Sarah TeDesco serves as the Chief Customer Officer, bringing over fifteen years of invaluable nonprofit expertise to the fundraising industry. Since 2007, she has worked to grow DonorSearch to become a nationally recognized and innovative technology leader in the nonprofit space. She continues to be inspired and motivated by nonprofits that work tirelessly to make the world a better place.

In her day-to-day role, Sarah focuses on company growth, operations, client success and marketing. Sarah has excelled and enjoyed partnering with organizations to craft strategic plans, introduce innovative products and systems, thought leadership and foster collaboration on transformative initiatives. Her commitment to the industry is driven by the opportunity to provide nonprofits with accurate and actionable information to increase funds. When it comes to the DonorSearch core values, two that drive her the most are Growth and Excellence.  

Sarah is a recognized speaker and educator for fundraising organizations such as AFP, Apra, AHP, The Giving Institute, Salesforce and more. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland where she earned her BA in English and Psychology, and MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Favorite nonprofit: Nature Conservancy

Favorite quote: Take pride in how far you have come, and have faith in how far you can go.

Patrick is the Executive Vice President and Co-Owner of DonorSearch with more than seventeen years of experience in the nonprofit industry. At DonorSearch, Patrick specializes in company growth, team building, establishing best practices, go-to market campaigns, and building client and partner relationships. For the last seventeen years, he has brought new products to the nonprofit market such as individual prospect research tools, data analytics, and AI and ML solutions to help fundraisers achieve success.

The foundation of DonorSearch’s product philosophy has been the combination of wealth and philanthropic data. As products were able to incorporate more data points from clients, DonorSearch was able to release online prospect research tools, consumable donor analytics, and AI/ML predictive models.

Each product was built with the express purpose of ensuring any development office could meet their year end goal. Patrick’s two passions in his professional life are “bringing order to chaos” and building “something from nothing.”

Cecelia Poplin is the Senior Vice President of Client Success and Strategic Partnerships and has been with DonorSearch for four years. During her 20+ years in the nonprofit industry, spanning Blackbaud, WealthEngine, and now DonorSearch, she has seen technology rapidly advance and the accessibility of that tech spread to more organizations. Cecelia has collaborated with nonprofits, higher education, and healthcare organizations to improve processes and achieve goals. From wealth screenings, prospect research and management, to analytics, CRMS, and AI, she is proud to be part of the continual evolution of relevant solutions for our sector. Focusing on mid-to-large sized organizations, she has successfully helped nonprofits across the country surpass operational and revenue goals.

Cecelia’s favorite thing about working for DonorSearch is our culture of innovation and agility. She believes that all of our core values at DonorSearch work together to ensure success. To stay above industry trends, Cecelia is always reading, researching, and listening. While working with clients, she has the opportunity to listen to their needs, goals, and strategies that they’re implementing. 

Favorite nonprofit: Charleston Southern University because it is her alma mater. She believes that the fundraising they do is critical because the students there are mostly on scholarship. 

Favorite quote: “There’s a reason your windshield is bigger than your rearview mirror. Where you’re headed is more important than what you left behind”

Bobby Dawson is the Vice President of Information Technology & Security and has been with DonorSearch for six years. With a rich background in the IT and web development industry spanning sixteen years, Bobby’s experience has been instrumental to company growth. Bobby began his career at DonorSearch as a junior developer, and rapidly ascended to a leadership role within the company.  

Bobby is the father of three children and during his free time, he runs a DJ company, a renovation business, and has created a Discord server to teach others how to day trade as an additional source of income. He is also a published Author of Leadership Life: Breaking Through The Individual Contributor Ceiling.

His favorite thing about working for DonorSearch is the ability to be flexible and continue to enjoy every day life. He also loves that he has found a second family with his team here. 

The DonorSearch core value that is most important to Bobby is excellence because he and his team constantly strives to be the best and he believes that his work should exemplify excellence. He sees no point in aiming for mediocrity. To stay ahead of industry trends, Bobby believes that the key is to constantly educate and innovate. There is always more knowledge to learn, so it’s important to keep an open mind. 

Favorite nonprofit: Habitat for Humanity

Favorite quote: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do” -Steve Jobs

Scott Rosenkrans is the Vice President of AI Innovation and has been with the organization for three years. He began his journey in the nonprofit sector twelve years ago as a prospect researcher. He quickly became fascinated with data as he noticed the organization that he previously worked for was amassing a wealth of information but was unsure how to efficiently use the data and resources to its full potential. This led him to become interested in predictive modeling and data analytics. During this time, he began to create an immense commitment to delivering tailor-made machine learning models to nonprofits. 

The thing that Scott loves most about working for DonorSearch is the ability to prioritize what is best for the client and nonprofit sector above all else. He believes that growth is our most important core value because the DSAi team continuously evolves and brings a unique perspective that provides value to our clients. He stays ahead of industry trends because of his insatiable drive to constantly try out new things. 

Favorite nonprofit: Shriner’s Children Hospital because of their extreme commitment to providing exceptional medical care, while also alleviating the financial burdens on families. 

Favorite quote: “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” -FDR

Ali Azizkeya is the Director of Data Collection and was the first non-family member to join the DonorSearch team in 2008 and hold the title of “Director.” Through his 14 years with DonorSearch, he grew our charitable database from 40 million to 189 million records. What he enjoys most about working here is knowing that our work helps nonprofits maximize their profits, which benefits communities altogether.

One of DonorSearch’s core values that is most important to him is integrity, without it, he believes we wouldn’t be the premier prospect research firm. To stay ahead of industry trends, he continues to collect data and listen to feedback from colleagues and clients. One of his proudest accomplishments is working with developers to create the Data Entry System here at DonorSearch

Favorite nonprofit: St. Jude because they will never turn away a family even if they cannot pay. 

Favorite quote: “Watch your thoughts…they become words. Watch your words…they become actions. Watch your actions…they become habits. Watch your habits…they become character. Watch your character…for it becomes your destiny.”

Kathy Phelps is the Associate Vice President for DonorSearch AI at DonorSearch, where she helps nonprofit organizations harness the power of predictive machine learning to drive more strategic and effective fundraising. A lifelong nonprofit professional, Kathy brings deep expertise in turning data into actionable insights that support fundraising, prospect development, and program implementation.  With a strong focus on the human side of technology, Kathy is especially interested in how people and behavior change influence the adoption and success of technology initiatives.

Her favorite part of working at DonorSearch is the opportunity to meet clients where they are—maximizing their efforts through the use of data and technology to align the right donors with their organizational missions to create meaningful impact. Among DonorSearch’s core values, she resonates most with collaboration and being a bridge builder, particularly in empowering non-technical colleagues and client partners to embrace technology that makes their work more efficient, effective, and mission-aligned.

Her favorite nonprofit is Children International, where she spent 10 years collaborating with staff and volunteers around the globe. She had a first-hand view into how people came together to build community-driven programs focused on health, education, and youth development, enhancing opportunities for hundreds of thousands of children and families. Kathy continues to be inspired by the organization’s grassroots presence and commitment to authentic partnership.

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
— Desmond Tutu

Jay is the Host of the Philanthropy Masterminds Series and has been with DonorSearch for sixteen years. The Masterminds Series is DonorSearch’s all-access pass to the top voices in the world of social good. Every week, we feature live interviews, CFRE-certified webinars, and a deep dive podcast with thought leaders, innovators, and change-makers in fundraising, philanthropy, and civil society.

Over his thirty years as a grantmaker, fundraiser, consultant, and serial entrepreneur, Jay has worked with thousands of organizations to identify and pursue billions in fundraising opportunities around the world. He has been recognized as one of America’s Top 10 Fundraising Experts by Philanthropy Media, Top Eight Fundraising Influencers by Elevation Media, Top 25 Fundraising Experts by Nonprofit Fundraising, 30 Nonprofit Tech Influencers to Follow by BizTech, and one of the Top Nonprofit Fundraising Consultants by Double the Donation. In addition to serving as host of the series, he is also a consultant to nonprofits and an advisor to companies serving the philanthropic marketplace. 

Favorite Nonprofit: Interlochen Center for the Arts

Favorite Quote: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou