Previous Classes

Piper Fellows 2019

Charlie Brown

Executive Director, Franciscan Renewal Center

“I anticipate that the Piper Fellowship experience will sharpen, refresh, and renew my leadership as we implement an exciting but challenging new strategic plan. I will be sharing with our board and my direct reports what I learn and mentor them in how to integrate that learning into their work. I will also leverage my new learning into expanded networking and new avenues of outreach throughout our region so that the FRC healing message of peace and good can have a positive impact on our fractured society. It is my hope and dream that I can live up to my potential as a recognized leader in our Valley and use my skills and passion for helping other leaders and their organizations fulfill their own aspirational promise. All this then can come full circle, and help us live our FRC mission of healing, transformation, and service.”

Charlie was hired by Franciscan Renewal Center in 1998 as general manager, forming a collaborative leadership model with executive director Joe Schwab.

He graduated from Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado, with a Bachelor of Arts in business administration. He immediately began his management career with Kmart Corporation and was promoted to general manager in Vista, California.

Charlie was continually promoted to larger-volume stores in a variety of locations throughout California. After a successful 14-year retail-management career, he chose to transition his skills and experience to better align with his faith and spirituality as well as spend more time with his daughters. Charlie has furthered his education by attending Harvard on scholarship and the Arizona State University nonprofit extension.

Charlie completed the two-year certification training and education as a spiritual director. He is a father of two lovely and faithful daughters, Amber and Bridget. He has completed several Half-Ironman races and marathons as well as 13 triathlons. He enjoys his lake cabin in Durango, fitness, travel, art, and is a lifelong learner.

Tiffany Fairall

Chief Curator, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum

“My goal is to provide Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum with a more refined purpose of showcasing marginalized people, experiences, perspectives, and art forms. With the Piper Fellowship, I will have an opportunity to meet museum professionals from several social justice institutions and learn how they navigate challenging subject matter and resistance. I am interested in their strategies for invoking empathy and fostering meaningful connections with audiences. By consciously embedding these efforts into my museum’s programming and practices, we can raise awareness and build a better understanding of our common humanity, which art is uniquely able to do in a powerful and personal way. This then creates a safe space for dialogue about major issues facing our local, national, and global communities.” 

Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Tiffany Fairall has more than 20 years of experience in the museum field.

Tiffany is currently chief curator for Mesa Contemporary Arts (MCA) Museum at Mesa Arts Center. Fairall started as the museum’s associate curator, which evolved into a curator of exhibitions. Over the last 14 years, she has organized a variety of exhibitions that demonstrate her interest in popular culture and social commentary, most notably Flora and Fauna: Botanicals and Animals in Contemporary Art (2019); Jazz It Up! Jazz Inspired Art from Today (2019); We the People: Contemporary American Figurative Art (2018); AltRealities: The Fantastical Worlds & Creatures of Contemporary Artists (2017); Boundless: The Book Transformed in Contemporary Art (2015); Messin’ with the Masters (2013); and Beneath the Skin: Artwork Inspired by Tattoos (2008).

Before this appointment, Fairall was the curatorial assistant/assistant registrar for the ASU Art Museum, where she implemented events and programming for the Ceramics Research Center and helped manage the museum’s collection and exhibitions. Fairall holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art history as well as her B.F.A. in graphic design from Arizona State University.

Even though Fairall remains passionate about popular culture and social commentary, she would like to refocus her professional purpose and investigate how MCA Museum can provide a platform for marginalized voices and use contemporary art as a catalyst for social issues that are minimized or absent in the mainstream dialogue. Her fellowship will enable her to conduct 27 national site visits and interview various museum/art professionals from across the country who are at the forefront of fostering conversations about equity in areas of race, socioeconomic class, gender, LGBTQ, religion, and accessibility. She will pair several of the site visits with museum-focused conferences and a three-day intensive certificate workshop at National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This fellowship is the impetus for personal growth and will serve as a networking opportunity to engage with others who have successfully transformed their institutions into sites for social action. To process and reflect on this intensive yearlong program, Fairall will conclude her fellowship with a weeklong meditative/mindfulness retreat.

Sherri Friend

President & CEO, Oakwood Creative Care

“Oakwood Creative Care has experienced a major turnaround in the last seven years and is primed and ready for its next stage of development. I believe the Piper Fellowship is an incredible opportunity to dive in and be able to dream and prepare for strategic growth and organizational expansion. I plan to prepare for this next phase by learning from best practice models, attending conferences, and taking a class at Columbia University with the goal of more effectively serving our aging community and supporting family caregivers. I recognize that it is vital for me as a leader to expand my skill set to reflect so that we can continue to innovate old systems and create new ones, resulting in a five-year strategic plan that can have a profound and innovative effect on how we offer services to our aging community.”

Sherri Friend is the president and CEO of Oakwood Creative Care. She has dedicated her career to finding creative solutions to enriching the lives of individuals with perceived obstacles and filling those lives with purpose and meaning.

As a passionate advocate, Sherri has become an effective business strategist with the proven skills needed to grow and develop nonprofit organizations, enabling them to expand their reach and impact into the community. Sherri has been recognized through her leadership as the 2015 Nonprofit of the Year by Mesa Chamber and received the Amazing Women Award in 2016 from the National Bank of Arizona and the Phoenix Suns. Friend’s fellowship will focus on organizational strategy for growth and expansion of services resulting in a five-year strategic plan and the integration of long-term sustainability practices. She will take several adventures researching best practice models, meeting with thought leaders in aging, attending conferences to gain perspective on national trends, and taking a class at Columbia University. Friend’s goal is to help unlock solutions that are not currently being utilized in Arizona to offer greater access to services for our aging community.

Arianne Powell

Director of Clinical Strategy and Analytics, Terros Health

CURRENT POSITION
CEO, Co-Founder, Global Health Services

“Passion, ideas, dreams, opportunities, and hopes are in abundance at Terros Health; however, turning this into actionable programs that benefit the community is challenging. The Piper Fellowship will allow me the opportunity to learn how to bring these dreams to life. I am so excited!”

Dr. Arianne Powell was the director of clinical strategy and analytics for Terros Health, a mission-driven healthcare agency that has been saving lives in Arizona for more than 50 years, when awarded the Piper Fellowship.

Dr. Arianne Powell is the CEO, Co-Founder of Global Heath Leaders. Her position when awarded Piper Fellowship was director of clinical strategy and analytics for Terros Health, a mission-driven healthcare agency that has been saving lives in Arizona for more than 50 years. In her role, she is responsible for organizational transformation and performance improvement for a wide range of population health and clinical quality initiatives, including the execution of value-based care strategy, lean process improvements, and the agency’s strategic initiatives. Dr. Powell leads business development, strategic planning, innovation, and transformation. Over the past 15 years, she has served patients and the community through programs such as wilderness therapy for at-risk youth, residential substance abuse treatment, crisis services, and outpatient physical and mental health services for underserved populations, including seriously mentally ill adults. Dr. Powell holds a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling, a doctorate in behavioral health from Arizona State University, and is a licensed counselor.

Dr. Powell’s fellowship will include attending the Stanford University Executive Education–Analysis into Action program to gain critical knowledge of leadership, team development, and action planning. Additionally, she will attend leadership training that will focus on harnessing the power of commitment, abundance, and purpose to engage teams in mission-driven services to empower the community.

Angie Rodgers

President & CEO, Arizona Food Bank Network (AzFBN)

CURRENT POSITION
Director, Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES)

“The Piper Fellowship comes at a pivotal time for the Arizona Food Bank Network as we rebrand and expand our partnerships. This opportunity will provide the time and knowledge to engage others in our work and communicate that solving hunger is possible.”  

The Arizona Food Bank Network is a nonprofit organization representing five large food banks that distribute food statewide to more than 1,000 sites.

Angie is responsible for childhood hunger programs, ensuring transportation resources are available for members, and the overall strategic direction and management of the anti-hunger organization. Angie brings more than 20 years of experience in public policy research and advocacy, focusing on human services.

Before joining AzFBN, Rodgers served in various capacities for the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), improving child and family services through advocacy and policy initiatives and community-based partnerships. Angie was Governor Janet Napolitano’s human services policy advisor, serving as the liaison between the governor and DES and the Department of Juvenile Corrections. In this role, she was instrumental in developing high-level child and family welfare services policy and budget negotiation for nearly $750 million in state resources. She earned her master’s degree in social work at Arizona State University and bachelor’s degrees in criminology and sociology from the University of Kansas.

Through her fellowship, Rodgers will develop a communications strategy that seeks to understand various perceptions of hunger and the solutions necessary to solidify public support to achieve a hunger-free Arizona. This will include incorporating new messages of inclusivity and purpose. These themes will encourage individuals to care more about each other and relate to circumstances of commonality with one another’s struggles. She plans to attend the Stanford Summer Institute in Political Psychology and the Aspen Executive Leadership Seminar to explore joint leadership models to execute this new strategy. An avid runner, Angie will rejuvenate by training to complete her fourth half marathon.

Piper Fellows 2018

Katie Cobb

President, Barrow Neurological Foundation

Trinity Donovan

Chief Executive Officer, AZCEND

Meg Sneed-Dupps

Director of Quality and Data Services, Fresh Start Women's Foundation

Kate Wells

President and CEO, Children's Museum of Phoenix

Piper Fellows 2017

Dr. Aaron Blocher-Rubin

Founder and CEO, Arizona Autism United (AZA United)

Melissa Elliott

Vice President of Programs & Services, Area Agency on Aging

Mary Mitchell

Deputy Director, Girl Scouts Arizona Cactus-Pine Council

CURRENT POSITION
Co-CEO, Girl Scouts Arizona Cactus-Pine Council

Stacia Ortega

Director of Volunteer & Bereavement Services, Hospice of the Valley

Essen Otu

Senior Director of Diversity & Community Affairs, Mountain Park Health Center

CURRENT POSITION
Manager Diversity & Inclusion, Salt River Project

Piper Fellows 2016

Katherine Cecala

President, Junior Achievement of Arizona

JoAnne Chiariello

Director, Family Support Services, Aid to Adoption of Special Kids (AASK)

CURRENT POSITION
Chief Clinical Director, Aid to Adoption of Special Kids (AASK)

Leah Fregulia

Head of School and CEO, Arizona School for the Arts

Amy Schwabenlender

Vice President of Community Impact, Valley of the Sun United Way

CURRENT POSITION
Executive Director, Human Services Campus, Inc.

Piper Fellows 2015

Marc Ashton

Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Blind Children

Tara Jackson

President, Arizona Town Hall

Mattie Lord

Chief Program Officer, UMOM New Day Centers

CURRENT POSITION
Grant Program Manager, Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community

Jeffory Morris

Museum Curator, i.d.e.a Museum

Bishop Poulson Reed

Rector, All Saints' Episcopal Church & Day School

CURRENT POSITION
Bishop, The Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma

Dan Schay

Executive Director, Theater Works

Daniel Schay, named a 2015 Piper Fellow, sadly passed away in April 2016. Dan was an accomplished artist, and a leader and voice for the arts community. He will be forever missed.

Piper Fellows 2014

Jan Dougherty, MS, RN, FAAN

Family and Community Services Director, Banner Alzheimer's Institute

CURRENT POSITION
President, TravALZ, LLC

Vincent VanVleet

Managing Director, Phoenix Theatre

CURRENT POSITION
Executive Director, Phoenix Theatre

Piper Fellows 2013

Kathryn Blake

Director of Education, Phoenix Art Museum

CURRENT POSITION
Director, Juniata College Museum of Art

Patricia Klahr

President & CEO, Chrysalis

Kimberlie McCue

Program Director of Conservation of Threatened Species and Habitats, Desert Botanical Garden

CURRENT POSITION
Chief Science Officer, Desert Botanical Garden

Cindy Ornstein

Director of the City of Mesa’s Department of Arts and Culture, Executive Director of Mesa Arts Center

Piper Fellows 2012

Carlos Galindo-Elvira

Chief Development Officer, Valle del Sol

CURRENT POSITION
Director of Community Outreach, Chicanos Por La Causa

Christine Girard

Executive Vice President, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine & Health Sciences

CURRENT POSITION
Owner/Consultant, Dr. Christine Girard, LLC

Terry Hines

Chief Operating Officer, Child Crisis Center

CURRENT POSITION
Owner / Consultant, DTH Consulting

Doug Hirano

Executive Director, Asian Pacific Community in Action

CURRENT POSITION
Principal, Hirano and Associates, LLC

David W. Noble

Development Director, Sun Sounds of Arizona

CURRENT POSITION
Marketing and Development Director, VOICEcorps Reading Service

Piper Fellows 2011

Barbara Fenster

Executive Director, Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona

Karl Gentles

Executive Director, Back to School Clothing Drive

MaryLynn Mack

Deputy Director, Desert Botanical Garden

CURRENT POSITION
Chief Operating Officer, South Coast Botanic Garden

Darlene Newsom

Chief Executive Officer, UMOM New Day Centers

CURRENT POSITION
Founder, Newsom Nonprofit Consulting

Jared Sakren

Producing Artistic Director, Southwest Shakespeare Company

CURRENT POSITION
Artistic Director, 6th Street Playhouse Santa Rosa, CA

Piper Fellows 2010

Sunnee O’Rork

Executive Director, i.d.e.a Museum

Martin Quintana

Chief Operations Officer, Chicanos Por La Causa

CURRENT POSITION
Chief Financial Officer, Copa Health

Avein Saaty-Tafoya

Chief Executive Officer, Adelante Healthcare

CURRENT POSITION
President & CEO, Friendly House

Julie Zalimas

Manager of Children's Services, EMPACT - The Suicide Prevention Center, Inc.

CURRENT POSITION
Director of Children's Services, La Frontera Arizona/EMPACT - Suicide Prevention Center

Piper Fellows 2009

Elaine McGinn

Director of Planning and Exhibits, Desert Botanical Garden

CURRENT POSITION
Senior Director of Visitor Experience and Community Engagement, Desert Botanical Garden

Dr. Paul Mittman

President, Sonoran University of Health Sciences (Formerly Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine & Health Sciences)

Peggy Mullan

President & CEO, Beatitudes Campus

Mary Peterson

Co-Founder, Maggie's Place

Amy Pfeifer

Executive Director, St. Joseph the Worker

Piper Fellows 2008

Edmundo Hidalgo

Chief Executive Officer, Chicanos Por La Causa

Mark Nelson

Chief Operations Officer, Foundation for Blind Children

CURRENT POSITION
Chief Executive Officer, Digital Apex

Daniel Scoggin

Chief Executive Officer, Great Hearts Academies

CURRENT POSITION
Co-Founder, Great Hearts & President, Great Hearts Foundation

John Swagert, MD

Chief Executive Officer, Mountain Park Health Center

Piper Fellows 2007

Blase Bova

Director of Development, Society of St. Vincent de Paul

CURRENT POSITION
Executive Director, Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County

Lisa Glow

Chief Executive Officer, Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center

CURRENT POSITION
Chief Executive Officer, Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS)

Theresa Leon

Chief Operations Officer, Friendly House

CURRENT POSITION
Owner, TLConsulting

Connie Phillips

Executive Director, Sojourner Center

CURRENT POSITION
President & CEO, Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest

Kurt Sheppard

Chief Programs Officer, Valle del Sol, Inc.

CURRENT POSITION
Director Complete Care, Banner University Health Plans

Piper Fellows 2006

Rob Crawford

Chief Executive Officer, Life Development Institute

Michelle MacLennan

Assistant Manager, Chandler Center for the Arts

CURRENT POSITION
General Manager, Chandler Cultural Foundation / Chandler Center for the Arts

Milon F. Pitts

Director of Community Engagement, Homeward Bound

CURRENT POSITION
Chief Operations Officer, BFDNutrition

Marsha Porter

Executive Director, Crisis Nursery

Keith Thompson

Executive Director, The Phoenix Shanti Group

Piper Fellows 2005

Joe Baker

Outreach Director, Heard Museum

Richard “Mike” Bell

Director of Shelter Services, Society of St. Vincent de Paul Ozanam Manor

Michelle Dionisio

President and CEO, Benevilla

CURRENT POSITION
Consultant, Nonprofit Management and Creative Aging/Teaching Artist

Juanita Howard

Director of Quality Management and Deputy Director, Clinica Adelante, Inc.

Kathy Nugent

Finance Director, Fresh Start Women's Foundation

CURRENT POSITION
Finance Director, AZCEND

Piper Fellows 2004

Laura Larson-Huffaker

Executive Director, EMPACT - The Suicide Prevention Center, Inc.

CURRENT POSITION
Chief Executive Director, Horizon Health and Wellness

Robin Dunn Marcos

Regional Resettlement Director, Arizona, International Rescue Committee

CURRENT POSITION
Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Katrina Mueller Pappas

President, Chandler Center for the Arts

CURRENT POSITION
Business Manager, Arizona Wilderness Coalition (Tucson, AZ)

Luz Sarmina

President and CEO, Valle del Sol, Inc

Piper Fellows 2003

Pamela Martin

President, Homeward Bound

Kenneth Schutz

The Dr. William Huizingh Executive Director, Desert Botanical Garden

Piper Fellows 2002

Janice Ertl

Clinic Director, St. Vincent de Paul Virginia G. Piper Medical and Dental Clinic

Chris Tompkins

Executive Director, Foundation for Blind Children

Piper Fellows 2001

Santino Bernasconi

President & CEO, Centro de Amistad, Inc.

CURRENT POSITION
Deacon, Town of Guadalupe Community

Chevy Humphrey

The Hazel A. Hare President & CEO, Arizona Science Center

CURRENT POSITION
President & CEO, Museum of Science + Industry Chicago

Mary Lynn Kasunic

President & CEO, Area Agency on Aging, Region One, Inc.

Linda Searfoss

Executive Director, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona

Tamara Woodbury

Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus-Pine Council, Inc.