Brian Duvall
Major Gifts & Planned Giving Director
SWVA Food Bank

2008 to Present – Major Gifts & Planned Giving Director, Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank Capital Campaign goal is to raise $4.5 million over the next two years for our primary distribution center and assist raising another $2.5 million for our Abingdon Distribution Center.

2006 to 2007 – CEO, Dirtsurfer USA
I ran the U.S. distribution of an extreme sports company based in Australia. Developed a popular blog called Inline Boarder with global readership. Developed Dirtsurfer.com and a national network of retailers until the company was sold to a group of Canadian investors.

2003 to 2006 – Director of Public Relations and Communications, Virginia Credit Union League
Handle public relations and communications for the state trade association serving Virginia’s 240 credit unions. Gained a 300% increase in participation in Project Differentiation and increased press coverage by 200%.

2000 to 2002 – Executive Director, Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce
Formed the non-profit Chamber Foundation to help raise capital for building renovation. Raised $65,000 to start project. Increased sponsorship of events to a 300% increase in non-dues revenue. Took chamber publication from 1,000 distribution and $11,000 per loss to 18,000 distribution and $5,000 per year profit.

1995 to 2000 – Executive Director, Franklin County Chamber of Commerce
Won a $700,000 grant from the Virginia Enterprise Initiative and recruited 5 banks to commit $100,000 each in support of our micro-business loan program. Program helped more than 200 small businesses get started.

Lewis R. Flax
Flax Associates, LLC

Lewis Flax has specialized in sponsorship sales and servicing for many years.  In 2001, he began working at Financial Executives International, an association representing 15,000 senior financial executives.  Initially, he served as Director, Strategic Partnerships where he was responsible for generating new business relationships.  He overhauled the structure of the partnership program by offering strategic platforms to appropriate sponsors resulting in a partnership revenue stream exceeding $1.5M.  He encountered and developed strategies for handling issues that associations routinely face such as competing departmental interests, effective outreach to generate partnership relationships as opposed to one-off transactions, and packaging and pricing strategies.  As a result of the success of the partnership program, he was promoted to Vice President, Business Development responsible for all non dues revenue. 

As a result of his success in developing and expanding the partnership structure and revenue for FEI, Mr. Flax was hired to establish a DC presence for IEG, a sponsorship consulting firm.  He was responsible for the non profit sector (causes and associations) within the DC metropolitan area.  

Mr. Flax established Flax Associates to assist non profits in understanding and implementing successful sales efforts.  He is currently working with the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, Institute of Management Accountants, and Associated Builders and Contractors in developing the structure and parameters in order to establish corporate partnerships, implementation of these efforts, and business development outreach to secure additional revenues. 

Mr. Flax is a certified instructor with Dale Carnegie Training.  He has regularly taught the “Sales Advantage” class since 2004. 

Mr. Flax received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY and a Masters in International Management from the University of Maryland in College Park, MD.  He is active in the American Society for Association Executives and serves on the member action team and the marketing section counsel.  Additionally, he volunteers as a basketball coach for recreation league teams.  He resides in Chevy Chase, DC with his wife Simone and son Jason. 

Julie Naranjo Upham
Manager, Business and Biodiversity Council
Conservation International

Julie joined Conservation International’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business in September 2008.  As the Center’s Business & Biodiversity Council’s manager, she manages and cultivates the relationships with the 20+ corporate-member networking Council. Collectively, companies participating in the Council have global sales of $350 billion and employee more than 3 million people. 

Before joining CI, Julie served as the Associate Director of Corporate Partnerships for the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the DC region’s network of business and non-profit leaders.  In that role she developed strategic plans to increase the organization’s non-dues revenue through the cultivation of relationships with the Board’s top corporate members.  She developed customized sponsorship plans for their engagement in the association’s events and programs, nearly doubling the amount given in corporate sponsorship in just two years.  Prior to that role, she worked in the Board’s economic development division managing national and international business development marketing plans and providing outreach to the organization’s board and investors.

Before joining the Board of Trade, Julie managed two of the fastest-growing campaigns for the National Capital Area chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  In addition to managing the 400-item auction for their 2,500-person black-tie event, she also developed two grassroots “Light The Night Walk” sites in Loudoun and Montgomery Counties and managed the Washington, DC Walk.  She was awarded the Society’s national award for “best new Walk site” (for volunteer management and funds raised) the first year she held the Montgomery County Walk. 

Beyond her nonprofit pursuits, Julie has also managed projects and marketing campaigns for the Bethesda-based PR firm, Z Communications and the national fundraising firm, O’Dell, Simms, and Associates. 

Christy Eaton
Executive Director
HomeAid Northern Virginia

Over her 16 year career in fundraising and marketing, Christy Eaton has spearheaded many successful campaigns and raised thousands of dollars for non-profit organizations and political campaigns. She has also sold millions of dollars in sponsorships, advertising, and exhibit sales for professional associations like the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation, the National Association for Sport and Physical Activity, and the American Association for Health Education. For the last six years, Eaton served as the Director of Development for the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance in Reston, Virginia, where she oversaw the annual fund campaign, the Alliance Legacy Society program, and sponsorship and advertising sales.

Currently, Eaton is executive director for HomeAid Northern Virginia, a non-profit that assists care providers in building and renovating homeless shelters and transitional housing for Northern Virginia homeless families and individuals. As a leader, Eaton served a 2.5 year term on the board of the American Marketing Association/DC Chapter. Eaton is a member of the Association for Fundraising Professionals and the American Society for Association Executives. She received a B.A. from West Virginia University, and lives with her husband and daughter in Northern Virginia.