STAFF AND CONSULTANTS

At Inspired Legacies we recognize that we need people with different areas of expertise to complete a whole and inspired legacy plan. Our staff coordinates with a core group of consultants to assist with administration such as project management, design, communications, marketing, website management, as well as expert subject matter advice.

Tracy Gary Director, Founder: Tracy Gary
Tracy Gary is a philanthropist, nonprofit entrepreneur and legacy mentor who has worked tirelessly to help others experience the joy of giving charitable dollars to causes they care about. Through her eighteenth start-up, a nonprofit called Inspired Legacies, she consults with a diverse range of organizations to improve and expand philanthropy and volunteerism. Her latest venture is the Tipping Point Fund for which she is raising $20 million to shift poverty and the environment. She has appeared on The Today Show and Oprah Winfrey and been interviewed by The Washington Post, NPR, Time, The International Tribune, and others.

Ms. Gary is the author of "Inspired Philanthropy: Your Step by Step Guide to Creating a Giving Plan and Leaving a Legacy" (published by Jossey-Bass, Nov. 2007)
More on Tracy Gary


CONSULTANTS

Jean Russell Co-Founder: Jean Russell, Nurture
Jean Russell joined Inspired Legacies during our development process. Jean hails from the prairie lands of Illinois. She holds a double bachelors degree in English and Philosophy from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Jean began her communications career at ISU's University Galleries. Now, she runs Nurture, a communications and coaching consulting company working with nonprofit leaders, social entrepreneurs and other better world builders. She is a certified NLP Coach.


Ruqayya Gibson Ruqayya Gibson, Program Consultant for Marketing, Youth Giving Circle Tools, and Coordinator of Inspiring Our Communities: Leaders of Color and Donor Partners Collaboration (Houston pilot.)
Ruqayya Gibson has worked for over 10 years in the non-profit sector. Ruqayya has assisted in the successful development of numerous non-profit programs, events, and campaigns. Ruqayya's work focuses on supporting the emotional development and empowerment of families and youth, social justice, vulnerable populations, and human relations. Ruqayya has received numerous awards for her work in the community including: American Mental Health Alliance (AMHA) Community Leadership Award, Association of Black Social Workers (ABSW) Community Advocate Award, and has recently been appointed to the Advisory Board of the Gulf Coast Trans-Disciplinary Research Recovery Center for Community Health (TRRCCH). She has personally led organization fund raising campaigns securing over $2 million to support community programs.

"Inspired Legacies has started a movement. Connecting donors to organizations in need of financial support and guidance bridges a gap that has long been overlooked in the non-profit community. I am honored to have the opportunity to be a part of such a meaningful process!"


Pat Tiller, Administrative Coordinator Pat Tiller, Administrative Coordinator
Pat is a native Texan who has many years of administrative experience at for-profit corporations in Houston, including Texaco, 3/D International, Mitchell Energy & Development, and Burk-Kleinpeter Engineering. She spent several years gaining non-profit volunteer experience as a youth facilitator for HATCH. For the last several years, Pat has served on the Board of Directors of AssistHers as Vice President-Outreach.

"Now that I am semi-retired, I am pleased to have quality time to serve AssistHers, as well as the opportunity to continue using my administrative experience for Inspired Legacies. It is indeed a pleasure to assist Tracy in working with donors to help them accomplish their goals."


Else Meyer Else Meyer
Elyse Meyer currently works for Logistical Solutions International, Inc.(LSI provides logistical support and cultural awareness training for the oil and gas industry) as an accountant and is the financial manager for IL. She began her tenure with IL while between jobs and has continued to support IL. Elyse has also served as Treasurer for several nonprofit organizations.

"I appreciate even more now the work that Inspired Legacies' does. My partner's mother just died and we are amidst all the issues of legacy and the transfer of family values and resources that this important organization deals with daily."


Writer/Editor: Carol Rust
Carol Rust (http://www.writerfind.com/carolrust.htm) is an award-winning writer based in Houston with 27 years of experience in freelance writing and newspaper reporting. Her specialty is the personality profile, which employs her talent of meeting people where they are and gently drawing out the information necessary to create complete, compelling, and sensitive portraits of her story subjects. She has a strong commitment to both accuracy in reporting information and empathy in dealing with the people she writes about. During her past 10 years in freelance writing, she has written for the University of St. Thomas, Newsweek, the Washington Post, Glamour, People Magazine, Continental Airlines and culturemap.com, among many others.


Karma Shipman Karma Shipman, Marketing and PR Consultant
Karma Shipman has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 15 years. From establishing charitable organizations for individuals to assessing the needs of established nonprofits to building boards of directors, Karma brings a keen understanding of the philanthropic community.

"It has been my sincere privilege and honor to be a part of the Houston community and work with some of the most effective, dynamic philanthropists and charitable organizations. I've learned there is no substitute for education when it comes to being a more effective donor, advisor, and nonprofit organization. Tracy and Inspired Legacies are invaluable assets to this community and beyond. It is a joy to support them as they 'build great donors and their leadership'!"


Writer/Interviewer: Karen Payne, Transforming Violence
Karen Payne has worked as a consultant, writer, filmmaker and workshop leader for over 25 years, focusing on issues of social and environmental justice, community development, anti-racism, violence prevention and social change philanthropy. She has worked as a consultant to Changemakers, Inspired Legacies, individual philanthropists and numerous social change nonprofits. Most recently she researched, wrote and coordinated the production of the Flow Funding website www.flowfunding.org. Her book, Between Ourselves: Letters between Mothers and Daughters 1750-1982, has been in print for over 20 years. She is the co-founder of Wild Zones www.wild-zone.net and Transforming Violence www.transformingviolence.org


Webmaven: Barbara Brust, Lucille Design
Design: Rick Russell, Spinorb
Design: Michele Melrose Design
Art advisory: The Quilt Complex
Writer/Interviewer: Elizabeth Share


Associates

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