Our consultants have decades of experience as vice presidents and in other senior development positions in a variety of educational institutions and nonprofit organizations. That professional experience enables them to develop effective plans for their clients.
Michael J. Worth: Principal
Michael J. Worth has more than 35 years of experience in philanthropic resource development. He is known not only as an experienced and successful development officer but also as one of the field's most prolific speakers and authors.
Dr. Worth served for nearly twenty years as Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., including the University's medical center. He planned and directed two major campaigns which supported the University's extensive growth and managed Board of Trustees development. He previously served as Director of Development at the University of Maryland. Earlier in his career, he was Director of Development at DeSales University and Assistant to the President at Wilkes University. Dr. Worth is currently a Professor of Nonprofit Management at the George Washington University.
Michael Worth has edited or written well-known books related to fundraising, boards, and nonprofit management. "Leading the Campaign," published in 2017, is a well-known guide for those preparing for a campaign. He is the author of "Nonprofit Management: Principles and Practice," a leading textbook in the field used at colleges and universities across the country. He holds a B.A. from Wilkes University, an M.A. from The American University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.
Patricia Cornell: Senior Consultant
Patricia Cornell is Senior Consultant with Michael J. Worth & Associates. From 2009 to 2014, she was Director of Development at Food & Friends, a regional health and nutrition nonprofit in Washington, DC.
She has extensive experience in fundraising and management with a variety of nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions. Her previous positions include Vice President for Marketing and External Relations for Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF), a national children's literacy organization; Vice President for Resource Development at American Rivers, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental advocacy organization; Director of Development for the Children's Defense Fund, a national children's advocacy organization; and Associate Vice President for Development at the George Washington University during the University's $550-million capital campaign.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Cornell managed capital campaigns and provided leadership in areas, such as annual giving and corporate and foundation support, and planned giving in her roles as Associate Vice President for Development at Hood College and as Director of the Campaign at Earlham College. Prior to becoming a development professional, she was a Director of Alumni Relations and served as the Executive Director of a community YWCA.
Elizabeth B. Herman: Senior Consultant
Elizabeth B. ("Beth") Herman is a Senior Consultant with Michael J. Worth & Associates in addition to leading her own private coaching and consulting firm, EBH Consulting LLC. After 30 years' success leading higher education advancement teams and helping philanthropists make large, useful gifts, Herman helps high-achievers lead themselves and others to peak, peaceful productivity. Her experience as a certified executive coach enriches all of her strategic planning, campaign planning studies, and team-building initiatives.
Herman's previous positions include Vice President for College Advancement at Washington College (MD) and Franklin & Marshall College (PA), 10 years leading development at the University of Puget Sound (WA), and director of development for the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington (WA). She began her career in annual giving and specializes in helping development teams of any size and scope reach their full fundraising potential. She is a certified coach with Martha Beck Inc. and the Koelle Institute for Equus Coaching.
Herman is in high demand as a trainer for the American Council on Education, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (Crystal Apple Award for Distinguished Teaching 2000), and colleges and universities around the country.
John Kendrick: Senior Consultant
John Kendrick is a Senior Consultant with Michael J. Worth & Associates in addition to leading his own private consulting and coaching practice, John B. Kendrick Philanthropic Consulting. An experienced planned giving leader, he led the planned giving fundraising program at the George Washington University from 2008 to 2020, helping the university raise $196 million of new attainment in the $1 billion “Making History” campaign (2011-2017) and $300 million during his entire tenure at the university. Following his retirement from full-time work at GWU, Mr. Kendrick has been engaged as a consultant by non-profit organizations in higher education, secondary education, health care, the arts, wildlife/conservation, public policy, and information technology.
Mr. Kendrick focuses on helping organizations build high performing development and planned giving programs. This includes the evaluation of existing programs, assistance with building enhanced programs, and the coaching of planned giving directors and staff. An area of special expertise is the design and implementation of Legacy Challenge programs. In addition to leading two highly successful Legacy Challenge initiatives at GW, Mr. Kendrick has presented on implementing Legacy Challenge programs to national audiences hosted by the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners and The Stelter Company.
Under Mr. Kendrick’s leadership, GWU expanded the university’s emphasis on gift planning, instituted a liaison program that enhanced central planned giving office support for school and unit-based gift officers, oversaw the university’s first full-service real estate philanthropy program, and revamped the university’s planned giving marketing program. He initiated two innovative Legacy Challenge programs that achieved significant increases in new planned giving commitments (a doubling of gifts received during a four-month Challenge fielded in 2017, and a 40% increase in the number of new planned gifts received during a full-year Challenge fielded in 2019) and implemented successful alumni survey programs that identified hundreds of existing bequest commitments and new prospective planned giving donors.
Previously, Mr. Kendrick was the Director of Planned Giving for the Smithsonian Institution from 2005 to 2008, where he led planned giving fundraising for 19 museums and nine research centers. He also held development positions at the National Academy of Sciences and Hood College. His development positions followed an 18-year career in advertising, publishing, and marketing. Mr. Kendrick served as a Vice President at DDB, a national advertising and marketing firm, and was Vice President and Managing Director for two successful start-up marketing companies: On Target Media (now PatientPoint Health Technologies) and Targeted Marketing Solutions, Inc. (now MyMove LLC, owned by Red Ventures, LLC).
Mr. Kendrick has a BA degree in Economics and Government from Cornell, an MBA from Wharton Business School, and a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism. He also holds the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy designation (CAP®) from the American College of Financial Services. In 2018 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Capital Gift Planning Council for service to the Council and to the gift planning profession.
Gene Finn: Senior Consultant
Gene Finn is a Senior Consultant with Michael J. Worth & Associates. He has more than 30 years of fundraising and management experience, leading the advancement programs for a number of top universities. He serves with MJW&A in a part-time capacity, helping our clients achieve their greatest fundraising aspiritions.
He currently serves as Chief Development Officer for Georgetown University Law Center, where he manages the fundraising and alumni relations teams. Prior to Georgetown, Gene was the Vice President of Development at Columbia University, Vice President of Advancement and Executive Director of the Kent State University Foundation, and served in numerous leadership roles at The George Washington University.
Gene led the successful completion of a number of multimillion-dollar campaigns. In addition to his campaign management experience, he brings to his role as a consultant extensive experience with strategic planning, foundation board governance and management, fundraising team staffing and incentive programs, and advisory board development and management.
As Executive Director of the Kent State University Foundation, he managed the foundation’s investment in, and construction of, a new hotel and conference center in downtown Kent.
He also has provided professional consulting services to both higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations.
Gene received his Master of Arts degree from The George Washington University and his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College.
