Sand Associates -- Grant Writers

GRANT WRITERS

The SAND ASSOCIATES grant writers have extensive backgrounds. The grant writers whose biographies are provided below average more than twenty years of experience.

Michael A. Sand, Esq.- CEO and Founder

GRANT WRITING ASSOCIATES

Mary Ann Bedard (Camp Hill)
Mary Ann Bedard has been writing grants since 1986. She served as a Project Coordinator for Cumberland/Perry County Mental Health Services and Executive Director of CONTACT Help Line. She presently serves as a management consultant and is a Councilwoman for the Borough of Wormleysburg, PA.
Barbara Trainin Blank (Harrisburg)
Barbara Trainin Blank has researched and obtained grants from foundations and government agencies on behalf of nonprofits, particularly in the areas of arts, education, and human services, for the past seven years. She also has extensive journalistic and other types of writing and editorial experience.
Rich Dieter (Pittsburgh)
Rich Dieter has written grants since 1975 which have been funded by a variety of governmental and foundation funding sources. He has a national reputation as a community organizer and was trained in Chicago by individuals who had worked with Saul Alinsky. He served as Executive Director of one of the country's most successful community organizations, Organization of the Northeast (ONE). Mr. Dieter has been assisting individual clients in community organizing and resource development since 1985.
Judith Downs (Oil City)
Judy Downs wrote her first grant in 1978 for a small mountain town in Colorado and has since written and administered grants nationwide. Judy's grant writing experience includes public and private funding sources for the orderly growth and development of communities. Projects include all aspects of Community Development including environmental review and sustainability.
Howard J. Grossman (Wilkes-Barre)
Howard J. Grossman has had vast experience in grantsmanship since 1957 when he started as a county planner. He worked on many Section 701 HUD planning applications and since that time has prepared and had approved many different types of application to the federal and state governments for economic development, business development, special public works projects, human resources and other purposes. He has many contacts with federal and state officials in Pennsylvania and has written many articles on grant preparation, management and related topics.
Liz Hrenda (Harrisburg)
Liz Hrenda has had extensive experience in nonprofit advocacy and fundraising since 1989. She has directed feasibility studies and authored and consulted on grants for research, message development, coalition building, student internships and grassroots organizing in support of women's rights, civil liberties and democracy.
James W. Ickes (Harrisburg)
As President of T.B. Associates, Jim Ickes plans, researches and implements a client's total grants program, sometimes on a nationwide basis. Since 1972, he has written, submitted and defended grant proposals for both profit and nonprofit clients in medical, technical, educational, manufacturing and other fields. He conceives, writes and submits funding concept papers and negotiates with funding sources to implement a grant funding stream to clients. In addition, he identifies and researches client-appropriate grants programs, consults with client companies to implement employee assistance programs and plans, scripts and conducts worksite training programs.
Rhoda Indictor (Philadelphia)
Rhoda Indictor has had an extensive career of fundraising development experience, nonprofit administrative and management activities and private sector consultation. Her first grant was written in 1966. Her grant writing and grants management experience has included federal, state, and local government grants as well as corporate, community, private and family foundation grants. Her experience has been with organizations including those in healthcare, social service, education, cultural arts, environmental preservation, religion, and privately owned small businesses.
Charles Jameson (Secane)
Charles Jameson wrote his first grant in 1970 as Director of a program working with gangs in North Philadelphia. Since then, he has written grants generating over $50,000,000 in revenue for youth centers, day care programs, economic and community development, and employment and training. Charles has written grants to local and national foundations, government agencies and corporations.
Marybeth Malinak (Harrisburg)
Ms. Malinak has 20 years of experience writing and administrating grants from a variety of perspectives. Ms. Malinak has been an executive director and a consultant to local, statewide, non-profit and private agencies. She has identified sources of funding as needs develop and has assisted in the developing concepts for new programs or enhancement of existing programs. Ms. Malinak is a results oriented and performance driven senior professional with extensive management, specialist and generalist experience. She has widespread experience in juvenile justice, courts and corrections issues affecting state, local and federal governments. As a result, she has established credible professional working relationships with judges, county commissioners, and elected officials throughout Pennsylvania. Ms. Malinak has proven career success in creating and implementing systems and programs, policies and procedures which maximize employee productivity, quality and performance.
Marilyn J. McDaniel, CFRE (Pittsburgh)
With experience since 1977 in grant writing, development and agency management, Marilyn McDaniel has been a founder, executive director, and consultant to local, regional and national organizations. She has experience as a Community Action Agency Executive Director, Board Member and Officer of Pennsylvania's Community Action Agency statewide professional association. She is the founder of several community-based human service and educational organizations and consultant to museums, educational and cultural groups, schools, human service agencies and private foundations. A nationally Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE),her consulting work has been honored by various organizations, including a national award from the American Association for State and Local History, state recognition from the PA Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations, and an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Graphic Arts.
Iris S. Nahemow, Ph.D., CFRE (Pittsburgh)
Iris Nahemow has been writing grants as part of her total fundraising work since 1981. She has obtained grants for all types of non-profit organizations from foundations, local, state and federal government agencies and corporations. She also leads workshops on grant writing and gransmanship strategies.
Susan Parker (Pittsburgh)
Susan Parker has had experience as an elected borough official, a non-profit executive director, a public policy analyst working with municipalities and an assistant county manager. She wrote her first grant in 1974. She has acquired considerable experience in grant writing and management at local, state and federal levels and has worked with organizations in terms of organizational development, strategic planning, fundraising, board development, and management practices.
F. Lee Patterson (Enola)
Lee Patterson has had over twenty-six years of experience supporting rural communities in their community and economic development activities and has managed financial programs providing loans and grants for rural development. His experience encompasses a wide range of knowledge regarding community and business needs as well as economic development methods and he has managed grants from the provider's side of the table. Mr. Patterson has also served in several capacities for statewide programs such as rural energy coordinator, a cooperative development specialist, and a value-added product market development specialist. His grant writing experience has included federal, state, and local government grants.
Catherine M. Rapose (Emmaus)
Catherine M. Rapose has 15 years experience working for USDA Rural Development (formerly Farmers Home Administration). For eight years she served as a Rural Development Specialist working directly with rural municipalities, civil engineers, bond counsels, solicitors and various state and Federal agencies on water and sewer projects. She provides municipal governments with informed expertise and assistance in identifying affordable funding options to make water and sewer projects a reality.
Jayne Romero (Oil City)
Jayne Romero, from the Venango County area, wrote her first grant proposal in 1981. Since then, she has successfully written and administered numerous grants originating from federal, state, county, city and private foundation sources. Jayne also has been highly successful in obtaining increased funding allocations from ongoing funding sources.
Robin Strachan (Johnstown)
Robin Strachan has been writing grants since 1983. She served as a reporter for the Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, PA; Director of Major Gifts for Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO; Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO and Senior Director of Donor Relations for the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, Johnstown, PA.
Margaret M. Stuski, Esq. (Wormleysburg)
Margaret M. Stuski, Esquire has been involved in grant writing and providing advice to both profit and non-profit corporations and municipal governments for the past 20 years. Her expertise includes assisting organizations in applying for nonprofit status (including 501( c) (3) status) from the Internal Revenue Service. She also is very experienced in the legislative and regulatory processes on both the state and federal levels. Most recently she has been involved in community based project development at the local government level and serves on the Borough of Wormleysburg Recreation Board. Ms. Stuski is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University School of Law.
Robert W. Surridge, D.Ed. (Marysville)
Dr. Surridge has twenty-five years of experience in applied research, technical assistance, and program planning and development. He has written and obtained numerous grants from a variety of sources including federal, state and local governments, national and local foundations, and private corporations.. In addition, he has served as the project director/principal investigator for over twenty grant-funded programs. He is an active member and officer of several non-profit boards of directors and currently serves as a grant proposal reviewer for state and local funding agencies.
Shelley Thomas (Hermitage)
Shelley Thomas wrote her first grant in 1981 as a planner for a Community Action Agency. Since then she has worked as a Deputy Administrator for the Venango County Area Agency on Aging and as Executive Director for the Easter Seal Society of Venango County. Shelley has extensive experience in the areas of grant writing as well as grant management and program needs assessments and evaluations. She is known for her advocacy on behalf of her client population
Steven Tuckerman, AICP (Danville)
Steve Tuckerman has been writing grants since 1979. He has master's degrees in Regional Planning and Public Administration and over twenty years experience in local government as a planner and manager, Steve has extensive experience on a wide variety of issues facing municipalities and non-profits including those related to the CDBG program.
Carol Vracarich (Newport)
Carol Vracarich began writing grants in 1982. She served for twelve years as Founding Executive Director of the Perry County Council of the Arts and wrote grants that were funded by a variety of private and community foundations, local, state and federal government agencies, corporations and independent funding organizations. She presently serves as President of Blue Skies Unlimited, a management consulting firm.
Thomas G. Vracarich (Newport)
Tom Vracarich recently retired after thirty years of professional and executive level work for the Secretary of the Department of Public Welfare. He served as Founding Executive Director of the PA Primary Health Care Association and has been writing grants since 1979. He has extensive expertise in administrative rule-making in Pennsylvania with concentrated knowledge in public welfare rules and policy-making practices.
Deborah M. Walter (Johnstown)
Deb Walter has twenty-five years of experience writing and administering grants including local, state and federal grants for municipal governments and nonprofit organizations. She has an extensive background in fields including urban renewal, community revitalization and Brownfields Redevelopment Projects.
Deborah Ward, CFRE (Lancaster)
Deborah Ward is a national proposal writing consultant for education and nonprofit clients. She provides grant development services which include: project development; prospect research (federal, state, corporate and foundation funding sources); RFP analysis; writing and editing of proposals; and proposal submission. Her clients have included school districts, education service agencies, foundations, higher education institutions, education vendors, and nonprofit organizations such as a museum, an EMS organization, a hospital, arts organizations, and a local leadership program. In addition, Ms. Ward provides grant seeking and proposal writing workshops across the United States and has presented at local, state, national and international conferences. She is a contributing columnist for eSchool News and Education Grants Alert. Her articles have also appeared in Pro Principal, Board and Administrator, School Planning and Management, Technology and Learning, T.H.E. Funding Source, Principal, and Advancing Philanthropy. She has been interviewed for several publications including Education Week and Advancing Philanthropy. Ms. Ward began writing grants in 1982. She received her master's degree in philanthropy and development from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. She has the Certified Fund Raising Executive designation from the Association of Fund Raising Professionals and participated in their Executive Leadership Institute.
Seana E. Zimmer (Collegeville)
Seana Zimmer has been writing grants for eleven years, first as an Executive Director of a nonprofit agency and then as head of Grant Writing for Non-Profits. She has written grants that have been funded by local, state and federal governments and local, state, and national foundations. She presently serves as Grants Coordinator for Ursinus College. In addition to grant writing, she has provided consulting in fund raising, membership development and publications.