Apra-IL Webinar: Salesforce CRM Conversion Roundtable
Join Apra-IL for an engaging roundtable discussion on the exciting topic of CRM conversions to Salesforce! Explore strategies, challenges, and best practices for a "seamless" transition to Salesforce within the context of prospect development. Whether you're planning a CRM migration or looking to optimize your current Salesforce setup, this interactive roundtable discussion offers valuable insights from your industry peers!
Speaker Bios:
Nhu Huynh - Nhu Huynh (she/her/hers) is currently the Director of Prospect Development and Campaign Management at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. In this role, she oversees prospect research, prospect management, and assists with capital campaign strategy. She previously worked at Loyola University Chicago as the Director, Prospect Management & Research. Prior to that, she spent seven years at Harvard where she started as a prospect research analyst and eventually pivoted to overseeing more prospect management responsibilities under the title of Associate Director, Prospect Management. One of her greatest accomplishments includes helping implement a prospect management program in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. She was a member of APRA International's Nomination Committee (2022). Nhu has a bachelor's degree from Boston College and a master's degree from Harvard University.
Sabrina Stradtner
Steven Hermann - Steven Hermann is the Executive Director of Advancement Services at DePaul University, where he leads 5 data & systems teams, along with a comprehensive technology transformation project. With an MBA from UChicago Booth School of Business, Steven combines strategic thinking with hands-on experience in higher education advancement.
At DePaul, Steven has been pivotal in implementing Kindsight's CRM solution, ascend, utilizing change management best practices from the selection process through implementation. His career spans roles in prospect management at UChicago, stewardship at Benedictine University, and project management at Grenzenbach Glier and Associates.
Steven's expertise lies in transforming teams into high-performing units and driving strategic initiatives that leverage technology to enhance fundraising efforts. He has managed high-profile consulting projects for institutions like Dartmouth College and the University of Minnesota. Beyond his role at DePaul, Steven contributes his financial and operational acumen in a pro bono role as acting CFO and COO at Essence Consulting Collaborative, supporting the firm's early-stage growth.
Steven's insights on team transformations, technology adoption, and operational leadership make him a valuable contributor to discussions on navigating the evolving landscape of advancement services and nonprofit technology. In his free time, he is a serial DIY'er, enjoys hiking with his wife, and lounging with his 35 lb pocket pittie and 2 black cats. Last fall he finished building a greenhouse with his wife and in July completed a 5-day hike along the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu.
Reba London - Reba London has been working with prospect data at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL since May 2015 and currently serves as Associate Director of Prospect Research and Management within Alumni Relations and Development. Reba splits her focus between creating department-wide policies, procedures, and trainings as well as partnering with fundraising teams on portfolio management, reporting, data analysis, and never-ending data quality management work.
It is the blend of these focus points that led Reba to seek out the leadership role of Prospect Research and Management Workgroup Lead in NU's CRM conversion project, from Ellucian Advance to Kindsight's Ascend on the Salesforce platform. This role has not only required soft skills like creative thinking, attention to detail, and group management, but has required intense data work, conceptualizing object configuration and implementation, creating mapping instructions for millions of PRM-relevant data points involved in migration, enacting mass updates in the current database to prepare for data mapping, data validation and testing, and figuring out which fields can be relabeled in Salesforce (hint: not as many as you'd think).
Outside of work you can find Reba with her family, including two young sons, at parks, pools, and libraries around Glenview, IL.