2024-2025 SoCalCGP Officers

President
Cris Lutz, CSPG, CAP

(she/her/hers)
Assistant Vice President of Gift Planning
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Cris Lutz is the Assistant Vice President of Gift Planning at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, which she joined in 2005. Prior to The Huntington, she served as Director of Individual Giving at Big Brothers Big Sisters, among other roles. Cris has served on the board of directors of the American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA) and the Los Angeles Council of Charitable Gift Planners (LACGP). She earned her master's degree in psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and bachelor's degrees in art history and social science from the University of California, Irvine. Cris is a certified specialist in planned giving (CSPG) and a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP).

President-Elect, Inclusion Chair
Tony Truong

(he/him/his)
Asst. VP for Advancement
University of Redlands

Tony Truong is a philanthropy executive with two decades of experience across higher education, healthcare, social services, and the arts. He currently serves as Associate Vice President for Advancement at the University of Redlands, which he joined in 2020. He previously served at Providence St. Jude Medical Center, UC Riverside, and the Contemporary Austin (formerly the Austin Museum of Art). He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and a past president of Charitable Gift Planners - Inland Southern California council. Tony lives in Riverside with four dogs and an indeterminate and varying number of fish.

Immediate Past President
Michele A. Bignardi, CFRE, CSPG

(she/her/hers)
Senior Vice President
Netzel Grigsby Associates

Michele is a senior vice president with Netzel Grigsby Associates who works with a variety of nonprofit organizations to enhance their fundraising strategies and increase the impact of their work. Michele has served as lead counsel on a number of successful feasibility studies and capital campaign projects. Michele trains and coaches both professional and volunteer fundraisers. She has been an instructor with the UCLA Fundraising Extension program. In additional to her involvement with LACGP, she is on the board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Orange County Chapter, and the Southern California Association of Healthcare Development. Michele holds a BA from San Francisco State University.

Treasurer
Fernando Sanchez, CFP®, EA

(he/him/his)
Manager, Wealth Management
Aspiriant

Fernando is a wealth manager with Aspiriant who works with ultra-high-net-worth families within the Exclusive Family Office Group. He advocates for a client-first approach and finds great joy in helping clients connect their wealth to their vision, values, and goals through comprehensive financial and charitable planning. In addition to his involvement with SoCal CGP, he is on the board of directors for the Opera League of Los Angeles, serving as Treasurer and a member of the finance and strategic planning committees. He earned a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and economics from the University of California, San Diego, and graduated from the personal financial planning program at UCLA. Fernando is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and an Enrolled Agent, the highest credential the Internal Revenue Service awards.

Secretary
Claudia Preza-Marin, M.A., CSPG

(she/her/hers)
Charitable Giving Officer
Inland Empire Community Foundation

Claudia has built a successful career in fundraising with over fourteen years of experience working in various specialities, including in both major and planned gifts and she currently serves as the Charitable Giving Officer at the Inland Empire Community Foundation. In her fundraising career, Claudia has worked at organizations such as Mount St. Mary’s University in LA and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles. She has a passion for planned giving and has combined that passion with technical knowledge by becoming a Certified Specialist in Planned giving. A major area of interest for Claudia is in BIPOC trends in philanthropy and she has a particular interest in expanding her knowledge of Latinx giving trends and motivators. Claudia has a B.A. in English from Mount Saint Mary’s University and a master’s degree in international studies from Claremont Graduate University where her studies focused on the Latin American region.

Programming Chair
Tammy Sims Johnson, CAP ®

(she/her/hers)
Vice President, Philanthropic Services
Santa Barbara Foundation 

Tammy serves as Vice President, Philanthropic Services, at the Santa Barbara Foundation, providing overall leadership and management for the community foundation’s development, donor relations, and communications teams. Prior to joining SBF, she worked at the California Community Foundation as Director of Donor Relations and Senior Philanthropic Advisor responsible for stewarding relationships with individuals, families, and corporations to help them achieve their vision for meaningful giving. Tammy holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the University of Southern California, and a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) designation from the American College of Financial Services. She also graduated from the USC Marshall School of Business with a Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship.

Programming Co-Chair
Abigail Oduol, MA, CFRE

(she/her/hers)
Senior Development Officer, Planned Gifts
Earthjustice

Abigail helps donors figure out their why and how to holistically connect to the mission and their values. She also helps fundraisers connect their DEI values to their day jobs through presenting and training others at places like AFP Icon, NACGP and various podcasts. She is a contributor to Community Centric Fundraising's website and enjoys connecting the superhero universe to fundraising. 

Membership Chair
Lizzie Knol, JD, CSPG

(she/her/hers)
Senior Gift Planning Officer
Caltech

Lizzie joined the Caltech Office of Gift Planning in July 2022, returning to her native Los Angeles. She received her BA in History and Sport Sociology as well as her JD from Indiana University. After experience in the fields of nonprofit legal services and university advancement and alumni relations, Lizzie began her professional development career in Annual Giving. She then moved into major gifts as the Senior Associate Director of Development for the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. Lizzie is an active volunteer leader, with past board service for a women’s giving circle and her local chapter of the Indiana University Alumni Association, as well as committee service for the National Association of Cancer Center Development Officers and Junior Leagues of Indianapolis and Los Angeles.

Membership Co-Chair
Aaron Levinson

Vice President, Planned Giving
Los Angeles Jewish Health

Aaron Levinson currently serves as Vice President, Planned Giving for Los Angeles Jewish Health, formerly known as Los Angeles Jewish Home. Aaron is a past president of the Southern California Council of Charitable Gift Planners and also served as an instructor of planned giving at UCLA Extension. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from UC San Diego, his Master’s Degrees from Hebrew Union College and the University of Southern California, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Hebrew Union College in 2020. He is also a Certified Specialist in Planned Giving.

Marketing and Communications Chair
Clare Grotting, MBA, CSPG

(she/her/hers)
Advancement Officer
La Jolla Institute for Immunology

Clare Grotting joined La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI)’s Advancement team in 2020. She enjoys matching philanthropic families, individuals and private foundations to the exciting research initiatives, cutting-edge equipment and other opportunities at LJI they feel inspired to support. She also manages LJI’s planned giving program, and volunteers on LJI’s DEI staff committee.

Prior to joining LJI, Clare worked for public media, where she straddled community engagement, marketing and development. Clare served on the board of the San Diego Planned Giving Partnership from 2020-2024, and currently volunteers on the board of Wayword Radio, Inc., the organization behind the A Way With Words radio show and podcast.

Marketing and Communications Co-Chair
Andrea McFarling

(she/her/hers)
Philanthropy Officer of Legacy Giving
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

Andrea McFarling is the Philanthropy Officer of Legacy Giving at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Since entering the field of fundraising as a student at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Andrea has accumulated more than 30 years of professional fundraising experience in the Santa Barbara area. Armed with a B.A. in Social Science and a minor in Management from UCI, Andrea’s prior experience encompasses more than 20 years in educational settings in addition to having worked with social services organizations and medical research foundations. She is a Past President of the Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties Chapter of Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).

Conference Chair
Kimberly Jetton, MNM, CFRE

President and Founder
Pleiades Nonprofit Advisors

Kimberly is a national award-winning leader in fund development and gift planning. She is Founder and President of Pleiades Nonprofit Advisors, where she helps nonprofits with gift planning implementation, marketing, and strategies. She has served as the Executive Director of the Orange Catholic Foundation, Director of Planned Giving for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and as Director of Advancement in the Archdiocese of Denver.  Kimberly holds a CFRE certification, a Master's in Nonprofit Management from Regis University, and a BA in Political Science from the University of Arizona. Kimberly is a proud veteran of the Colorado Army National Guard.

Conference Co-Chair
Danese Bardot, JD, CFRE

(she/her/hers)
Senior Director of Development, Planned Giving
Cal State University, Los Angeles

Danese Bardot, JD, CFRE, Senior Director of Development, Planned Giving, California State University, Los Angeles (“Cal State LA”).  Ms. Bardot brings over 15 years of specific knowledge in Advancement with a proven track record of in securing five, six and seven figure current, deferred, and blended gifts. This experience includes leadership, planning and management of complex campaigns. She also has experience working on special advancement projects such as, drafting gift acceptance policies and expanding planned-giving opportunities for non-cash assets, such as real estate, life insurance, appreciated securities, and personal property. Prior to joining Cal State LA, Ms. Bardot served in various leadership advancement positions at both academic and nonprofit organizations. Ms. Bardot holds a B.A. in Management from the University of Redlands, a J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law, and currently working on her certification in Planned Giving at CSU Long Beach.  Ms. Bardot is also a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE).

Sponsorship Chair 
Heidi Simpson-Sandoval

(she/her/hers)

Heidi Simpson-Sandoval is a Senior Client Strategist for BNY Mellon Wealth Management. In this role, she works with individuals, families, endowments, foundations, retirement plans and family offices to develop comprehensive financial solutions to meet their goals and objectives. Services include investment consulting and management, asset allocation, manager selection, custody, performance reporting and analytics, and investment and spending policy design.

Heidi rejoined the firm in 2020 and has more than 26 years of experience in the financial services industry. Her previous experience includes serving as an SVP/Regional Director for Northern Trust.

Heidi earned a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and holds FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses. She currently sits on the Responsible Investing Advisory Board. She previously served a 5-year term on the Board of Directors for Los Angeles Master Chorale. Heidi currently serves on the Board of Directors for Pasadena Literary Alliance. She is a member and volunteer for Los Altos Auxiliary, National Charity League and La Canada Junior Women’s Organization.

Sponsorship Co-Chair
William LaBore

(he/him/his)
Planned Giving Officer
Loma Linda University Health

William is a Planned Giving Officer at Loma Linda University Health, a premier non-profit healthcare provider in the Inland Empire. Before assuming his current role, he served as a Major Gift Officer for the School of Medicine at Loma Linda University.

From 2005 to 2015, William and his family volunteered as medical mission aviation workers in Guyana, South America. They continued their service on the island of Palawan in the Philippines from 2016 to 2019. In both locations, William was responsible for project management and fundraising efforts.

William also contributed to the fundraising community as a board member of the Inland Empire chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals from 2020 to 2023. Outside of his professional commitments, he enjoys travel, hiking, golf, and pickleball.

Mentorship Chair
Robert W. Woolley

(he/him/his)
Senior Director of Development
Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association

Robert W. Woolley serves as the Senior Director of Development for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA) where he connects donors with their passions for animal welfare, species conservation and education while stewarding GLAZA’s Selig Legacy Society.  During his 20 years as an advancement professional, Rob has also served as the lead fundraiser for the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies, led the development of The Mirman School for Gifted Children’s professional development and communications programs, and strengthened annual giving and alumni association programs at Harvard-Westlake School and USC.  In addition to LACGP, Rob is currently the Development Committee Chair for the Tournament of Roses Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association where Rob has served annually as a volunteer member since the 1996 Rose Parade.

National Liaison
Janice Burrill, JD, CAP

(she/her/hers)
Philanthropic Consultant
JB Consulting

Janice has served on the boards of many nonprofits both nationally and locally, including the Board of Directors of the National Committee on Planned Giving (now CGP) where she chaired the Public Affairs Committee which oversaw the “Leave a Legacy” national initiative. She is also past president of LACGP and former Chair of the Western Regional Planned Giving Conference. She is also a member of the Gift Planning Councils of Loyola Marymount University, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and the Catholic Education Foundation. She is an active volunteer and speaker within the philanthropic sector and participated in the first-ever White House Conference on Philanthropy.

Member-at-Large
Patience Boudreaux, MBA, CSPG, CFRE

(she/her/hers)
President
Rideout Foundation at Adventist Health and Rideout

Patience leads the ambitious campaign to bring new technological advancements and renovations, as well as provide for patient care and community health initiatives, to Adventist Health and Rideout. She has a background in planned giving with a focus on gifts of complex assets and bequests. She has degrees from Johns Hopkins University and the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. She received the Distinguished Service Award from SoCalCGP in 2022 and has previously served in the roles of President, Programming Chair, and Conference Chair. She also currently serves on the board for the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners.

Administrator
Deb Johnson

Administrator
SoCalCGP

Deb Johnson is a high-performance senior leader with over 20 years of experience managing non-profit organizations. She has the ability to drive change to improve organizational performance and management. Deb has a strong track record of success in motivating and developing volunteers while optimizing operational results. She is a self-directed professional that takes pride in the transformation of a vision into reality while building a sustainable foundation for continued success. When not in the office, you can find Deb traveling, dancing, kayaking or gardening.