MANAGEMENT TEAM PROFILES
Charles H. (Chuck) Bentz
Founder and Chairman
cbentz@chbentz.com
Chuck established the firm in 1980 to provide marketing-oriented
fundraising expertise and management consulting to not-for-profit
institutions throughout the United States. A native of Ohio
who was educated at Notre Dame and Denison University, he worked
for more than 10 years in marketing positions with several
major
companies. These included the Battelle Memorial Institute (the
world’s largest research institute) and General Electric.
Before starting his own firm, he worked for 10 years with other
national fundraising firms, serving as vice president for one
and as a managing partner for another. Since its opening, Bentz
Associates has successfully managed capital and endowment campaigns
and provided fundraising assistance for nearly 300 clients.
Active in the northeastern Ohio region, Chuck is president
of the Warren
Philharmonic Orchestra and a co-founder of a Kent State University,
Trumbull Campus lecture series.
John
T. Bentz
President
jbentz@chbentz.com
John oversees the firm’s Fundraising Feasibility and
Leadership Planning Studies, consults with clients on campaign
planning,
and assists Bentz personnel who are servicing clients throughout
the country. He is also responsible for coordinating the
marketing of Bentz services nationwide.
John is a graduate of Salve Regina University, Newport,
Rhode Island, where he earned a bachelor of science degree
in finance
and human resource management. He has done post-graduate
study at the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy.
John was
elected to the City Council in Warren, Ohio, in 1995 and
served through
1997. In addition, he is the president of the W.D. Packard
Music Hall Board of Trustees and secretary of the Warren
Redevelopment and Planning Corporation. He also serves
on the committee to
restore Warren’s historic Robins Theater and on the
Board of Directors of the Trumbull County Chapter of the
American
Red Cross.
Sara
Anne T. (Cissy) Parham
Senior Vice President
satparham@chbentz.com
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, Cissy has a master’s degree in communication
arts from New York Institute of Technology and completed New
York University’s Summer Institute for Management of Nonprofits.
She has been the public relations director for the Greensboro
Symphony, the publications editor at the University of North
Carolina — Greensboro, an account manager for
a major North Carolina public relations firm, and a
corporate public
relations
specialist for Bell System companies in Atlanta and
Los Angeles. She joined Bentz Associates in 1987. A
past president
of the
Junior League of Elizabeth-Plainfield, New Jersey,
she has served on the Board of Directors of the North
Carolina
Triad
Chapter
of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and
is currently on the Board of Directors of BarCARES,
a subsidiary
of the
North Carolina Bar Association.
Laura Lee Martin
Vice President
lmartin@chbentz.com
Laura began her career in fundraising at The Cleveland
Museum of Natural History. For more than 10
years, she was part
of the Development and Membership Division
where she coordinated the
Museum’s Annual Fund Campaign, organized the Corporate Partners
Program, and acted as the traveling exhibits coordinator, responsible
for both marketing the Museum’s touring exhibits and seeking
exhibits to rent from other institutions. She also worked as
a development manager at The Cleveland Institute of Music and
was responsible for foundation and corporate relations, grantwriting, development communications, prospect research, and the
Institute’s first formal planned giving
program. She is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Historic Preservation at Ursuline College. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Northeast Shores Development Corporation.
SENIOR CONSULTANT AND
RESIDENT CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR PROFILES
Greg C. Bobonich, J.D.
Vice President of Planned Giving
gcbgroup@supernet.com
Greg is an attorney who has spent his entire 20-year career working in the philanthropic community. He has had significant leadership and operations experience with successful development programs and capital campaigns for colleges/universities, hospitals/healthcare systems, and other not-for-profit entities. He has a proven track record of cultivating and closing major planned gifts and has been involved with campaigns and planned gifts that have raised in excess of $4 billion.
His experience includes service as president of GCB Group; vice president, trust services, Counsel Trust Company; vice president for institutional advancement, The University of Toledo; executive director, Pinnacle Health System Foundation; executive director, Polyclinic Medical Center Foundation; executive director, Miami University Foundation; and associate vice president for development, Ohio Northern University.
Debra S. (Debby) Bradley
Campaign Director
Debby began working with not-for-profit organizations in 1982 as a public relations professional for UPMC Horizon, a community hospital in Farrell, Pennsylvania. She has also served as public relations coordinator for Butler Memorial Hospital in Butler, Pennsylvania. Her move into fundraising came in 1988, during her tenure with the American Lung Association of Ohio, Northeast Region in Cleveland. For fifteen years, she served as fundraising coordinator, the agency’s official spokesperson, and a member of the statewide development and communications project teams. Her specialties included grant writing and corporate solicitations. Debby’s development experience also includes service as president of Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley, Girard, Ohio, and work with the Penn Lakes Girl Scout Council, Edinboro, Pennsylvania, and the Arthritis Foundation of Northeastern Ohio in Beachwood, Ohio. She is a graduate of Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, and has done post-graduate work at Penn State University, Sharon, Pennsylvania.
Richard L. (Mac) McLaughlin
Campaign Director
rmclaughlin@chbentz.com
Richard (Mac) McLaughlin began working with Charles H. Bentz Associates, Inc., in 2003 and serves as a resident campaign director. A graduate of Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, he has a bachelor of arts degree in business administration. He has been the planned gifts director as well as the director of admissions and financial aid at Mount Union College. He has also served as director of sales for the Biery Cheese Company in Louisville, Ohio, and has been the manager of the Stark County Federal Credit Union. Mac is also a veteran of the U.S. Army. Mac is a past board member and program chair for the Northern Ohio Planned Giving Council. Currently he is serving as a board member for Leadership Stark County and endowment chairman for his church.
Michael Y. Walters
Campaign Director
Michael Walters has organized and conducted successful capital and annual giving campaigns throughout the country. He has also headed alumni and public/governmental relations programs, completed feasibility studies, and negotiated trust agreements with attorneys and donor prospects.
Prior to joining Bentz Associates, he was vice president for advancement of United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio; vice president for university advancement at Baker University in Kansas; executive vice president of the University of Nebraska – Kearney; and the campaign director at the University of Connecticut. His early experience was as an assistant professor and director of speech and theater at Cumberland College in Kentucky. Michael has also served an artistic director and general manager for organizations including the Sundown Amphitheatre in Texas and the Nashville Academy Theatre in Tennessee.
He is a graduate of Cumberland College and earned a master of arts degree from the University of Kentucky.
Karen
A. Pelletier, CFRE
Senior Consultant
kpelletier@chbentz.com
Karen joined Bentz Associates in 1997 and has directed campaigns
for the Middle Border Museum in Mitchell, South Dakota, and
the Forum for Contemporary Art in St. Louis, Missouri. She
also has extensive experience in writing foundation and corporate
proposals and in conducting Bentz Associates studies. She earned
a bachelor of music degree from Baylor University and has done
management and production work for the Central City (Colorado)
Opera and the San Diego Opera. Karen began her development
career in 1990 with the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra. She
has also served as director of corporate and foundation relations
for Trinity International University on Chicago’s North
Shore and as director of development for the American Red Cross
in Mason City, Iowa. She has been awarded the Certified Fund
Raising Executive (CFRE) status by CFRE International, the
profession’s accrediting organization.
John (Jack) Limpert, Jr.
Associate Fund Counsel
Jack is affiliated with Bentz Associates and brings
a wealth of experience to the firm. His past
positions include
vice president of development, Lincoln Center Incorporated;
vice
president for development and marketing, The
New York Botanical Garden; and director of development,
The Museum
of Modern
Art. His expertise includes capital campaigns,
annual giving programs,
membership building, and exhibition and program
funding. He has an unusual combination of marketing,
advertising,
promotional,
and fundraising skills. Before becoming a fundraiser,
he held senior positions at Ted Bates & Company/New York and McCann-Erickson,
Inc. He has also served on many not-for-profit boards including
The Children’s Aid Society, Harvard Club
of New York City, and the Greater New York
Chapter
of the
Association of Fundraising
Professionals. He was awarded Certified Fund
Raising Executive
(CFRE) status in 1985.
Christina L. (Chrissy) Pezzulo LaRocca
Sales Coordinator
cpezzulo@chbentz.com
Chrissy is a graduate of Westminster
College, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania,
where she
received a
bachelor of arts
degree in English and public relations.
Prior to joining Bentz
Associates, she was an advertising account
representative for the Town
Crier Newspapers and a marketing/special
events coordinator for Coldwell Banker First Place
Real Estate,
both
in Boardman, Ohio. Chrissy worked
several years as a client
services representative
for a law firm in New Castle, Pennsylvania,
and owned and operated Christina’s Edibles
and Collectables, which offered gourmet gift baskets
and
special
events planning services.
SUPPORT STAFF PROFILES
Christine M. McCann
Office Manager
cmccann@chbentz.com
Prior to joining the firm, Chris was the owner
of Home Base Computer Systems, a word
processing and desktop publishing
company, which included outsourcing
for area businesses, manuscripts for local authors,
political campaign
materials, resumes, and
work for college students.
She was also
an
executive secretary with the corporate
law firm of Nadler, Nadler, & Burdman
Co., L.P.A., for over seven years. The mother of three children,
she has served as vice president and president of her children’s
elementary school PTO and has
volunteered extensively with
various school projects.
Marianne Brdek
Research/Administrative Assistant
mbrdek@chbentz.com
Marianne, a native of Ohio, earned
a bachelor of fine arts
degree from Youngstown
State
University. She joined
Bentz Associates after working
as an interior designer in Ohio
for more than
five years. She was affiliated
with Ethan Allen and Manor
House and started her own business — Buy
New or Make Due. She is also an
active volunteer with local charities.
Kerry Brainard
Secretary
kbrainard@chbentz.com
Kerry brings many years of
graphics, print, and
administrative skills to the
Bentz organization. She has worked
for the United States
Information Agency’s Printing Division in Washington,
D.C.; Ajax Magnethermic Corporation’s Sales Department
in Warren, Ohio; and Johnson Rubber Company’s
Lithography Department
in Middlefield, Ohio.
A native of Pennsylvania,
Kerry is active in local
volunteer
ministry work.
