Our Team

Experts in Organizational Development, Fundraising & Communications

Our team has vast experience in philanthropy, nonprofit management, board governance, fundraising, strategic communications, media relations and creative storytelling.

Jim Vella, CEO & Founder

Jim has 40+ years of philanthropy leadership expertise, public relations and broadcast journalism experience. He served as president of the Ford Motor Company Fund and Ford vice president of Global Public Affairs. Jim spent 14 years in broadcast journalism in California, Ohio and Michigan. He currently sits on multiple governing boards for international NGOs and community nonprofits. Jim is a consummate advocate for social justice, and a dedicated father and grandfather. He holds a B.A. in communications from University of Detroit Mercy.

Learn more about Jim’s story and current board memberships.

Kalel Blandford, Project Manager

Jennifer Cain, Partner, Digital Storytelling & Design

About Jennifer

Over 25+ years, Jennifer has worked in marketing communications, web design, employee communications and public relations. Her clients have run the gamut, from Fortune 100 companies, such as Dow Chemical and Ford Motor Company, to small businesses and nonprofits. She holds a B.A. in public relations from Syracuse University and a Certificate in Web Technology from Washtenaw Community College. She enjoys spending time with her family of MSU Spartans – her husband and two daughters.

Brittany Guerriero, Associate Partner, Fund Development

About Brittany

Brittany has spent nearly 20 years in cross-sector fundraising and organizational development, including a decade at United Way for Southeastern Michigan, helping to raise more than $60 million.

She is a writer and a sought-after public speaker on a wide variety of issues relating to community engagement and strategic philanthropy. She has delivered 2,500+ speeches and presentations to corporate partners, executive teams and prospects to secure win-win strategic partnerships. Brittany also has extensive experience in politics, leading marketing and communication strategies for U.S. Congressman John D. Dingell and former Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon. She was a Michigan House of Representatives candidate in 2010.

Brittany holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. In her free time, she is a prolific artist, with a portfolio of several hundred paintings.

Pamela Moore, Partner, Organizational Development

About Pamela

Pamela is a native Detroiter with 35+ years of nonprofit and public-sector experience. Her last seven years as the president and CEO of the Detroit Public Schools Foundation resulted in more than $25 million in grants for 50,000 Detroit Public Schools Community District students, 38,000 families and 4,000 educators in Michigan’s largest public school district. Prior roles include working with Detroit’s last three mayors. She was the founding president/CEO of Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation where she created a high-performing, White House-recognized public workforce nonprofit agency. Her experience includes fundraising, operations, strategy, nonprofit creation and administration, public-private fund modeling and organizational management. She has a B.S. in finance and an MBA from Wayne State University. In her leisure time, she travels the world, mentors youth and is a dance instructor.

Todd Nissen, Partner, Communications

About Todd

Todd has a 30-year career in corporate communications and journalism, including 20 years at Ford Motor Company in the U.S. and Europe. He also led Ford Fund’s Volunteer Corps and Communications department. Prior to joining Ford, Todd was a news reporter and bureau chief for Reuters News Service. Todd holds a B.A. in history from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore. He enjoys family time with his wife and three adult children. When time permits, Todd is on the water in his kayak or playing trumpet in community bands.

Brian Vella, Chief Financial Officer

About Brian

Brian has 35 years of experience in accounting, finance and corporate leadership. He began his career as an auditor with Deloitte Haskins & Sells and has also had significant roles with Waste Management, Coughlin Logistics, Jefferson Wells Consulting and the City of Detroit. Brian graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame. He has three sons who all graduated from Michigan State University. Brian has held a volunteer leadership position with the Little Caesars Amateur Hockey League for the past 16 years and enjoys golfing and traveling outside of work.

Phoebe Wall Howard, Partner, Communications & Development Strategy

About Phoebe

Phoebe has a 30-year career in award-winning journalism and corporate communications. Most recently, she spent seven years as a business reporter at The Detroit Free Press and the USA Today network covering the automotive industry, Mackinac Island and the annual Bayview Mackinac Race. She had worked previously in California, Arkansas and Iowa in radio, TV, print and digital media. She ran her own strategic consulting firm based in California for a decade with clients throughout the U.S. and South America. Phoebe earned a Bachelor of Journalism degree in magazine writing from the University of Missouri, Columbia. She enjoys sailing. When time permits, Phoebe is a reading tutor for students in Detroit. She is a longtime financial supporter of programs that give books to foster children. Phoebe is a past board member of the Rotary Foundation of Fresno, Arte Americas, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, the Mill Valley Library Foundation and the Belvedere Tiburon Library Foundation.

Andrea Zuehlk , Partner, Marketing & Strategy

About Andrea

Andrea has 20 years of marketing, growth strategy and brand development experience at both large and small companies. She has held executive marketing positions with Procter & Gamble, S.C. Johnson, Ford Motor Company and start-up businesses. She earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 2001 from Michigan Technological University and an MBA in 2008 from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Outside of work, Andrea spends time building – and rebuilding – super hero Legos with her little men at home, managing the mixed-sports relationship (Go Blue!) with her husband Matt (a Sparty), and endlessly redesigning rooms in their Michigan home.