Nathan Fay is a associate vice president of prospect development at City of Hope, one of the nations top National Cancer Institutes. He provides leadership to the areas of BI, grateful patients, and prospect development. Nathan is working on a couple of books called "Precision Prospect Development" and "Precision Philanthropy: Using AI to Solve World's Greatest Challenges" with Nathan Chappell.

In this conversation, we cover:

• How the search for "truth" led Nathan from philosophy to philanthropy
• What is precision philanthropy
• How AI will shape our industry and the professionals within
• Why we must share success stories of data and how to champion for insights

A fun fact:

• The original grant proposal for the study of AI by John McCarthy et. al from 1955.

Mark Peterson, ex-Division Chief, Data and Analytics at US Global Development Lab, USAID, founded a team to create new ways to generate, share, and analyze data to more effectively meet the challenges of poverty, hunger, and disease. He brings amazing knowledge and experience of research as a scientist and a practitioner. Currently, he is researching ways to further development at Orange Silicon Valley.

In this talk, he shares:

• How cell phone data can provide clues about the spread of diseases
• How private support, not only in dollars, but also in data, can help us solve some big problems
• How information asymmetry can create inequity
• How geo data can help the world food programs as well as fight credit card fraud.

These were some great insights into the partnerships of for-profit companies and international development. Great conversation for idea generation too!

David Lawson sure knows about big data, AI, and philanthropy. He built various successful data companies and is the author of the book:  Big Good - Philanthropy in the Age of Big Data & Cognitive Computing.

In this podcast, you will hear from David about:

• Why AI won't steal our jobs
• What's next for philanthropy with AI
• How IoT is creating unexpected jobs

The best part of the conversation was when David said, "We aren't gifted with the meaning of life; however, we are gifted with a meaningful life."

You don't want to miss out on David's wisdom.

Rodger Devine knows about change. He used to be in the backroom writing client-server management tools and keeping the servers up. Now, he leads leadership annual giving program as well as data analytics and advancement operations at one of the largest colleges at USC. 

In this talk, we discuss:

• Change management
• Barriers to analytics adoption
• Shifting perspectives
• Asking yourself "why"
• Embracing failures 
• And why you should be kind to yourself

Some of the resources we discussed:

• CRISP-DM
• IBM's white papers
• Erik Wahl's book: Unthink
• Simon Sinek's book: Start with why

Jon Boeckenstedt, associate vice president for Enrollment Management and Marketing, shares how DePaul university uses data to keep a competitive edge in enrolling quality students, yet providing opportunities to who need the most.

We talk about his Washington Post article, in which Jon discusses how the well-intentioned plans of elite universities to recruit more underserved populations 'are attempting to grab more' prestige. 

We also discuss his findings about ACT scores and HS GPA and student success. His other work using Tableau on admissions data is equally amusing.

You will also learn, hidden under the spoken words, about Jon's guiding principles of his own success as well as the people he deeply cares about. What an amazing person!

If Regan Holt, CEO of Uprising Tech, has her way, she will make the user interfaces of CRMs almost invisible to the user. She says that the user experience should dictate how CRMs are designed. She knows a few things about this. She worked as an advancement services professional for many years at Northwestern. Then started her company to create a Google-like interface for fundraising professionals to search for prospective donors by interests.

In this talk, you will learn about her vision for fundraising and its CRMs.

Elissa Fink, the chief marketing officer of Tableau, gives her frank opinion on data helps us everybody. It helps us separate facts from opinions. It helps us build empathy. It helps us work better with our co-workers.

She describes her journey to Tableau and shares the secrets of successful data-driven sales operations.

Jeff Martin, a senior consultant at EAB, shares his insights from his comprehensive research on fundraiser productivity. 

Nolan Haimes, principal of Nolan Haimes Creative, shares his thoughts on good storytelling and slide design. And, he definitely knows something about those areas: he is only of the 12 Microsoft Powerpoint MVP's in the US and he has created high-end presentations and keynote addresses for Fortune 500 CEOs. 

You can learn about him at http://presentyourstory.com/ and listen to his podcast at http://thepresentationpodcast.com/.

Chris Sorenson, the man behind a very successful conference for fundraising folks who deal with data and systems, and also the founder of a rapid fast reporting tool called Michelangelo, doesn't hold back in this talk. With his typical contagious enthusiasm, he gives advice on entrepreneurship, success, and career.