About Us
Pay no attention to the people behind the website! We just pull levers and connect dots. The true forces behind Nonprofit Management 101, our Advancing Social Impact blog, and Nonprofits101.org are the hundreds of partners and contributors with which we’ve worked. None of this would be possible without their sage advice, valuable resources, simple tips, inspirational stories of impact, and more.
Please visit our Partners and Resources page to access the Nonprofits101 community of experts and support resources, or click here for links to media coverage and various newsletter and blog write ups.
Darian Rodriguez Heyman (email me here) is the Editor of Nonprofit Management 101 and co-founder of this website and our blog, Advancing Social Impact. As executive director of Craigslist Foundation (2004–2008), Darian worked to educate, inspire, and connect emerging nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs. He helped conceive its flagship program, Nonprofit Boot Camp, which grew into the largest nonprofit gathering in San Francisco Bay Area history, and launched a website that connected millions of leaders to helpful resources, and to each other. While there, he started and led several coalitions, including the Environmental Nonprofit Network and the Next Generation Leadership Forum. At the same time, he was appointed as a Commissioner of the San Francisco Department of the Environment by Mayor Gavin Newsom.
In addition to consulting for a variety of nonprofit organizations on all aspects of nonprofit management, especially board development and fundraising, Darian currently works as a managing partner at Code Green Agency, an environmental consultancy providing strategy, messaging, and fundraising support to nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies. He is a frequent public speaker, keynoting and facilitating events around the world, and recently led several civil society consultations for the United Nations Environment Programme. Darian also teaches at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, where he taught “The Economics of Philanthropy” and now provides workshops on fundraising and nonprofit career planning.
In his past career as a dot-com entrepreneur, Darian co-founded and later sold the digital advertising agency Beyond Interactive to Grey Global Group, now WPP. He’s bridging this world to his social change work by preparing to launch a nationwide Social Media for Nonprofits conference series. He is passionate about supporting young leaders, integrating interactivity into educational environments, and helping noble efforts connect vision to action.
Laila Brenner (email me here) is co-founder of Nonprofits101 and the corresponding blog, Advancing Social Impact. From running the Xavier University Literacy Volunteers to serving in Americorps, to becoming a freelance writer and fundraising specialist, Laila has dedicated her life and career to promoting social justice and change. With her Master’s in Nonprofit Administration, Laila has worked raising money and promoting a variety of causes within the sector, including education and literacy, bridging the technology gap, affordable housing, environmental conservation, community building, volunteerism, and more.
As Partnerships Coordinator at Link TV, Laila is using the powerful and motivating force of video to amplify the work of domestic nonprofits and international NGO’s, and activate people towards positive social action. She is currently launching a new program that will combine the use of video and social media strategies to create in-person and virtual viewing events focused on particular social issues.
Personally passionate about volunteerism and keeping busy, Laila is also co-founder of the Women’s Service Club, and is currently serving as Executive Director for AtmosTheatre and Director of Marketing for Nonprofit Management 101. In the past, Laila has worked with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, The Trust for Public Land, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Craigslist Foundation, and more. Laila relishes her role of helping social profit organizations develop infrastructure to further impact and sustain their mission.
