YNPN Board of Directors
Al Heartley, Co-Chair
Managing Director – Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts
Al Heartley currently serves as Managing Director of the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts at Northwestern University where he oversees all operational and programmatic aspects of the center.
A recent graduate of Yale School of Drama, he has worked at various theaters across the country in managerial positions including Yale Repertory Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, Cleveland Play House, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and Writers Theater. Recently, Al started a ALJP Consulting, a search and consulting firm with Jocelyn Prince focusing on mid-level and executive hiring, organizational consulting.
Prior to graduate school, Al served as the National Conference Coordinator for the 2015 YNPN National Conference and as a board member of the YNPN Cleveland chapter. Starting in the fall 2019, he will serve on faculty in the theater department at Northwestern.
Gary Williams, Co-Chair
Site Director – Public Allies Maryland
Gary works at Baltimore Corps where he leads the Public Allies program in Baltimore. He ensures operational and programmatic excellence and builds and manages external relationships with partners and other stakeholders.
Gary uses his expertise in program management and passion for addressing issues in his hometown of Baltimore City to lead the Public Allies program. He is experienced in managing programs that address a variety of issues in Baltimore, including decreasing racial disparities in infant mortality and talent development in the local nonprofit sector.
Gary earned his B.A. in Archaeology from Mercyhurst University and his Masters in Nonprofit Management and Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Baltimore. In his free time, Gary practices wing chun kung-fu and can be found gardening vegetables and herbs.
Kevin Peterson
Program Associate – Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy
Kevin Peterson (he/him/his) currently serves as a program associate for the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University. In this role, he manages and delivers capacity building opportunities for grantmakers and nonprofit organizations, with a focus on board governance.
In addition to his role at YNPN National, Kevin currently serves as the co-chair for the Young Nonprofit Professionals’ Network of Grand Rapids and maintains an active membership in a number of chapters. Prior to this, he has served on the successful capital campaign for his hometown’s library, the Terry McAdam Book Award committee for the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, and as a fellow for YNPN National.
Kevin holds a Bachelor of Arts in public and nonprofit administration with an emphasis on community development and planning, and minors in legal studies and urban and regional planning from Grand Valley State University (GVSU). He is currently continuing his studies in the Master of Public Administration program with a concentration in nonprofit management and leadership at GVSU.
Allison Quintanilla Plattsmier
Founder & Consultant – AQP Consulting
Dr. Allison Quintanilla Plattsmier, CFRE, CNP, CGT, GPC, CNC, SHRM-CP was born and raised in Nashville, TN where she attended Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School. After graduating with honors, she completed her undergraduate degree in only three years and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a B.S. in Political Science: Public Administration and Nonprofit Management and a minor in Entrepreneurship. She went on to receive her M.Ed. in Community Development and Action from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College and then her Doctorate of Education in Leadership and Professional Practice from Trevecca Nazarene University. She conducted her dissertation on the effects of age and gender discrimination on hiring, upward mobility, and retention in the nonprofit sector. She also completed an Elite Masters of Business Administration in four months through Quantic School of Business and Technology and has received numerous professional certifications across a wide range of competencies.
Allison has over ten years of experience in the nonprofit sector, has worked with over fifty organizations, and raised approximately $3.3 million. Her work experience includes Executive Director of Amputee Blade Runners (ABR), Associate Director of Programs and Development for the Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee (TAMT), Community Investment Manager for NeedLink Nashville, and Executive Director of the Jordan Thomas Foundation. She currently runs her own nonprofit consulting business, AQP Consulting.
She is a member of the Rotary Club of Nashville, Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA), Ellevate Network, Nashville Cable, National Association of Women MBAs, Junior League of Nashville, American Mothers, Nashville Junior Chamber, Middle Tennessee SHRM, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).
She was the youngest recipient of AFP’s 2018 Outstanding Young Professional and one of only a handful of youth to receive the Congressional Award Gold Medal. She has been honored for her leadership and dedication to the Nashville community with Nashville’s Employee of the Year in the Community Impact category, the Point of Light Award, and as a National Youth Activist Award finalist. She was also the youngest recipient of Nashville’s 30 Under 30, NBJ’s 40 Under 40, and Diversity MBA’s Top 100 Under 50 Executive Leaders. In December 2019, she was named one of the National Association of Female Executive’s Rising Stars for her work in closing the gender wage gap. In January 2020, she was named Certified Nonprofit Professional of the Year-Emerging Leader by the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance and American Mothers’ Tennessee Mother of the Year for her work advocating for paid parental leave, ending the “motherhood penalty” in the gender wage gap, and implementing babies at work policies.
Allison serves on the boards of Advocates for Women and Kids’ Equality (AWAKE), Association of Certified Nonprofit Professionals (ACNP), Grant Professionals Association (GPA), Doing Good, L.E.T.S. Play, Futuro, Healing Arts Project (HAPI), Cherished Mom, and Nashville Cable. She is a DoSomething.org Ambassador and serves as an advocate for gun violence prevention, ending the cycle of poverty, and social justice equality. She was one of eleven youth to be invited to speak to the White House Office of Public Engagement about bipartisan gun violence prevention. She was also selected as one of five youth in the country to be a Clorox Young Changemaker for her work “closing the loop” with her local fabric and textile recycling program. She is an AAUW Start Smart facilitator and teaches salary negotiation courses to help close the wage gap. She also teaches Fundraising Essentials, Grant Writing Basics, Emotional Intelligence, Understanding Your Leadership Style, and Creating Equitable and Inclusive Workplaces through Nashville Community Education.
Allison’s areas of interest are public health, equal access to public resources for underprivileged and economically disadvantaged populations, and eradicating food insecurity. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering, reading, singing, kickboxing, running, and hanging out with her phenomenal husband, Kris, their son Quintan, and their four cats, Sheena, Jacinda, Milo, and Dahlia.
Jye John Paul Turk
Consultant – S.P.A.R.K.
Jye John Paul Turk is an entrepreneur, focused primarily on leadership development and education. S.P.A.R.K is a leadership consultancy firm that Jye works intimately with, providing diversity, equity and inclusion support to leadership teams across the United States.
Although born, raised, and currently living in New Orleans, Jye’s professional growth flourished in Austin, TX. In 2019, he earned his Master of Leadership and Change degree from St. Edward’s University in Austin. During his tenure in the program, Jye founded SolvED, a nonprofit that provides support to students facing life altering challenges.
Jye also serves as the 2021 Vice President of Community for the YNPN-Austin chapter. Aside from his passion for service, Jye enjoys boxing, cooking, dancing, and connecting via music. His family and friends are an intimate and loving circle; the joy of which he brings to every space he enters.
Jeff Key
Consultant – Nfinity Enterprises
Jeff Key currently serves as a consultant with Nfinity Enterprises, providing website design, technology, and operations consulting to small and mid-sized nonprofits and businesses. He previously worked in the nonprofit sector for a number of New Jersey based education nonprofits serving students from middle school through college, with a focus on providing equitable access to educational services, mentoring, and college counseling for students and families.
He has been involved with the YNPN network for a number of years as a Founding Board Member and Co-Chair of the YNPN New Jersey chapter, with NationBuilder and Network Engagement support for YNPN National, and now as a board member with YNPN National. He also serves on the board of the Center for Non-Profits, the state nonprofit association for New Jersey.
Outside of his work with the nonprofit sector, Jeff enjoys hiking, listening to interesting podcasts, discovering new music, and watching movies.
