2015 Fall Speakers

Penelope Cagney, MA, CFRE, CEO of The Cagney Company, has 25 years of experience in helping nonprofits succeed with their organizational and financial objectives. She serves as faculty of Arizona State University’s Nonprofit Management Institute, teaching strategic planning and fund development, and previously has taught graduate courses in nonprofit management at the School of the Art Institute and Columbia College, Chicago. Penny is a skilled communicator and teacher, having been a distinguished visiting professor at American University in Cairo, Egypt.

Penny is co-editor of the 2015 Skystone Ryan Research Prize winner "Global Fundraising: How the World is Changing the Rules of Philanthropy" (Wiley AFP 2013); "Nonprofit Consulting Essentials: What Every Nonprofit and Consultant Needs to Know" (Jossey-Bass/Alliance of Nonprofit Management 2010). She is on the Board of Directors of American Fundraising Professionals International.

Jonathan Opp, Chief Poetics Officer and Partner at New Kind, a design company in Raleigh, NC, works with organizations to define communication strategy–helping them discover their brand stories and tell them in the clearest, most powerful way. Jonathan brings nearly 15 years of experience in creative roles at three prominent technology brands: Red Hat, IBM, and Gateway. In his 11 years at Red Hat, Jonathan had the opportunity to influence directly the evolution of its brand. His most recent role was the Senior Manager of the Brand Communications+Design team, responsible for defining the company’s brand voice. He led a creative team of writers and content creators, working with individuals across the company to develop communications that were expressions of Red Hat’s brand and culture. He also played a key role in telling the story of Red Hat’s culture both inside and outside the company.

Jonathan writes about brand, culture, and community at his own blog, Applied Poetics. Jonathan is currently serving as Co-President of AIGA Raleigh, the professional association for design.

As a writer, New Kind’s Marie Schacht discovers and builds meaningful stories through words. She aims to synthesize complex information, translate ideas, and digest problems into effective and clear communications. Marie celebrates the role of language in creating the connections and shared experiences that lead to vibrant and flourishing communities which transform individuals and organizations into truly exceptional enterprises.

Prior to joining New Kind, Marie worked with University of Virginia Foundation, Tom Tom Founders Festival, and Design Corps in a variety of design and communication roles. She holds a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Virginia and is eager to discover new ways to engage open and participatory based design with New Kind.

Steven Eastaugh, ScD, served as a professor of health economics, finance, and health care management for 37 years at Cornell and George Washington Universities, helping to shape the careers of 4,000 health care managers and leaders in the United States and around the world. The author of nine books and more than 90 journal articles, Dr. Eastaugh is a nationally acclaimed speaker, consultant, and agent of change who has traveled to some 36 countries as part of his health services research. He was a health policy advisor to Barack Obama from 2008 to 2009.

Dr. Eastaugh has won numerous awards, including the American College of Healthcare Executives Edgar Hayhow Award for “best health care article of the year.” He also won the Marriott Award for Productivity Enhancement in the Service Sector. He has been a forceful advocate for market-based health care reform. Dr. Eastaugh was senior staff health economist at the National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Health Care Finance. He earned his Bachelor of Arts (Biochemistry and Economics) in 1973 and Master of Science (Public Health) in 1975 from Harvard University, and a Doctor of Public Health from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in 1978.

Dr. Eastaugh works actively with a number of professional organizations, including the American Public Health Association, the American College of Healthcare Executives, Association of University Programs in Health Administration, and Operations Research Society of America. He currently serves as a consultant, speaker, and writer.