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President

Teri Brickey

Senior Manager, Individual Giving - Acquisition & Growth | National MS Society


Teri traces her nonprofit roots to her penchant for volunteering for any cause she felt drawn to, starting with letter-writing for Amnesty International in high school. She earned her degree in Political Science and Philosophy/Religion from Truman State, and afterward went to work on political campaigns. Her first big career jump was into Massage Therapy, where she stayed for fifteen years. When that career met its natural end, she lucked into a job at Washington University in the Alumni & Development department. The field of development seemed to be the perfect place to use her analytical skills, her ability to connect with people, and her love of a good mystery. She was quickly promoted to Prospect Management Analyst and that is where she first found Apra.  She attended the International Conference and was hooked. She recently started a new position at the National MS Society where she works with prospect research and prospect management to grow the donor base and acquire new donors.

Away from work, she loves to spend time with her huge, hilarious family, write bad poetry, travel, and invest in art projects that she only sometimes finishes. She lives in St. Louis with her cat Jean-Luc.

Vice President & Secretary

Danita Hill

Manager of Philanthropic Prospect Development | 

Children's Mercy Kansas City

Danita is the Manager, Philanthropic Prospect Development at Children's Mercy Foundation of Kansas City. She has worked in the non-profit sector for more than 30 years and has experience in all aspects including marketing, strategic planning, event coordination, volunteer management, fundraising, and in 2019 began a new career in data analytics and prospect research.  To her delight, she thinks she's finally found her true calling.  Danita grew up as a military BRAT and followed her father all over the world.  Her life experiences have given her the ability to think outside the box and the understanding that we are all connected. 

Danita earned her BA in Psychology, with an emphasis in Early Childhood from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas (where she landed after her dad's last assignment and which she has utilized in raising two children and five dogs). She enjoys the chaos of four grandbabies and two quirky pups, gardening, reading a good novel, a great glass of wine, dabbling in writing the next best-seller and traveling with her husband of 36 years, Charlie. Danita looks forward to contributing to the continued growth and opportunities that Apra MoKan has to offer its membership as part of the board.



Treasurer & Membership Director

Maureen Flaherty

Prospect Management Consultant | Washington University in St. Louis

Maureen joined Apra in 2016 after becoming a Prospect Researcher for SSM Health St. Louis. She then transitioned to the role of Individual Giving Associate at Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis where prospect research and management numbered among her duties in addition to annual gift fundraising and managing the Museum’s Junior Board. She then made the leap to higher education and joined the Business Intelligence Unit at Washington University in St. Louis as a Prospect Management Consultant, blending her experience in prospect development and front-line fundraising to work in partnership with gift officers.

Maureen was drawn to the nonprofit field while working to attain a certificate in Service Learning from the University of Kansas—where she earned a degree in History of Art and a minor in Business. She is also a member of the Women’s Leadership Network of Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, and has served on the finance committee of the St. Louis Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Maureen is a native of St. Louis and resides in the city with her partner. In her spare time, Maureen enjoys a good book, staying active, learning to garden, and traveling and visiting cultural destinations (when not in a pandemic). She is also a film and TV buff and a voracious listener of podcasts.

Communication Director

Heather Held Nelson

Lead Philanthropy Operations Analyst | SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Foundation


A native of New Orleans, Heather has called St. Louis home for seven years. She has worked in the non-profit sector since she was a freshman in college, when she helped open a charter elementary school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Heather’s background is in non-profit operations, and she found her passion in prospect research and management when she became the sole prospect researcher for Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation in 2017. Since then, Heather has worked to develop a comprehensive prospect research and management program for the foundation. Heather fell in love with Apra shortly after joining the organization and has been an active member of both Apra International and Apra MoKan since she joined in 2017.

Heather has a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies with minors in History, Psychology, and Sociology from Louisiana State University. When she isn’t brushing up on new prospect research trends, Heather finds any excuse to entertain at her home, cross stitch funky patterns, or read a good book. She and her husband, Steven, can also be found faithfully cheering for LSU and the New Orleans Saints and spoiling their pups, Harrison and Petey.

Conference Chair

Kate Jorgensen

Research Analyst | University of New Mexico Foundation


Kate had the privilege to fall into nonprofit fundraising as a student at Northwest Missouri State University. Her years as a student worker gave her a taste and interest into the world of research and analytics. Through many positions and different organizations, she has gained knowledge from all aspects of fundraising but always had a foot in research work. Recently, Kate was hired to join the University of New Mexico Foundation's Prospect Development and Analytics team as a Research Analyst.

Kate and her husband are graduates and tailgating fan-atics of the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats. Wearing green and spending most of fall in the stands of a football stadium has become a passion they are raising their daughter to enjoy. During other times of the year you can find Kate chasing a busy toddler or whenever she can sneak in the time reading as many books as possible.


Program Director

Michelle Brownlee

Director of Philanthropic Prospect Development | Children's Mercy Kansas City

Michelle discovered her passion for prospect research (and a practical use for her history degree!) while working on a capital campaign at Harvesters-The Community Food Network. Upon completion of the campaign, she established a prospect development program at Harvesters and became one of the first full-time prospect researchers in the Feeding America network.
 
Michelle’s almost 20-year career in prospect development has spanned human services, higher education, and now children’s healthcare. She currently serves as Director of Philanthropic Prospect Development at Children’s Mercy.
 
Michelle is a member of the Apra Missouri-Kansas board of directors, in the role of professional development chair and a co-chair of the Woodmark Group’s Prospect Research Cohort. She also serves on the board of Orpheus KC, the new audiences group for the Lyric Opera, and has volunteered with the Kansas City Food Circle, PCOS Challenge, Harvesters, Show Me KC Schools, and the Hospitalized Veterans Writing Project.
 
Michelle earned a BA in History from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In her spare time, she is a voracious reader, crafter, trivia nerd, and aspiring gardener. She also likes to explore the foodie scene both locally and wherever she travels.



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Contact Us:
President Teri Brickey      (314) 760-9661(cell) theresa.brickey@nmss.org


Mailing Address:

Teri Brickey | 4355 Maryland Avenue, #204 | Saint Louis, MO 63108

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