Read About Our Speakers

Linda Beeman is Founder and President of Aurora Grants & Consulting. She and her team of specialists have been supporting small and mid-size nonprofits since 2010. Linda holds an MBA in Marketing from University of North Texas, is a certified Grant Professional (GPC) and Association of Fundraising Professionals Master Trainer.

Dionna Arimes is the Partnerships Marketing Manager at Instrumentl, the online institutional fundraising platform for bringing grant prospecting, tracking, and management to one place. Instrumentl helps over 2000+ nonprofits save time in finding and applying for more grants, with customers increasing their grant application output by 78% after a year of using the software while saving three hours per team member every week. 

Dionna supports community partnerships and can be found hosting Instrumentl’s bi-weekly partner workshops which feature top thought-leaders in the grant writing space. Hundreds of grant professionals tune in to these events to learn openly and collaborate with one another. These workshops featuring many of the few Grant Professional Association Approved Trainers and Amazon Best Selling educators allow Dionna to have a deep understanding of some of the many challenges nonprofits seeking grants face.

Allison Boyd, the Principal Writer for Boyd Grants, has 16 years’ experience in grant writing and project management. Allison Boyd is an active member of the Grant Professionals Association and is one of 24 Grants Professionals Certified in Texas.

She has experience on all sides of development, from co-chair of a fundraising campaign to proposal development and implementation. Seeking funding from private, local, state, and federal resources is one of my many qualities.

Dr. Tracy Butler is a Grants Manager at Lone Star Family Health Center, a federally qualified health center (FQHC) serving underserved populations in Montgomery, Harris, and Walker Counties. Dr. Butler has six years of grant writing, compliance, and grants management experience in healthcare and higher education. 

Tracey has over 17 years of experience in grant writing, researching, and reviewing numerous federal, state, foundation, and corporate grants. She currently leads AGS’ reviewing services team. Tracey has served as a reviewer for the Department of Health and Human Services. Since 2005, Tracey has successfully secured over $51 million in grant funding. She is Grant Professional Certified and a Grant Professional Association Approved Trainer.

Jared Keykurun is a tech-savvy professional with a background in finance. He started his career in the cryptocurrency industry before transitioning into artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies. With a passion for innovation and a drive to continuously improve, Jared is always seeking new and improved ways to utilize technology.

Stacy Fitzsimmons is the brilliant mind behind the concepts and services of SNF Writing Solutions. Over the last ten years, she has averaged a win rate of 70% and is government grant specialist having written winning applications totaling over $100 million in funding to several federal agencies. 

Allison Jones has more than thirty years of experience in grantwriting and nonprofit management and has an M.Ed. in Adult Education. She is devoted to teaching and provides highly interactive, student-centric learning experiences. Allison is a grantwriting professor at Western Washington University, Evergreen College, and Seattle Central College. She is an approved grantwriting trainer by the Grant Professionals Association, Grant Professionals Certification Institute, and Certified Fundraising Executives.

Cyndi MacKenzie, GPC, has won over $38 million in resources with her clients. With 20 years in the
field, Cyndi has clients nationwide. As a GPA Approved Trainer, Cyndi trains on multiple grant-related topics and co-trains the GPA Next Level Course. Cyndi is a member of the GPA Ethics Committee.

Dr. Tamara Beckford is a board-certified emergency medicine physician, international speaker, emcee, and CEO of UR Caring Docs. She helps companies reduce employee burnout through self-care workshops. She hosts the popular “Dr. Tamara Beckford Show,” where she interviews physicians on self-care, wellness, and their non-clinical activities. The podcast ranks in the top 5% globally, with 173 physician interviews to date. Dr. Beckford is a sought-after expert in self-care and has been featured on over 60 podcasts and presented on wellness at various platforms, including Power to Fly, Scale Your Business Summit, and the 40 Acre Conference. As a Success Mentor at EntreMD Business School, she mentors 60+ physicians weekly in building successful businesses. Her content on social media has received over 1 million views, and she co-authored two bestselling books, Made for More and Thriving After Burnout. She was recognized as a COVID-19 Hero by The New Jersey Academy of Sciences.

 Scot Scala, GPC and GPA Approved Trainer, has been a grant/development professional since 1987. He is President and Senior Consultant of Scala &
Associates, a consulting firm specializing in services for nonprofit organizations. The firm provides expertise in grant funding research/proposal design, training, fund development planning, and capacity building.

Julie has 30+ years of experience in the nonprofit sector, most recently as an independent grant
consultant. She has a Certificate in Grant Writing/Program Evaluation from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Julie lives in Colorado with her family and enjoys live music and
hiking the Rockies.

Patrina is the principal consultant of The Business of Charity. BOC focuses on formation, capacity, and grant writing for a diverse client pool. A 20-year veteran, she earned a BS in Political Science from Prairie View A&M University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Tech University School of Law.