NEDRACon 2025 Encore Session #4 - Managing Up and Across

NEDRACon 2025 Encore Session #4

Managing Up and Across Panel

Thursday , November 6, 2025

1:00PM- 2:00PM  ET

Online 

Unlock the secrets to enhancing your current role and advancing your career (psst..it’s building and maintaining strong professional relationships) with this interactive session tailored specifically for professionals in the field of prospect research and development. Join your NEDRA colleagues for an insightful discussion where you’ll learn strategies to effectively communicate and collaborate with leaders and peers, better positioning yourself as a knowledgeable, trusted, and valued partner.

We will discuss:

• Building strong, collaborative relationships with management, colleagues, and peers
• Navigating hierarchies to manage workloads, increasing your visibility/participation in strategic initiatives, and getting what you need to succeed.
• Presenting information to gain buy-in, inform strategy, and influence decision-making

PRESENTERS:

Bruce Berg, Northeastern University
Bruce is currently Senior Director, Prospect Development at Northeastern University. In this role, he has welcomed the challenge to build a well-run and effective advancement program; one that supports the researcher-as-consultant model, and gives research staff ownership and responsibility of their work. He began his advancement career as a member of the Harvard University Development Office. Before this, he pursued a career in classical music and served as Principal Percussionist for both the New World Symphony and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. An active musician and researcher, he freelances throughout the Boston area and is Principal of DonorIQ, a research consulting firm. Bruce is considered a valued and trusted mentor and a manager who truly cares about his team and their career growth and professional development. As part of his own professional development path, Bruce served as treasurer on the NEDRA board for seven years from 2008-2015.

Renana Kehoe, Bellforge Arts Center
Renana is currently leading the Development department for the Bellforge Arts Center. Previously, she was head of the Gift Management and Prospect Development & Research departments at the Harvard Business School. She also served on the HBS External Relations' Racial Equity Working Group as a Co-Lead of the Volunteers subgroup, focusing on diversifying the school's boards, committees, and volunteers. Prior to HBS, Renana led department operations for Institutional Advancement at the Harvard Art Museums, with a focus on membership, audience development, fundraising strategy, prospect management & research, financial administration, and data analysis. Before Harvard, Renana was Director of Development Operations and Prospect Research at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. In recent years, she has chaired the Brookline Commission for the Arts, led tours at the Institute of Contemporary Art, and taught Art History and Arts Management courses at Lesley University and Suffolk University. She has served as Board President of the New England Development Research Association (NEDRA) and as a Board Member of Mother Brook Arts & Community Center, where she led the search to find/hire the new Executive Director.

Barbara Moore, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Facilitator)
Barbara is Assistant Vice President II at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the leading cancer research and care centers in the country. She directs a team of 12 engaged in prospect research, management, and analytics, and serves as a strategic partner to colleagues across Dana-Farber’s 300+ person fundraising organization. Barbara joined Dana-Farber in 2001 and been a key contributor to the Division of Philanthropy’s growth from $80M to $400M+ in annual revenue. She values her role as a mentor and takes tremendous pride in seeing current and former members of her team advance in the research profession. Barbara is a graduate of Wheaton College and earned a master’s degree in library science at Simmons University. She served on the NEDRA Board from 2009-2012, including as President from 2009-2010, and was the recipient of NEDRA’s Ann Castle Award in 2024.

Elana Pierkowski, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Elana is an Associate Director at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she develops strategic research products for the Institute’s President and its Chief Philanthropy Officer and is also a close collaborator with other senior Philanthropy staff. Prior to joining DFCI as a Senior Research Analyst in 2015, she was a Development Services and Prospect Manager at the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts and a Director of Advancement Operations at Wentworth Institute of Technology. Previously, she worked at MIT Sloan. Before her career in non-profits, Elana was a consultant in Web design and content management. She has B.A. degrees from Wesleyan University in English Literature and in Spanish Literature. Elana previously served on the NEDRA Board, including two years as Vice President. Her Golden Retriever, Lilly, thinks Elana is the absolute best at throwing tennis balls in the park, but Lilly says that about everybody.

COST:

$25 Members

$50 Non-Members

LOCATION:

This program will be held as a Zoom meeting.  Attendees will receive a Zoom link a day before the event. The program will not be recorded.  

DEADLINES:

Deadline for registration will be  Wednesday, November 5 at 3PM.