"What Happens When the Cameras Go Home”: A Conversation with Jennice Fuentes, Founder and CEO of BoricuActivatEd

Jennice Fuentes is founder and CEO of BoricuActivatEd, a nonprofit that helps people understand government, find their voice, and become more effective advocates for themselves and their communities. Jennice was born and raised in Puerto Rico and spent 25 years working in the U.S. House of Representatives, eventually serving as chief of staff to Congressman Luis Gutiérrez. After leaving Capitol Hill in 2013, she founded Fuentes Strategies, a government relations and consulting firm providing advice to corporations, individuals, and nonprofits with interests before Congress, federal agencies, and the European Community. Along the way, Jennice also pursued another passion — acting — building a professional career that included appearances in Law & Order, Godless, and HBO’s K Street. Then, in September 2017, Hurricane Maria changed the course of her life. As Puerto Rico’s infrastructure collapsed and Jennice worried about family on the island, she heard a reporter say, “Without Congress, we are dead.” Jennice knew Congress. She knew how it worked. And she realized she could use that knowledge to help ordinary people understand the system, navigate it, and advocate for themselves. That realization became BoricuActivatEd. In this episode, we talk about Hurricane Maria, Jennice’s years on Capitol Hill, her parallel life as an actor, and what she has learned about power, civic engagement, advocacy, and helping people recognize — and exercise — the influence they already have.

Rowan Vansleve is president of Hope the Mission, Los Angeles Mission, and a longtime leader in the fight against homelessness in Southern California. Rowan grew up in Sydney, Australia, and came to the United States as a young backpacker, intending to continue around the world. But after seeing the stark contrast between the wealth of Los Angeles and the people living on its streets, he stayed — beginning a career that would take him through community development, microfinance, disaster recovery, and ultimately homeless services. In 2010, Rowan joined Hope the Mission, then a small organization with about fifteen shelter beds. Today, they provide thousands of beds each night, millions of meals each year, and operate dozens of shelters across Los Angeles and the surrounding region. Rowan has also become known for a series of extraordinary physical challenges designed to raise money and awareness for the fight against homelessness — running hundreds of miles through the desert, cycling across America, kayaking to Catalina Island, and completing fifty marathons in ninety days. In this episode, we trace Rowan’s journey from Australia to Los Angeles, explore what he has learned about poverty and homelessness, the limits of one-size-fits-all solutions, and his belief that lasting change begins with treating people with dignity, love, and respect.

Jerry White is a humanitarian activist, author, diplomat, social entrepreneur, and a leader in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize. Jerry’s life changed at twenty when, while hiking in Israel, he stepped on an unmarked landmine and lost his lower right leg. He went on to co-found the Landmine Survivors Network and help lead the campaign that produced the 1997 Ottawa Treaty banning landmines. He later helped advance two more landmark international agreements: the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Jerry has since served as a senior U.S. State Department official on conflict and stabilization, as a Senior Ashoka Fellow, and as the first Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia. Today, he chairs MADE IMPACT and teaches what he calls “humane leadership” through BeSeeDo. His books include Getting Up When Life Knocks You Down, Religicide, and his latest, Be See Do: The Art of Humane Leadership. In this episode, we trace Jerry’s extraordinary journey — from surviving a landmine explosion to helping build a Nobel Peace Prize-winning movement, shaping international treaties, serving in government, and developing a practical approach to humane leadership, philanthropy, and systems change.

Stephanie Willis is a philanthropy strategist, fundraising data and research expert, consultant, and author of The Art and Science Approach to Fundraising Data and Research. Stephanie has spent nearly 15 years helping nonprofit organizations strengthen their fundraising through better data, research, strategy, and donor engagement. Today, she is a consultant with Creative Fundraising Advisors, where she advises organizations on data audits, database strategy, prospect development, and data integrity. She also serves on the Apra Board of Directors and as president of the Apra Foundation. In this episode, we trace Stephanie’s path and the experiences that shaped how she thinks about work, resilience, and community — from the loss of her mother and the tornado that struck her town to questions about AI, data, and the future of fundraising and philanthropy — beginning with how she makes her workplace a “happy place.”

Robert Wolfe is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Zeck, CrowdRise, and Moosejaw. He and his brother Jeffrey co-founded Moosejaw, the outdoor retailer later acquired by Walmart. They then partnered with Edward Norton to create CrowdRise, the pioneering online fundraising platform acquired by GoFundMe in 2017. In 2022, Robert, Jeffrey, and Edward co-founded Zeck, a technology platform created to rethink the traditional board meeting and help organizations make board communication, governance, and decision-making more effective. In this episode, we trace Robert’s journey as an entrepreneur — from building Moosejaw to helping transform online charitable fundraising through CrowdRise and now taking on the way organizations work with their boards through Zeck–starting with his Michigan roots. 

Bill Crouch is the founder and CEO of BrightDot, a nationally recognized fundraising strategist, speaker, author, and former college president. For more than 40 years, Bill has worked in higher education leadership, philanthropy, and nonprofit advancement. He began his fundraising career at Gardner-Webb University, Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina, and Carson-Newman University before serving for 22 years as president of Georgetown College, retiring from the presidency in 2013. He then joined Jerold Panas, Linzy & Partners as Senior Managing Partner. In 2015, he left the firm to found BrightDot, where he helps organizations strengthen donor relationships and build cultures of generosity. Bill earned his bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University and master’s and doctoral degrees from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. A former trustee and Honorary Fellow of Regent’s Park College, Oxford, he is also the author of Start with Heart and the new book Mattership. In this episode, we trace Bill’s journey from childhood to what he calls “the fourth quarter” of his life — from ministry to the college presidency to national leadership in philanthropy and fundraising. Our conversation begins with the story of his tight-knit family, a neighborhood tragedy, and the conversation with his father that shaped the course of his life.

Michael Wyland is a nonprofit governance expert, consultant, executive coach, writer, and partner in Sumption & Wyland. For more than four decades, Michael has worked across government, business, healthcare, and the nonprofit sector. His career has taken him from Capitol Hill and the oil and gas industry to nonprofit leadership, strategic planning, board governance, executive coaching, and organizational consulting. Michael has advised more than 100 nonprofit associations and charities, worked with dozens of hospitals and healthcare organizations, and presented more than 200 workshops, seminars, and keynote addresses. He also wrote more than 400 articles and features for The Nonprofit Quarterly, where he served as a consulting editor and editorial advisory board member. In this episode, we talk about Michael’s path from his newspaper route to a career in nonprofit consulting, the challenges of board leadership, and what his relationships with philanthropist T. Denny Sanford and his step-grandmother Margaret Towsley taught him about wealth, responsibility, and legacy.

Derric Bakker is founder and CEO of DickersonBakker, fundraising strategist, consultant, speaker, and author of A Better Way to Fundraise: Treat Every Donor Like a Major Donor. For more than three decades, Derric has helped nonprofit organizations strengthen their fundraising, leadership, strategy, and capacity for impact. What began almost by chance with his first fundraising position in 1990 grew into a career spanning frontline development, major gifts, capital campaigns, organizational leadership, and consulting. Today, Derric leads a national team of more than 50 professionals serving nonprofits across the country. He is also a leading advocate for reimagining relationship-based fundraising by using AI and emerging technologies to extend the principles of major gift fundraising across the entire donor base. In this episode, we talk about Derric’s journey from his childhood as an itinerant pastor’s son to the McDonald’s breakfast that changed his future trajectory, the work in fundraising that shaped his professional life, and his thoughts on living a life of purpose. 

Christal M. Cherry is the founder of The Board Pro, speaker, consultant, author, and creator of Fabulous Female Fundraisers. With more than 20 years in the nonprofit sector, Christal has become a leading voice on board leadership, fundraising, equity, and belonging. Through The Board Pro, she helps nonprofit boards lead with love, courage, and strategy — whether that means navigating tough conversations, recruiting stronger board members, interrupting bias, or helping CEOs breathe again. Christal is also the founder of Fabulous Female Fundraisers, a network uplifting Women of Color in the nonprofit sector, and the author of the children’s book Mac and Cheez: Being Different is Okay.  In this episode, we talk about Christal’s journey from New York to Atlanta and from Wall Street to nonprofit leadership, and explore the major events that have shaped her life and work.

Rohan Dileep and Beatrice Norman are co-presidents of Meals Matter, the Wisconsin-based, student-led nonprofit honored with the 2026 William R. Simms Award for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy. Meals Matter began in 2024, when two Middleton High School students saw the scale of food insecurity in their community and decided to do something about it. What started as a grassroots food-collection effort now includes chapters across Wisconsin, Texas, and even South Korea. As co-presidents, Rohan and Beatrice help coordinate large-scale food drives, recruit and manage student volunteers, build community partnerships, engage younger students, lead outreach, and speak publicly about the urgency of food insecurity and the power of youth leadership. Recorded live in the Exchange at AFP ICON 2026, this conversation explores how Meals Matter grew from a local student project into a multi-chapter movement.