plays a crucial role in the Kalihi-Palama community as a provider of health and social services to patients who typically face significant barriers when accessing health care.  KPCH is located in the heart of Kalihi-Palama, an urban inner-city community home to over 63,000 residents, many of whom are poor Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island ethnic minorities.  Serving more than 24,000 patients and clients annually in 17 different languages and cultures, KPHC’s distinguishing competency is delivering health care and social services with cultural proficiency to new Americans and their extended families.

Ilene Wilkins

Since 2002, Dr. Ilene Wilkins has been the Chief Executive Officer of United Cerebral Palsy of Central Florida in Orlando, a $16 million nonprofit making a difference in the lives of over 2,400 children and their families with and without disabilities by providing support, education and therapy services.

Before joining UCP of Central Florida, she was President/Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association for Professional Foster Care in North Grafton, Massachusetts.

Dr. Wilkins earned her B.A. from New York University; her MA of Public Administration from Suffolk University in Boston; and her Ed.D in Exceptional Education from the University of Central Florida.

Diane Wilush

Diane Wilush joined United Cerebral Palsy of Georgia in 1994, and has led the organization through tremendous growth, from a small nonprofit serving the Atlanta area to an organization providing comprehensive services for more than 500 individuals and families statewide. With more than 35 years experience in developing community based supports and advocating for the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Diane has been recognized both locally and nationally for her work.

Christopher Withrow

Christopher Withrow is the CEO of Anka Behavioral Health in Concord, California. He has served the organization for over 15 years. Anka has earned national recognition as a premiere behavioral healthcare corporation as a result of our ability to design, implement and operate exceptional cutting-edge programs. They serve nearly 15,000 individuals annually and employ close to 1,000 specialized staff members.