Rich works at the confluence of politics, policy and consumerism to market social impact. He’s known for his ability to synthesize disparate information into compelling persuasion. Rich develops messages that tap into attitudes, touch shared values and unite different audiences around common objectives. His specialty is breaking through political polarization to create advances in education, health, financial inclusion, transportation and conservation. As the founder of Neimand Collaborative, he helps bring these solutions to life in integrated campaigns. Raised in Los Angeles by two wonderful parents from Brooklyn, Rich’s career path was blazed through writing, graphic arts, fine arts, commercial advertising and political consulting—all of which contribute to his work in social impact marketing. No cause is too small or too big for Rich as long as it holds the promise of moving people forward.
In addition to mastering content and strategy, Sarah has the twin gifts of knowing how to get things done and knowing how to get people to do them. Combining these abilities with her expertise in creative development and campaign execution, she’s a part of our work from beginning to end. Sarah’s leadership includes digital and print materials, website development, advertising and social media campaigns. Her skills enable many of our clients to mount powerful and effective campaigns even when they are on relatively small budgets. Sarah also leads project teams and manages internal and external team members to ensure the quality and timeliness of our work. Born in Boulder, Colorado, Sarah grew up in Minden, Nevada, on a ranch in the Sierra foothills. At 15, she attended a campaign training workshop where she met Rich, who casually offered her a job once she got out of college. Much to Rich’s surprise, Sarah came to D.C. to claim her job after earning her degree in English at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Now eating and drinking her way through every D.C. hotspot, Sarah is married to a great guy—we doubt that she will ever settle down.
A lawyer by training, Ame comes to Neimand Collaborative bringing a passion for creating social impact by harnessing the power of philanthropy. A lifelong conservationist and fundraiser with over 25 years of experience in leadership roles with national organizations, Ame has worked with and led cross-functional teams on organizational strategic planning, fundraising planning and building effective major and principal gift programs. Her efforts have driven the advancement of national organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund and The Wilderness Society. She raised $20M at WWF in a rapid two-year strategy launch campaign to support the organization’s strategic vision. As the Vice President of Philanthropy at The Wilderness Society, she tripled the number of major and principal gift donors and revenue, including the launch of a successful Leadership Initiative campaign that raised $40M. Most recently she served as Chief Philanthropy Officer for the National Park Foundation, helping the foundation meet its goal of $500M for the Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks and build out its first regional major gifts team. When Ame’s not making the world a better place through her knack for philanthropy, you’ll find her training and competing in dressage with her talented Danish Warmblood, Asta.
Tracy is a diehard optimist who believes that with authentic listening, excellent strategy and effective messaging, we can make positive change that gives everyone the opportunity to live a life with purpose. Her deep experience across policy, advocacy and communications has created lasting impact in and outside of state and federal government.
As Deputy Secretary for Policy and Communications at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Tracy led North Carolina’s communications and public outreach in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including more than 150 press briefings; the award-winning Whatever Your Reason, Get Behind the Mask campaign; and a research-informed public engagement strategy to promote COVID-19 vaccination with a focus on historically marginalized populations to ensure health equity. Prior to her work at NCDHHS, Tracy co-founded the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation. While there she built a statewide Pathways to Grade Level Reading framework, facilitating a multi-year effort with people across sectors, disciplines and political parties to develop shared measures and strategies that support children’s optimal development.
Over her career, Tracy has worked for and on behalf of numerous public interest organizations including Smart Start, Planned Parenthood of Maryland, the National Cooperative Bank, Education Commission of the States, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and many others.
Shannon’s collaborative energy and find-a-solution mentality help to ensure our company is doing right by its clients. With a wealth of direct client and project experience, she now runs our business and us with great instincts for what our team needs on a daily basis to make great impact for our clients and their causes. Her passion for logistics, numbers and organization has made her our go-to person for just about everything that needs to go right. Shannon is the rock who rocks. A native of New Jersey, Shannon moved to North Carolina during her high school years and later completed her degree in marketing at East Carolina University. In 2000, she moved to Washington, D.C., where she honed her skills in marketing, production and team management—and found her husband. She, her husband and their two daughters are here for good with family and friends that make the D.C. area home.
Marnay is a visual storyteller who helps clients implement creative strategies that speak to their audiences and advance their missions. Using her experience in design and visual strategy, Marnay employs research and user-centered approaches to create innovative communications. She has developed successful creative campaigns, including branding and identity development, website and social media creation, and design strategies to help clients achieve lasting impact. Marnay has spent the majority of her career in the communications and non-profit space, working with organizations such as the Ford Foundation, Packard Foundation, and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation. Marnay received her bachelor’s degree in graphic design from the Maryland Institute College of Art and lives in Maryland with her husband and son. In her free time, she enjoys mastering jigsaw puzzles, trying her hand at scrapbooking and blogging about her favorite local restaurants.
With a background in state and local campaigns, issue advocacy and public policy, Kim joins the Neimand Collaborative team with a commitment to helping organizations fulfill their vision through social impact. Kim brings over 15 years of experience working with national non-profit organizations such as the ONE Campaign, Save the Children Action Network and The Pew Charitable Trusts. Before joining the team, she worked on hundreds of successful campaigns to affect change on issues ranging from international development, early childhood education and expanding access to health care. Kim holds a B.A. in Justice Studies from American University. While she is a Kentucky girl at heart, Kim now calls the D.C. area home where she lives with her husband, son and two Boston Terriers.
Karolyn has over 20 years of experience leading integrated strategic marketing, research, and evaluation programs. After leadership roles at two K-12 education nonprofit organizations where her work focused on marketing communications and social impact partnerships, she’s now focused on applying her experience to accelerate the effectiveness of organizations striving to do good across the social sector. Karolyn received bachelor’s degree in sociology with a focus on applied research methods and women’s and gender studies from the College of Charleston, and her master’s degree in sociology from the University of Maryland College Park with an emphasis on race and ethnicity and social inequality. She also has graduate certificates in Advanced Market Research from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business, and Social Impact Partnerships from Georgetown University. Karolyn’s upbringing in New York City gave her an early appreciation for people from all walks of life and from every part of the globe. Her formative years were shaped by the accents and rhythms of a working-class neighborhood where she grew up buying pizza by the slice, waving to neighbors on the fire escape, and avoiding stepping on subway grates. Karolyn now resides in South Carolina with her family where she is on the school board of a local charter high school and is a lead teacher in the youth ministry at her church. She can also make a meal out of anything but prefers eating outdoors at local markets, cultural festivals and family bar-b-ques.
Through experiences in the fields of public health, nonprofit management and social entrepreneurship, Catherine has developed a passion for social impact and helping organizations reach their full potential. She immerses herself in the topic at hand and ensures thorough management of client projects, particularly those focused on K-12 education, vulnerable populations and community health. Prior to joining our team, Catherine worked with causes ranging from development, relief and social business ventures abroad to school music program support in her home state of Maryland. She holds a B.A. in advertising from Penn State University and a Master of Public Administration from the Trachtenberg School at George Washington University. Drawn to the 300+ days of sunshine each year and having the Rocky Mountains in her backyard, Catherine headed west to Denver, Colorado in 2019 and enjoys as much running, hiking and camping as she can.
Christina brings over 15 years of experience in philanthropy and nonprofit communications to the Neimand Collaborative team. She has raised funds in support of large national organizations and small grassroots efforts in impact areas like conservation, health care, arts and social services. Christina is a highly skilled strategist as well as fundraiser and brings a wealth of experience from organizations like World Wildlife Fund, the Smithsonian Institution and Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center Foundation. She has planned and launched capital campaigns, planned giving and grateful patient programs, modernized development operations and mobilized boards and leadership for fundraising. While Christina is deeply knowledgeable when it comes to fundraising best practices, she understands that each organization is unique and knows how to create specific, practical strategies for success. Christina has been a runner twice as long as she’s been a fundraiser and when she’s not laced up, she loves to travel and spend time in nature with her husband and kids.
Jennifer has spent the past six years passionately advancing human rights and women’s leadership around the world. Most recently, she was a Program Manager for the Human Rights team at Vital Voices Global Partnership, where she managed the Justice Institute on Gender-Based Violence, an international training program focused on creating a holistic, victim-centered response to violence against women. Jennifer has helped implement 22 programs in 14 different countries, supporting critical partnerships to end gender-based violence globally with organizations such as the Avon Foundation for Women, Airbnb, Uber and the Eurasia Foundation. Prior to joining Vital Voices in Washington, DC, Jennifer spent time working in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where she conducted an evaluation of the Lotus Kids’ Club, a program that uses holistic education to prevent future cases of human trafficking and exploitation among some of the poorest families in the region. Prior to her graduate studies, Jennifer worked at a local elementary school, where she taught French and Spanish to children ranging from pre-K to the fifth grade. Jennifer graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with degrees in International Studies and French, and completed her Master of Public Service degree at the University of Arkansas’ Clinton School of Public Service.
With over 10 years of experience in social media marketing, community engagement and brand design, Ashley is a skilled digital strategist committed to utilizing the power of story to create meaningful social impact. Prior to joining the Neimand Collaborative team, Ashley worked independently as a Marketing and Community Consultant. Through a practice based in curiosity, authenticity, and collaboration, she’s helped purpose-driven organizations align their values and their marketing goals to consciously engage with their communities online and in-person. A proud graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Ashley holds a B.A. in Political Science, concentrating in International Relations.
Our longtime partner, Jim Webb, is skilled in front-end and back-end website development using WordPress and Drupal. He also specializes in user experience design, analytics consulting and usability testing. Jim is an active teacher and trains web developers at companies including The Washington Post, Hewlett-Packard, Wells Fargo, PBS, AIGA and National Public Radio. Jim is the former design lead for National Geographic Digital Media, where he presided over three site-wide redesigns, won a Webby award, cut bounce rates by a third and directed an in-house usability testing lab.
