Big West Foundation Giving Team

Mary McCambridge | Endowment / Major Gift Advisor | Email

Mary is a 27 year Rotarian in the Rotary Club of Loveland, CO.  She was District Governor in 2011-12 and has served as GETS training leader as well as at International Assembly from 2014-2016.  Mary has been very involved in Literacy projects for both children and adults.

She is a Paul Harris Fellow, Paul Harris Society, Bequest Society, and Major Donor.  She is a believer in the phrase Be The Change you want to see in the world.

Districts: 5390, 5400, 5420, 5440, 5450, 5470, 5520 and 5730

Wyn Spiller | Endowment / Major Gift Advisor | Email

Wyn is honored to be serving as an Endowment/ Major Gifts Adviser (E/MGA) for Zone 27, helping build our Foundation’s Legacy of Hope.   Wyn is a past Governor of District 5190 (2008-09) and has served in a variety of Club and District roles since joining the Rotary Club of Grass Valley in 1994. She is the immediate past Zone 25 (now 27) Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator, current District 5190 Rotary Foundation Committee Chair and Chair of the 2019 Rotary Institute in Denver.

Additional Rotary service includes Vice Chair and Communications Team member for Zone 25/26, 2016 Council on Legislation delegate, and enthusiastic member of the 2014 Sydney Convention Promotion Committee. Wyn and her husband Steve were honored to be Training Leaders for both the 2011 and 2012 International Assemblies, as well as RI President’s Representatives on several occasions.

Wyn and Steve share a deep commitment to our Rotary Foundation and its humanitarian work, including a special interest in the Rotary Peace Centers and Polio eradication. They are Major Donors as well as Paul Harris, Bequest Society, and Triple Crown members.  Special ‘hand on’ highlights in the field include participating in a NID to India and humanitarian projects in Uganda and Mexico.  Wyn is the proud recipient of The Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service.

Wyn retired as Chairman/CEO of Nevada City Winery in 2014. She and Steve have three grown children pursuing careers in Los Angeles, Austin and San Francisco.  The family loves traveling together, especially by catamaran.

Districts: 5020, 5030, 5080, 5100, 5110, 5130, 5150, 5160, 5180, 5190

Ernie Montagne | End Polio Now Zone Coordinator | Email

Ernie served as District Governor for District 5500 (Southern Arizona) in 2010-11. He served as Future Vision Transition Coordinator for the district from 2011 to 2013 and as District Rotary Foundation Committee Chair for 2013-16. He is currently Chair of the Fundraising Subcommittee on the DRFC, overseeing efforts to promote giving to the Annual Fund and Endowment Fund. He received The Citation for Meritorious Service in 2011. He will serve as 2017-18 End Polio Now Coordinator for Zone 26.

As a member of the Rotary team, Ernie participates in the annual Ride to End Polio / El Tour de Tucson, cycling distances up to 104 miles and helping to raise millions of dollars for PolioPlus. Ernie and his wife Sally participated in a Polio National Immunization Day in West Africa in 2005. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Tucson Sunrise.

Enthusiastic supporters of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, Ernie and Sally are members of the Arch Klumph Society, Bequest Society Members, multiple Paul Harris Fellows, and members of the Paul Harris Society.

Ernie and Sally developed many Rotary projects in West Africa. These projects have provided clean water, sanitation, health care, education support, and income generation for thousands of needy people in 50 communities in Togo and Niger. Aside from matching grants provided by The Rotary Foundation, these projects received support from 88 clubs and 12 Rotary Districts in 7 countries, as well as over 500 individual Rotarians.

Ernie served in the US Army from 1959 to 1981, serving in Germany, Greenland, Vietnam, and Korea, as well as numerous posts in the United States. He subsequently retired from a second career as a defense analyst responsible for test and evaluation of military weapon systems.

Sally, a member of the Rotary Club of Tucson, is also a Past District Governor (2014-15) and is a recipient of Rotary’s highest award, the Service Above Self Award. She is currently Global Grants Chair for D5500 and served as Grants Chair for several years. She is a retired criminal defense attorney, having practiced for many years with the Public Defender Service in Washington, DC.

Districts: 5000, 5170, 5220, 5230, 5240, 5280, 5300, 5320, 5330, 5340, 5495, 5500 and 5730

Ken Howell | End Polio Now Zone Coordinator | Email

Ken served as President of the Rotary Club of Boise, Inc., in 2008-2009.  He was selected as District Governor for Rotary District 5400 (all of southern Idaho from McCall to Utah) and served in 2015-2016.  Ken served as the Zone Institute Service Coordinator in 2016, and as the Training Chair in 2017 for the Houston Zone Institute, which was canceled by Hurricane Harvey – training of DGE’s and DGN’s occurred in Evanston, IL, at Rotary International headquarters later that year.  Ken served as Chair of the Host Committee for the 2018 Zone Institute in Boise, ID.  He currently serves as Co-chair of the Special Sessions division of the 2019 Zone Institute to be held in Denver, CO.  Ken is a senior partner in the law firm of Hawley Troxell Ennis & Hawley, LLP, and lives in Boise, ID with his wife Bernadine Marconi.

Districts: 5390, 5400, 5420, 5440, 5450, 5470 and 5520

Cort Vaughan | End Polio Now Zone Coordinator | Email

Cort is a Polio survivor. He contracted Polio in 1954 during an epidemic that crippled over 35,000 people in the United States, mostly children under the age of 5. Polio paralyzed his right leg. He began his Polio eradication fundraising career at the age 3 as a March of Dimes poster child.

During his career, Cort traveled extensively selling and implementing customer relationship management software. He joined the Rotary Club of Greater Bend in 2011 to help eradicate Polio. He founded the Pints for Polio fundraiser in 2012 to raise money for global Polio eradication and to increase local awareness regarding the need to vaccinate all children. Pints for Polio has raised nearly $60,000 for the PolioPlus Fund.

Cort served as District 5110 PolioPlus Chair 2014 – 2017. During his tenure, he grew the District 5110 PolioPlus Society to 254 members. Every member pledges to donate $100 or more to PolioPlus every year until Polio is declared eradicated.

Cort and Tonya manage the marketing and social media of their online gift business, Name a Star anywhere they can find WIFI.

Cort and his wife Tonya sold their Bend, Oregon, house in 2017 and now travel full time in their RV. They have two sons and two grandsons. Cort and his wife enjoy cycling, hiking, and kayaking through the world’s most scenic places. Cort also likes to visit Rotary Clubs during their travels to promote PolioPlus and the eradication of Polio.

Districts: 5020, 5030, 5080, 5100, 5110, 5130, 5150, 5160, 5180, and 5190

Beth Garrow | Major Gifts Officer | Email

Beth is The Rotary Foundation’s Regional Major Gifts Officer for Zone 26.  She joined TRF in June 2016 and brings 25 years of major gift experience to her role, having worked in K-12 and higher education as well as healthcare.  Beth joined The Rotary Club of Hawthorne, CA in 1989 and was also an active member of the Rotary Club of Joliet, IL before joining D5340’s Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary Club in 2016.

Her development career began when she moved to Illinois in 1994, serving College of DuPage as Campaign and Major Gifts Officer, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science as Director of Development and Alumni Affairs, Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center as Vice President of its foundation and volunteer services, and Philanthropic Partnerships Director for MIND Research Institute in Irvine, CA.  Prior to 1994, her career included eight years in community redevelopment for the City of Hawthorne, California.

Beth is a Certified Fund Raising Executive who has a successful track record of helping donors realize their charitable goals. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California.  She enjoys volunteer service, pickleball, body surfing and currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Sociology Board of Visitors for UW Madison. Beth and her husband Tom have two married children, a granddaughter and a big dog, Jack.  She is based out of Carlsbad, CA.

Districts: 5000, 5170, 5220, 5230, 5240, 5280, 5300, 5320, 5330, 5340, 5495 and 5500

Eric Thompson | Major Gifts Officer | Email

Eric joined the Rotary Foundation philanthropy team in September 2018 as the new major gifts officer for Zone’s 26/27. A native Coloradan and Westerner, he is very happy to be working with Western Rotarians achieve their charitable ambitions. Eric is your major gifts liaison, based at Rotary Foundation in Evanston, but he travels regularly to districts and clubs in Zone 26/27. For Eric, Rotarians’ leadership in the drive to eradicate polio is one of the most inspiring stories in modern philanthropy, particularly since he had seen first-hand the impact of polio on members of his family.

Eric comes to RI with twenty years of comprehensive fundraising experience, primarily in higher education.  In all his previous roles he partnered with alumni, volunteers, and senior leadership in developing vibrant relationships with individual philanthropists, corporations and foundations, and other organizational partners in executing comprehensive capital campaigns. These campaigns were on behalf of Illinois Institute of Technology (College of Architecture and College of Engineering), Purdue University/Calumet, University of Colorado Foundation, and Ragdale Foundation.

Eric holds an MBA from the University of Illinois/Chicago in marketing, entrepreneurship, and human resource management; an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and a BFA from the University of Colorado/Boulder. Eric has also conceptualized, designed and led many subject matter presentations for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Engineering Development Forum (EDF), the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and the Center for Nonprofit Success. He also served as a subject matter expert/question formulator on the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) testing committee and held the CFRE certification 2006-2013.

Districts: 5390, 5400, 5420, 5440, 5450, 5470, 5520 and 5730

Elizabeth Cruft-Anderson | Senior Major Gifts Officer | Email

Elizabeth is a staff member of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International and currently serves as the Senior Major Gifts Officer for the Pacific Northwest, Northern California, Northern Nevada, portions of British Columbia and Alaska. She is a Rotarian with the Lake Oswego Rotary Club located in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

She specializes in working one-on-one with Rotarians and non-Rotarians to help them strategize giving to the foundation and reach their philanthropic and financial goals through Rotary.

She also provides training and advice to Rotary Districts in the West on ways to develop major gifts and fundraising strategies.

She is a Certified Fund Raising professional and has professional certifications in managing capital campaigns, annual fund and major gifts from the University of Indiana Lilly School of Philanthropy.

Prior to joining Rotary, she served as a Development Manager and Director of Corporate Relations for several social service and arts non-profits in the Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Districts: 5020, 5030, 5080, 5100, 5110, 5130, 5150, 5160, 5180, 5190