Practitioner Profiles

Jeff Johnson

Jeff Johnson was named the president and chief executive officer of the Iowa State University Alumni Association in September 1999. Under his leadership, the Association has grown to be the second-largest dues-paying alumni association in the Big 12 Conference and in July of 2008, moved into the new $10.7 million privately funded 34,500-square-foot ISU Alumni Center. As president, Jeff is responsible for facilitating the Association’s mission of engaging the talents and resources of alumni, students, and friends in the life, work, and aspiration of Iowa State University. 

Lori Yersh

Lori Yersh has 25 years of experience in fundraising/development. She is currently responsible for overall strategic planning and oversees the Stewardship, Donor Relations and Annual Giving Programs. As an Annual Giving Consultant, Ms Yersh has provided strategic annual giving counsel to over 90 universities and prominent institutions around the world. Ms Yersh frequently chairs and presents at both international and national fundraising conferences, including two three-day seminars in South Africa on Annual Giving and Campaign planning. She has served as a member of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Program Committee and Chair of CASE’s Advanced Annual Giving Conference. She holds the Bachelor of Arts, Master of Educational Psychology, and Master of Counselling Psychology degrees from McGill University.

Ninette Mouton

Ninette Mouton is a proposal consultant at the University of Pretoria. She prepares fund-raising documents and manages the Department of Institutional Advancement’s communication platforms. Ninette has successfully secured R28 million to advance nursing scholarship at the University of Pretoria and the University of Limpopo. She secured R1,9 million in additional funding for the University of Pretoria in 2009. Ninette has also developed and presented practical training courses for individuals involved in Advancement and fundraising.

Peter Thuynsma

Peter Thuynsma began a parallel career in fundraising in 1976 in Denver, Colorado (USA) for that State’s largest Catholic parish. In Johannesburg he managed the Centre for Black Education and Research, and the Institute for Human Rights Education and was listed on the UN HRC’s Roster of Experts in Human Rights Education. Has also been a consultant to several local NGOs and SADC universities. For the past five years he has helped develop the fundraising function at the University of Pretoria on a grant from the Kresge Foundation.

Tyrone Freeman

Tyrone Freeman is the Associate Director of The Fund Raising School at the Center on Philanthropy, Indiana University. Tyrone is an alumnus of The Fund Raising School, and joined the staff in 2008 after serving nearly 15 years as a fundraiser in the non-profit sector. Formerly director of development for the Indiana University School of Education at Indianapolis, Tyrone coordinated a comprehensive fundraising programme focused on supporting urban public education and led the school’s first successful capital campaign.