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Diana Aviv, President and CEO

Diana Aviv is the president and CEO of Independent Sector, the national leadership forum for America’s charities, foundations, and corporate giving programs. Collectively representing tens of thousands of charitable groups in every state across the country, Independent Sector’s mission is to advance the common good by leading, strengthening, and mobilizing the nonprofit community.

A noted expert on the major issues affecting the national nonprofit community, Diana is a frequent speaker on the accountability and transparency of nonprofit organizations, the financial state of the nonprofit community the role of civil society in democracy, and civic engagement. She has testified before Congress and has been featured in print, broadcast, and online media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, and MSNBC.com.

Diana also serves as executive director of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, an independent panel of nonprofit leaders convened by Independent Sector in October 2004 at the encouragement of the leadership of the Senate Finance Committee. The Panel’s charge is to consider and recommend actions that will strengthen good governance, ethical conduct, and effective practice of public charities and private foundations. The Panel released a major report in June 2005 and a supplemental report in April 2006. In October 2007, the Panel released its Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice: A Guide for Charities and Foundations, which represents the first time that charities and foundations reflecting a broad cross-section of the American nonprofit community have come together to develop principles of ethical conduct, accountability, and transparency that they aspire to and encourage all organizations to follow.

Diana came to Independent Sector in April 2003 after spending nine years at United Jewish Communities. As UJC’s vice president for public policy and director of its Washington Action Office, she worked closely with federations and national agencies concerned with the domestic health and welfare needs of vulnerable people. Diana focused on federal legislation and regulations, specifically concerning policies that affect health and human service organizations.

Diana was formerly associate executive vice chair at the Jewish Council of Public Affairs, director of programs for the National Council of Jewish Women, and director of a comprehensive program to serve battered women and their families. She has had a private psychotherapy practice in New York and New Jersey and has served as an expert witness in capital cases in New Jersey.

She is past chair of the National Immigration Forum, is an advisory board member of the Stanford Social Innovation Review and the Center for Effective Philanthropy, is a member of the Board of Governors of the Partnership for Public Service, the Board of Directors of GuideStar, and the Advisory Council of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law. She is also a founding member of Encore Leadership Network, and currently serves on the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents’ Committee on Governance, as well as on the Board of Advisors at the New York University School of Law’s National Center on Philanthropy and the Law . A native of South Africa, Ms. Aviv graduated with a B.S.W. from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and received a Master of Social Work degree at Columbia University.

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Malvina joined Independent Sector in September 2004. She leads accounting, finance, technology, and human resources services. Previously, Malvina worked as a consultant with the accounting and professional services firm Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio and Associates where her clients included AARP and the Superior Court of California. She spent 10 years as director of finance and administration for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. She also served as director of finance and administration for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and as chief financial officer for the National Council of Negro Women.

Malvina was appointed to the Board of the Fredericksburg ( Virginia) City Public Schools in 1991 where she served two terms as chair of the Fredericksburg School Board and chair of the Northeastern Region of the Virginia School Boards Association. Malvina is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Virginia State University.

Elizabeth leads development strategy for Independent Sector and manages the organization’s fundraising activities. Ms. Kohm brings over twenty years of nonprofit management and development experience to IS. In her most recent position as senior director at Enterprise Community Partners, Ms. Kohm oversaw the development of a pilot strategy for a national school-based revitalization program and worked with over 280 corporations and foundations as well as individual donors. Prior to Enterprise, Ms. Kohm held the title of manager of charitable programs and development for Cisco Learning Institute, where she created partnerships with business, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations to leverage technology to promote access to education. As the deputy executive vice president of field operations at Communities In Schools, she led a cross –sector partnership with Cisco Systems and US Housing and Urban Development Agency that was recognized by both the White House and the Congressional Black Caucus.

Elizabeth is a board member for the Early Childhood Academic Public Charter School in Southeast Washington, Lee District representative of the Fairfax County Tree Commission, and is active in local civic affairs. She graduated with a B.A. in political science from the Nelson Rockefeller School of Public Affairs at the University of Albany.

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Patricia Read, Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Government Affairs

Pat leads Independent Sector's efforts in advancing its public policy agenda for the nonprofit community. Previously, she served as executive director of the Colorado Association of Nonprofit Organizations. Pat has more than 20 years experience in the nonprofit sector as a staff member, manager, volunteer, board member, and management consultant. In addition to a wide variety of other leadership roles, she served as vice president of program services for the Foundation Center, the national clearinghouse for information about private philanthropy and foundations.

Pat formerly chaired the board of the National Council of Nonprofit Associations and served on the boards of Metro Volunteers! and the Denver/Boulder Better Business Bureau. Twice named to The NonProfit Times' “50 Most Influential People in the Nonprofit Sector” list, Pat has served as a member of the advisory boards of Regis University, El Pomar Center, and University of Denver. She received her B.A. from Rockford College in Illinois and her M.L.S. from Columbia University.

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Sherry Rockey, Vice President, Organization Effectiveness

As vice president for organization effectiveness, Sherry leads Independent Sector’s membership and conference planning programs and oversees internal evaluation and system improvement processes. Before joining IS, she spent two years as vice president at the consulting firm EnCompass, where she managed projects with several charities organizations and foundations, including the United Nations Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and PBS.

Before EnCompass, Sherry served as executive director of International Women’s Media Foundation, guiding its expansion into a global network of women journalists and establishing ongoing initiatives in Africa and Latin America. As director of the League of Women Voters Education Fund, she expanded and diversified that organization’s programs and created its international democracy initiatives. She has written widely on such topics as organizational development, women in the media, and international relations. Sherry holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Central Florida and a master’s in comparative politics from American University.

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James Siegal provides leadership to Independent Sector and its members on general policy and program issues affecting the charitable sector, including ethics and accountability; civic engagement, both domestically and internationally; and best practices for the charitable community. Prior to joining IS in 2006, James worked as an attorney in private practice and government specializing in nonprofit law, most recently as the registration chief for the New York State Attorney General's Charities Bureau. At the Charities Bureau he was involved in the development of legislative and regulatory proposals, spoke regularly on governance and accountability in the nonprofit sector, and had responsibility for investigations into conflict of interest in nonprofit organizations.

James has been serving as a committee member for the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector's Form 990-PF Advisory Committee and has been a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York's Non-Profit Organizations Committee. He has played a leading role in collaborations among the public, nonprofit, and private sectors to implement electronic filing for nonprofit organizations nationwide and to improve information sharing among government regulators, including serving as chair of the NASCOnet Oversight Committee of the National Association of State Charity Officials. James received his bachelor's degree in history from Princeton University, summa cum laude, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude.

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Brenda C. Siler, Vice President, Communications and Marketing

Brenda joined IS in April 2008 and oversees the organization’s internal and external communications and marketing outreach. Brenda comes to IS with more than 30 years of experience implementing successful communications strategies resulting in global media coverage and internationally honored public awareness campaigns. She was most recently with UNCF -- the United Negro College Fund, where she oversaw the production of a new national public service campaign, helped produce the nationally televised education awareness program, “An Evening of Stars,” and oversaw UNCF’s rebranding efforts around the organization’s iconic motto: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

Brenda is a past chairwoman for the International Association of Business Communicators and was named one of the 12 leading African Americans in public relations by PR Week. She previously led public relations efforts for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the Council on Competitiveness, AARP, and the Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter of the American Red Cross. Brenda is a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, GA.

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Claire S. Wellington, Vice President, Emerging Issues and Strategic Initiatives

Claire joined IS in November 2004 and now leads the organization's efforts to bring together theorists, researchers, and practitioners to identify the emerging trends in the nonprofit sector. She was most recently vice president and general counsel to the American Association of Exporters and Importers, where she provided legal and policy advice and prepared reports on a range of regulatory and legislative matters. Prior to AAEI, Claire was chief of staff and senior advisor of the enforcement division at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where her work included anti-corruption efforts and sanctions policy.

Claire received a bachelor's degree in government from Smith College, a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University, and a law degree from Harvard Law School. She is a member of the Minority Outreach Advisory Board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and co-author of “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Avoiding the Pitfalls,” published in the Preventive Law Reporter. Among other accomplishments, she received the Treasury Department's Secretary's Honor Award in 2001.