Chad Gobel is a 25-year veteran of institutional advancement programs and one of the preeminent consultants serving healthcare philanthropy. Chad has personally worked with more than 100 healthcare organizations over the last ten years.

In 2011, Chad founded Gobel Group with one employee and one client. Today, Gobel Group has grown to over 25 healthcare professionals and actively works with more than 150 clients around the world. Gobel Group celebrated its ten-year anniversary in 2021. It has worked with over 550 healthcare organizations in its history. Gobel Group has become the leading philanthropy consulting firm working exclusively in healthcare.

While Gobel is internationally recognized for its best-in-class grateful patient and family philanthropy program with active clinician engagement, it also offers counsel and assistance for every step of the development process, including proven solutions for campaign planning and management, data analytics, systems, and information services, development audits, hospital and system philanthropy office integrations, among other areas.

In 2018, Gobel launched G2G, short for “Gratitude to Give,” a breakthrough technology product that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to help healthcare organizations increase philanthropic support. G2G has proven to be more than four times as effective as traditional predictive models on giving.

Before starting Gobel, Chad played leading roles in billion-dollar medical center campaigns and served in leadership roles as Cleveland Clinic and University of Rochester Medical Center. Chad received his MBA from the Ohio State University and his undergraduate degree from Towson University. Chad is a frequent speaker at national conferences, served on the faculty of the AHP Madison Institute for ten years, and has published the widely circulated book “How to Become a Top Producer in Healthcare Philanthropy.” Chad is an active advocate and donor for children and animal causes in his community. He serves on the Executive Committee and the Board for the Brandywine Valley SPCA.

Desirae joined Gobel Group in 2012. She serves as Principal Consultant, Programs and has worked first hand with over 35 hospitals in that time. In her role, she has educated hundreds of physicians and clinicians, encouraging the identification of thousands of prospects capable of making major and principal level gifts. She has successfully mentored and fostered an increase in gift offer productivity to successfully close gifts of all sizes, including a $2M gift from a grateful patient.

Prior to joining the firm, Desirae served as the Director of Advancement at the University of Rochester Medical Center, overseeing all development functions within a clinical unit. She worked closely with physicians and board members to close six and seven figure gifts. She was directly responsible for growing grateful patient fundraising programs, building strong internal and external relationships, campaign planning and implementation, volunteer management, major/leadership gift strategy and solicitation, special events and donor recognition programs. Previously, she worked at Rochester General Hospital, partnering with employed and private physicians to implement process improvements and create aligned interests between physicians and the hospital.

Along with her experience in medical center fundraising, Desirae has special expertise in the areas of campaign preparation and implementation, major gifts strategy, evaluation of advancement office structure and programs, strategic planning, and executive coaching.

Jenny has over 20 years of experience providing exceptional service to others. She brings extensive expertise in healthcare philanthropy and leading teams consisting of data scientists, engineers, analytical and development operations personnel. Since she joined Gobel, Jenny has personally worked with over 80 healthcare organizations and trained thousands of individuals to leverage large data sets, implement the best analytical solutions, and enhance their CRM utilization. She leads with a data-driven mindset and keeps innovation at the forefront of her strategy to help organizations take advantage of cutting-edge technologies. Before Gobel, Jenny oversaw advancement services at Abington – Jefferson Health and was an integral member of the development operations team at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Jenny has presented multiple times at conferences on numerous topics including developing KPIs, implementing grateful patient programs, driving user-engagement with CRMs, trainings others, database conversions, and strengthening the partnership between frontline fundraisers and development operations. She wrote a chapter in the book published by CASE, “Advancement Services: Enhancing Fundraising Success.” She holds a certificate for Foundations in Project Management from Villanova University and a Blackbaud certification in the Raiser’s Edge-Professional. Jenny has a true passion for helping others and having a transformational impact on leveraging the best technology, data, and operational processes. Serving as a mentor to countless others, Jenny thrives most by seeing others scale, grow, and develop to their fullest potential. She resides in Millsboro, DE.

Eric joined Gobel Group after years in journalism and development. Prior to Gobel, he served as the Director of Prospect Management and Research at Northwell Health, the largest health care provider in New York state with 22 hospitals and more than 830 outpatient facilities. At the Northwell Health Foundation, he managed the Prospect Research and Database teams as they worked toward the completion of a $1 billion campaign. He also served on the Foundation’s internal committees devoted to equity & diversity and technology. Previously he also served as Assistant Director of Prospect Research at Massachusetts General Hospital and came to development following a 15-year career in journalism. Eric holds a B.A. in Magazine Journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and resides in Queens, NY.

Katie is an experienced attorney who has guided businesses and business owners for more than fifteen years as an attorney, business consultant, and executive. She understands the importance of connecting legal solutions with the client’s operations, culture, and goals while avoiding the problems that can often come from disconnected or isolated legal “advice.”

Katie has experience in law and inside operations as operations management to plan for legal pitfalls proactively. Her areas of expertise include tax law, business formation, employment law, healthcare, WBE/MBEs, contract drafting and negotiation, merger & acquisitions, leasing, and intellectual property. She holds a J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law.

Rosanna joined Gobel Group with a 25-year career in human resources spanning across the retail, television, pharmaceutical and hospitality industries. Before Gobel, she was the Head of Human Resources for Romark, L.C., a Tampa-based pharmaceutical company with a global presence. Her decades of experience have instilled in her the philosophy that when employees are cared for, they can best care for their clients. Matucan-Carson holds an MBA from DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management; a master’s degree in human resources management and development from Chapman University; and certifications as SPHR, GPHR, and Senior Certified Human Resources Professional with HRCI. She resides in Tampa, Fla.

Kevin joined Gobel Group after years in the financial sector of multiple industries.

Lauren joined Gobel Group in June 2011 and has held roles of increasing responsibility in her tenure. In her current role, Lauren works to cultivate and maintain relationships with industry strategic partners to drive continued growth of our brand and business. Lauren also works closely with the CEO to champion and manage development of Gobel Group’s new innovative products and technology solutions.

Lauren has a strong background in project management, research and administrative roles. She brings a strategic, focused and detail-oriented passion to her work. Previous roles within the company have included four years as Senior Director of Business Development and Marketing, Director of Administration, and Philanthropy Analyst. Prior to meeting Chad and launching a career in healthcare philanthropy, Lauren was serving as a paralegal in upstate New York while considering a career in Law. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with a minor in Public Administration from the State University of New York.

Denise brings more than two decades of experience advancing healthcare philanthropy in executive leadership roles. Most recently she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer for Stratum Health System and Tidewell Hospice in Sarasota, Florida, where she also provided leadership over the organization’s marketing and communications programs. Previously she served as Chief Development Officer for St. John’s Hospital and St. John’s Children’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois. She is now transitioning from this great career into consultant work.

She has experience with elevating annual, major, capital, and endowment building programs; donor relations and stewardship programs; planned giving; prospect research; implementing grateful patient and clinical integration programs; volunteer management and special events. In addition to her advancement experience, she also brings an executive leadership team perspective to her clients.

“I’m thrilled for this transition from being a Gobel Group client to working with Gobel Group’s clients on their Grateful Patient Programs.”

Denise is an active member and has held volunteer leadership positions with the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) and Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and earned her Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) designation in 2008. She has her bachelor’s degree in public relations from Western Kentucky University and her master’s degree in communication from the University of Illinois-Springfield.

Kevin joined Gobel Group with 25 years of experience in philanthropy. Before starting at Gobel Group, he was the Executive Director of Alumni and Friends Engagement and The Clark Fund at Clark University. There, he developed new communications tools, implemented digital fundraising strategies, and expanded volunteer opportunities. He previously worked at the University of Rochester, Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University and Bowdoin College. He has served as a member of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District 1 Cabinet, Commission on Alumni Relations and as a program chair and faculty. Kevin earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and music from Bowdoin College and a certificate in leadership coaching from the University of Rochester. He lives in Stow, Mass.

Kevin Pickett has two decades of experience advancing healthcare philanthropy including 17 years in complex gift planning. In securing transformational gifts and crucial philanthropic support, he demonstrates creativity and professionalism while collaborating across all areas of the institution. His experience includes serving as Executive Vice President at a nationally recognized cancer center and Executive Director of Development at another major, national cancer center where he led a team of development professionals raising $50 million+ annually. Previously, he was VP for Institutional Advancement in higher education and Director of Estate and Asset Services for a national health charity. Programs under his leadership have won multiple awards for creativity and effectiveness. Kevin is a nationally recognized expert and speaker on gift planning, digital fundraising and development marketing. He has published several articles on gift planning and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, NonProfit Times and Planned Giving Today. He formerly served on the faculty of the Rice University Center for Philanthropy and Leadership. Kevin has served as a board, conference and committee leader in a variety of professional associations and is actively involved in the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, Association of Fundraising Professionals and Partnership for Philanthropic Planning. He earned a BA from Kentucky Christian University and an MBA from the University of Houston. He has achieved the designation of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM.

With over 40 years of healthcare management experience in both the clinical setting and in philanthropy, Helen is a well-known expert in developing and implementing successful grateful patient engagement programs. She works with Gobel Group clients to achieve new levels of fundraising with innovative grateful patient programs. Helen was most recently the executive director of Grateful Patient Programs at Duke Medicine and is a trained clinical nurse. Helen has experience closing major and planned gifts and has played a key role in several billion dollar campaigns. She is a well-known speaker at AHP, AAMC and CASE conferences. Helen has been awarded a number of honors, including the Triangle Business Journal 25 Women in Business Leader Award and the Innovation Award from Duke Medicine Development and Alumni Affairs. Helen holds a BSN degree as well as the MPH in Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Kimberly Nagy is an accomplished healthcare executive with a career spanning more than 35 years. Kimberly currently serves as principal and founder of Kimberly Nagy Consulting LLC.

Prior to becoming a healthcare consultant, Kimberly served as Executive Vice President of Patient Services and Chief Nursing Office of Northwest Community Healthcare, a 500+ bed, Magnet Designated®, Level II Trauma, Level III NICU, Acute Care Hospital in Arlington Heights, Illinois. During her tenure, she brought together individuals to forge high-functioning teams, established herself as an inspirational change agent, using her clinical and business acumen to identify necessary transformations in current strategies, designed and developed new processes to support continued growth of the organization. Her capability in achieving exemplary nursing and operational outcomes at all levels of operation is evident throughout her career, setting high standards of improvement and ensuring they are achieved. She also served as Chair of the Nursing Executive Council leading out on organizational imperatives to increase nurse board certification rates, reduce RN turnover, enhance organization-wide care coordination and internal and external partnerships, and advance knowledge in areas of professional development, service line standardization, workforce planning, and strategic governance.

Earlier in her career, Kimberly served as Vice President of Operations and Chief Nursing Executive Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, a 200 bed, Level II Trauma, Acute Care Hospital, Lake Forest, Illinois. During her time at Lake Forest Hospital, Kimberly’s hands-on transformational leadership, vision and guidance assisted the organization to earn its initial Magnet® Designation.

Kimberly earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Nursing from Purdue University. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society, American Organization of Nursing Leaders, Illinois Organization of Nursing Leaders, American Nurses Association, and American College of Healthcare Executives. She earned Nurse Executive Advanced Board Certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Kimberly has served as an Independent Board Member for the Susan G. Komen Foundation in Chicago Affiliate and a Member of the American Organization of Nurse Leaders – Directors Fellowship Task Force.

Nancy is a philanthropy professional with over 33 years of varied and comprehensive experience in the field. Her work has included building and shepherding a foundation and corporate relations program at Duke Medicine, establishing and directing a non-profit organization, and evaluating grant programs for private foundations. She is most interested in helping organizations establish effective foundation fundraising programs that optimize knowledge and experience to connect innovative ideas with appropriate funders, creating collegial and transparent lines of communication between foundation representatives and the people and programs that can advance their priorities, and mentoring people new to the field, including both fundraisers and philanthropists.

Lawrence is a fundraising professional with two decades of diverse and extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector, and will lead Gobel Group’s work in the provinces of Canada. Most recently, Lawrence served as the President & CEO of the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba. As the senior executive member of the Foundation, he guided it to an almost 175% increase in revenue over a five-year period, and broadened the foundation’s scope of fundraising programs with the largest increase in revenue coming from annual gifts, major gifts, and a major emphasis on donor retention and stewardship. He has a bachelor’s degree and education certificate from the University of Manitoba and a Fundraising Management Certificate from the AHP Madison Institute. Lawrence has served as a volunteer on numerous healthcare boards and is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal for his contributions to society.

Julia Sarazine is a doctoral prepared, board certified family nurse practitioner and published mindfulness researcher. She received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree from Rush University where she is also an adjunct assistant professor and her Mindfulness Teacher Certification from The Mindfulness Center at Brown University. She has presented her mindfulness research at several health care conferences. In addition, she teaches mindfulness to healthcare professionals, corporations, and the community. She is passionate about adapting mindfulness training to be relevant the minute participants complete the training. She also has worked in the healthcare environment for over 20 years and in the corporate setting for over 10 years.

David Victorson is a licensed psychologist and Associate Professor of Medical Social Sciences in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University where he directs the Consciousness in Health Research Lab. He is also the Director of Integrative Oncology at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Survivorship Institute, and founder and director of a young adult cancer support nonprofit called True North Treks. Dr. Victorson’s clinical and research pursuits have focused on measuring and studying the effects of contemplative awareness practices – such as mindfulness meditation, self-compassion, and yoga – and also on the quality of life and well-being of people with cancer and other chronic medical conditions. Dr. Victorson leveraged his background in mindfulness, self-compassion, and empathy to develop the curriculum for our GRACE program. He is also leading our research study to measure and analyze qualitative and quantitative outcomes of GRACE. Learn more about GRACE here.

Chris is a story teller. Before Gobel, Chris worked for many years as the senior cinematographer for Kodak’s Entertainment Imaging division. In this position, he was responsible for producing and shooting films used in launching every new motion picture stock that Kodak introduced since the late 1980’s. Chris has also worked independently on commercials and independent features. With his eye for well-designed lighting and composition, he creates stories with remarkable images. At Gobel, Chis works with clients to create a digital library of videos that are used to create products (orientation programs, training programs for physicians and volunteers, website promotional videos, and other tools) that help clients create a culture of gratitude in their hospital.

Jocelyn brings to the Gobel Group over 16 years of experience in Philanthropy Services. She thrives on taking an analytical approach to her work by assessing the overall situation and strategically developing appropriate solutions.
Jocelyn previously worked at Westchester Medical Center, the FDNY Foundation, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and as a consultant in Philanthropy Services. In each of these roles she developed strong policies and procedures for Database and Financial functions improving data accuracy, segmenting, and reporting. She oversaw multiple database conversions and merges and was also instrumental in implementing numerous software applications including wealth screening for grateful patient programs.
Her strong focus on improving processes for accuracy and efficiency, combined with her numerous years in the healthcare industry and with grateful patient programs, will prove to be excellent assets for our clients.

Kathy enjoys working collaboratively with teams to create, capture, and use data to gain new insights. This allows groups to effectively apply data to guide learning, critical conversations, and decision making. Whether it be from her work operationalizing grateful patient programs, aligning donor preferences with actual giving experiences, or creating systems to capture child health and development outcomes, she brings years of nonprofit and healthcare philanthropy experience to the Gobel team.
Previously, Kathy served in leadership roles with The University of Kansas Health System and Children International which gave her the opportunity to learn from and work alongside teams across the United States, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Miami, as well as a Master of Public Health degree from The George Washington University.

Dan Kohli-Winklebleck spent over nine years in healthcare philanthropy, engaging in prospect research and management, frontline fundraising, direct mail, and donor stewardship. Before starting with Gobel Group, Dan was the Senior Director of Annual Giving and Stewardship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Dan honed his communication skills while working in a wide range of healthcare philanthropy settings and going from a rural community hospital to an internationally recognized pediatric hospital and research center. He took a master’s degree in museum studies from the State University of New York at Oneonta’s Cooperstown Graduate Program. He received his undergraduate degrees in history and geography from Pennsylvania State University.

Rikki Bryant joined Gobel Group following a successful career at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Health Foundation, where she served as the Director of Prospect Management. During her time at UNC, she oversaw the university’s $1 billion prospect pipeline, including a comprehensive Grateful Patient Program, as part of the $4.25 billion “For All Kind: The Campaign for Carolina.” In 2018, she was honored to present data management best practices at the CASE Asia Pacific Advancement Services Conference in Brisbane, Australia. She’s the author of two best practices for the Association of Advancement Services Professionals (AASP): “Best Practice in Gender Maintenance” (2021) and “Best Practice in Preparing for General Data Protection Regulation Compliance” (2018). Rikki served as the Faculty Member for Academic Impressions from 2017 to 2019 and, as a part of her role, presented a national webinar, “Prospect Management: Tracking and Reporting.” She also co-led the Portfolio Management and Maintenance Strategies for Fundraising Success Conference in 2017. She holds certifications in Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt (2021) and Data Science Ethics (2019), and a Certified Fund Raising Executive, for which she received certification in 2017 and re-certified in 2020. Rikki received her MBA with a concentration in International Business from Western Carolina University. As the daughter of a recently-retired registered nurse and cancer survivor, Rikki has a strong passion for and wholeheartedly believes in the transformational power of healthcare philanthropy. She resides in Boone, N.C.

Sarah is a non-profit administrator with more than a decade of project management and database administration experience. For many years, Sarah helped to produce classical music, jazz and dance performances in the Boston, MA and Hartford, CT areas all while managing cross-departmental data-related projects. Before joining the Gobel Group team, she was the Database Manager of the Raiser’s Edge database for the Advancement department at Dana Hall School, an all-girls independent school in Wellesley, MA that is committed to fostering excellence in academics, the arts, and athletics within a vibrant, caring and inclusive community. She looks forward to applying her project management skills and love of data to create actionable recommendations that will help healthcare organizations across North America plan and execute their important work. Sarah has a bachelor’s degree in Music from Syracuse University.

Meagan brings ten years of experience in non-profit database administration and development operations. Prior to joining Gobel Group, she served as the Raiser’s Edge Database Administrator for the Office of Institutional Advancement in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, the sixth largest Catholic Diocese in the United States, and most recently as the Database Manager for the United Way of Long Island. Meagan holds a Blackbaud certification in the Raiser’s Edge-Professional and received a bachelor’s degree in English from St. Francis College.

Andrew is a Silicon Valley veteran with 15 years experience using machine learning and data science to help companies innovate, including at Google, Check (acquired by Intuit), and over a dozen startups. Andrew has MS & BS degrees from Stanford in Symbolic Systems focusing on AI.

Kenny joined Gobel Group with years of experience in the IT and technology field.

Megan brings to the Gobel Group team 7 years experience in working with healthcare clients.
Prior to Gobel Group she was a Registered Behavior Technician, providing services to clients alongside Board Certified Behavior Analysts and healthcare professionals.
Megan graduated from Elizabethtown College with a Bachelor of Social Work.
As a Client Engagement Manager, she brings her client-focused experience into play as she partners with Principal Consultants to implement our Grateful Patient Program.

Michelle joined Gobel Group after seven years of experience as a legal assistant and manager, overseeing more than 400 accounts monthly. She has been recognized by peers to have the ability to demonstrate a high standard of ethical and professional conduct. Michelle has developed a strong attention to detail for accuracy and efficiency which she brings in her work as a client engagement manager. Michelle graduated cum laude from Texas A&M – San Antonio with a Bachelor of Science in Criminology and a Minor in History. She resides in Texas.

Kelly brings over ten years of client management experience to the Gobel Group team. Before joining Gobel Group, she was a client relationship manager with a data preparation and automation software company providing services to clients in the healthcare, financial, academic, and travel industries. Her prior experience also includes working at a non-profit agency, first as an advocate for victims of the 9/11 WTC attack and then for victims of violent crime.
Kelly graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Sociology. As a Client Engagement Manager, she uses her extensive client relationship experience to contribute to the successful implementation of engagements with her clients and the continued success of Gobel Group.

Julian joined Gobel Group with more than 15 years in the digital media and advertising industry. Prior to Gobel, the New Zealand native has helped national and international brands and organizations optimize digital platforms to advance their missions, increase revenue, and energize engagement, as evidenced by his work with AAMC, NBME, United Way, and government bodies including NOAA, Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Education. Julian’s career in the creative field has fueled his drive for innovative ideas backed by data and best practices and cutting-edge solutions that produce award-winning results. He graduated from the Media Design School (NZ) and most recently completed his Management Certification (Honolulu, Hi) and now resides in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Jessica joined Gobel Group after working for seven years in journalism and nonprofit communications. She leverages her skills in digital content creation, photography, writing and social media management to produce thoughtful and compelling organizational storytelling. Through her years in communications and journalism, Jessica has developed the belief that digital media and the written word are powerful tools with which to gain champions for a cause. Jessica holds a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri. She resides in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Krista joined Gobel Group after years within operational and fundraising roles at Northwestern Memorial Foundation, the fundraising arm for Northwestern Medicine, an 11-hospital academic health system. Her time working in philanthropy has instilled in her the belief that the greatest outcomes can be achieved through deep partnerships between the art and science of fundraising. Krista holds a bachelor’s degree in retail management from University of Wisconsin-Stout, and is planning a move to Minnesota.

Kirill joined Gobel Group after years of experience in customer service and managing diverse clients as an independent contractor. Originally from Ukraine, he speaks three languages and loves to play soccer and pickleball. He moved to the U.S. 6 years ago and resides in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Sharon is a Certified Public Accountant with over 30 years experience in providing professional services across a broad range of financial areas including compliance, internal controls, business processes, and acting in business advisory roles. She has been involved with multiple not-for-profit organizations as a board member, a volunteer, a part of the audit team, an internal business manager, and the provider of policies, procedures, and internal control reviews.
Sharon has a B.A. from Thomas Edison State University.
At Gobel Group she is responsible for the delivery of financial services including accounting, treasury, reporting, and budgeting, all in accordance with legislative requirements and organizational policies and strategies.