Speaker Profile

Suzanne Alden, CFRE
Grant Expectations
Grants specialist and fundraising consultant Suzanne Alden, CFRE has been raising money for nonprofits for nearly a decade. She has effectively won over $1.5 million in government and private grants for a broad range of causes. Before entering the development field, Suzanne was a community organizer and social service provider for a number of outstanding grassroots organizations working for social justice. She currently works as a successful grant writer, trainer and fundraising consultant for small to mid-sized Rhode Island-based organizations tackling critical issues such as education, youth, the environment and housing.

Charles Huschle
Development Officer
Families First Parenting Programs
Charles Huschle is the Development Officer at Families First Parenting Programs of Cambridge, MA, responsible for institutional fundraising efforts. In this capacity, he conducts grant research, writes grant proposals and reports, and maintains relationships with corporate and foundation officers.  He has a successful track record of meeting grant goals despite the current economic circumstances. He has a broad range of experience in nonprofits, from writing grant proposals and contributing to annual reports, to supervising staff and interns, running meetings, planning major events and managing financial information.  Previously he was a teacher and journalist. Over the years he has worked with people from all walks of life, including veterans, homeless families, the elderly, children, Afghan refugees and lung cancer victims. In addition to his current work at Families First, Charles has donated time, and worked as a consultant, for the Boston Medical Center,  MIT’s Prajnapaya Foundation, the Lung Cancer Alliance, Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation – for which he recently coordinated a Web 2.0 fundraising campaign – and Blue Kitabu, a new organization planning to build schools in Ghana