Melissa is currently a Senior Consultant at Glavin Jacobson Inc. Melissa’s career bridges the non-profit and corporate communities ranging from household names like AT&T, United Way and the San Francisco Opera, to small non-profit start-ups like We Teach Science and SPAAT. She has served in both staff and board roles. This gives her particular insight into corporate partnerships, volunteer engagement, and board leadership.​In addition to fundraising experience with annual fund, major gifts, and foundation and corporate grants, Melissa has particular expertise in complex corporate partnerships and management of the development office team. Throughout her career she has woven together volunteerism and philanthropy to create meaningful experiences for fellow employees, board members and funding partners.​Melissa graduated from The University of Texas with a BBA in Marketing.

Ryan Helton came to DER with over a decade and a half of experience working in non-profit development, and over two decades in the non-profit education sector. He is currently the Development Director at Peninsula School Ltd. Ryan has past experiences in development leadership at Mission Graduates, Redwood Day School, Park Day School, and BELL – Building Educated Leaders for Life. With a background in annual giving programs, grant writing, major gifts, direct mail, and corporate partnerships, Ryan has a cadre of skills suited for many development shops.

Originally from Ohio, Ryan earned his BA in Communications from the University of Charleston in West Virginia, and his MA as a Leadership Specialist for non-profit/government agencies from Marshall University, also in West Virginia. A resident of San Francisco, Ryan is active in many community groups, and believes that true change comes from community solidarity.

Grateful for a 30-year career as a development director, major gift officer, grantwriter, and capital campaign consultant, Melanie Hamburger has raised over $5M for racial, social, economic, health and environmental justice in the Bay Area and beyond. In addition, she is committed to creating access to careers in fundraising, and teaches regularly for community college and workforce development nonprofits. With a small, agile team at CommunityGrantwriters.us, Melanie specializes in providing affordable resources to build revenue for social justice nonprofits with 0-1 fundraising staff.

Susan has worked in development and fundraising for more than two decades, currently serving as the Development Director at Star Academy, an independent school for children with learning differences. Before that she led development efforts at two Catholic parishes. Throughout her career she has worked in small one or two person development offices and is well versed in making the most of small budgets and wearing many hats, including fundraising, communications, and project management. She earned her Masters of Nonprofit Administration at USF and, in addition to her work with DER, currently volunteers with the American Red Cross and the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin.

Leeann Alameda has 20 years of experience in directing and implementing best practices in marketing, communications, branding, and creative solutions in both the private and nonprofit sectors. As founder and principal consultant of Alameda Marketing Solutions, Leeann has led multifaceted marketing projects for social sector and professional service business clients. As a result, these organizations have clearer and more targeted messaging, greater cohesion in their outreach materials, and integrated plans that raise visibility to support growth and fundraising efforts. Before becoming an independent consultant, Leeann was the first Director of Communications at the nonprofit REDF and she was Head of Marketing Creative Services at Pixar Animation Studios.

Born and raised in the Valencia district of San Francisco, Gema strives to provide arts education, access, and culture to her community. She is currently the Development Manager at Young Audiences of Northern California, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing creative experiences to youth and the Bay Area. As a Latinx woman of color working in the development field, Gema looks to re-image the traditional culture of the fundraising world and implement new fundraising approaches that integrate Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA). In addition, she believes in providing support to fundraisers of color and connecting them with professionals in the field to enhance their fundraising skills. She thrives best when working with a team and looks forward to joining the DER Board and advancing their mission!