Dianne brings a wealth of experience to her role as director. As Marketing Support Representative for a major computer company, it was her responsibility to educate clients on system design and performance. She also designed and conducted presentations on system capabilities for corporate personnel from entry-level positions to the highest levels of management.
As Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Louisiana Office of State Parks, Dianne developed management processes to ensure hiring and retention of qualified management level personnel regardless of race, gender, class, etc. Qualifications of managerial applicants rose from nearly nonexistent to plentiful under her direction due to the knowledge of her fair hiring practices. Additionally, she developed and managed a leadership institute for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to improve communication across agencies and to advance leadership skills of department personnel.
Dianne has also worked with organizations to directly address controversial issues. Organizational controversies were resolved in a way that informed policy making. Because her program is experiential, management is afforded the opportunity to identify true employee concerns and other matters that affect organizational operations.
Ned Fasullo is a seasoned executive with 30 years of experience in Director, VP, and C-level management roles, specializing in sales, marketing, business development, technology, and government relations. Throughout his distinguished career, Ned has been a trusted advisor to business owners and leaders in various sectors, including food manufacturing, MSP & SaaS technology, construction, and industrial fields. His expertise lies in leveraging professional networking and business best practices to help companies achieve their desired outcomes.
A published author of "The Small Book of Big Marketing" in 2017, Ned is also recognized for his contributions as a Silicon Bayou Top 100 List maker from 2012 to 2017. In his spare time, he spends time with his wife & five children, is the leader of Ned Fasullo & The Fabulous Big Band Orchestra & plays semi-competitive tennis at Bocage Racquet Club in Baton Rouge.
Tired of board meetings that drag on without driving results? This session will equip nonprofit leaders and board members with practical strategies to make meetings more focused, engaging, and impactful. Participants will learn how to design clear agendas, foster meaningful discussion, and create a culture of accountability that transforms board time into a powerful tool for advancing mission. With tools to streamline decision-making and enhance participation, your board will move beyond routine updates to more productive meetings that energize, inspire, and deliver stronger organizational outcomes.
Dr. Carpenter is a highly networked nonprofit professor, researcher, consultant, and trainer passionate about nonprofit capacity building and talent development. She has served as a nonprofit professor and academic program director for over ten years and a nonprofit leader for over 20 years. She serves as Executive Director of the Institute for Nonprofit Administration and Research at LSU Shreveport. INAR’s mission is to conduct research and disseminate knowledge about nonprofit organizations. It has three programmatic areas: academics, professional development, and research.
She has published numerous academic journal articles and books. She previously served as co-editor and chief of the Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership was on the board of the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council the national accrediting body for nonprofit academic degree programs from 2017-2023. In 2022, the Nonprofit Times selected Dr. Carpenter as a Top 50 Power and Influence Nonprofit Leader.
Dr. Carpenter is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts, active in the Downtown Shreveport Rotary Club, and serves on the advisory committee for the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program. She was recently named to the Volunteer Louisiana Commission by the Governor, the state service commission that has a mission to "Strength Louisiana communities through volunteerism and national service." Her husband is a Navy Veteran and Captain at Spirit Airlines, and they have a 13-year-old daughter.
She earned her Ph.D. in Leadership Studies with an emphasis on Nonprofit and Philanthropic Leadership from the University of San Diego and a Master of Management in Nonprofit Administration from North Park University in Chicago, Illinois.
Helene Wall, Chief Executive Officer and Founder or Wall Consulting, and her team help create unity between leadership’s vision and the people, processes and technology needed to achieve success. Helene is a SHRM-Senior Certified Professional with 30+ years of experience in human resources administration and organizational effectiveness.
Having served in prior roles with regional and director-level HR oversight, and as Associate Director/HR Consultant for a Top 100 CPA firm, Helene’s focus has always centered on successful workforce strategies and positive change management.
Through collaboration with business leaders and mid-level management, Helene helps clients navigate leadership, performance, compliance and culture into strategies for successful business outcomes.
Julie Laperouse has been screaming all her life, but made it a profession in 2008 founding her training and speaking business Screaming Peacock. Julie challenges and energizes clients through customized training courses, engaging keynote addresses, executive coaching, and people strategy.
Julie has worked with clients ranging from Associated Builders and Contractors to Gulf Coast Bank to Kean Miller, LLP and with other corporate and nonprofit organizations of every industry and size. She’s even spoken to the National Funeral Directors Association. (A much livelier crowd than you’d think!)
Julie speaks and trains on leadership, thriving as a woman in business, public speaking, working with humans, team building and more. She is considered an expert trainer and facilitator with an impressive track record of high-performing professional clients.
She is also an author, having published her first book in 2011, “Are you a Screaming Peacock?” which serves as a tag-along to her public speaking engagements. Maintaining Screaming Peacock as a side hustle, Julie has also served as Chief Talent Officer of Advantage Capital and Managing Director of Emergent Method. She also co-owned a janitorial supply business with her husband, Paul, and is willing to share her lessons learned about working with your spouse over an old fashioned.
Julie is a native of Jennings, Louisiana, and received her bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication with a minor in Theater. She is active throughout her community and was included in the Baton Rouge Business Report’s “Forty Under 40” list in 2014 and named one of the “Most Influential Women in Business” in 2017.
In her free time, Julie enjoys cooking, running, being outside, throwing parties, and crafting with her four daughters, Annie Grace, Peyton, Beckett and Gentry.
Beverly Brooks Thompson, Ph.D., CFRE, is a published academic and practitioner in the field of philanthropic leadership. She holds a Doctorate in Human Resource Development, specializing in Organizational Leadership, with more than 25 years of fundraising campaign experience. Her fundraising counsel focuses on major and mega gift strategies, leadership coaching, campaign counsel and readiness, capacity building, and organizational assessment.
Beverly combines proven advancement principles and fundraising best practices with innovative, custom-tailored strategies to assist clients in realizing their philanthropic goals. In addition, Beverly works with philanthropists, family offices, family foundations and corporations as a guide to reinvest in society in ways that are productive and meaningful. Her clients are guided by individual visions for a better world; Beverly works to stimulate that vision for maximum impact both personally and/or to meet Corporate Social Responsibility goals.
Beverly is a licensed as a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), a Certified Advisor in 21/64 Next Generation Family Wealth and a Master Trainer for the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In addition, Beverly holds faculty appointments at the School of Leadership and Human Resource Development at Louisiana State University, the Mandella School for Public Policy at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA and St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona, MN.
Beverly gained national attention as the Director for Forever LSU: The Campaign for Louisiana State University, supporting the three contiguous Baton Rouge campuses of LSU. Raising more than $798 million (exceeding the $750 million goal), the Forever LSU campaign has stood out as a paradigm for success in higher education campaigns nationwide. She has also held executive leadership roles at Brooks Thompson Consulting, Pursuant and the Foundation for Woman’s at Woman’s Hospital. Programs under Thompson’s direction have received national awards and recognition at CASE, APAP and NASPA, as well as awards from the American Advertising Federation.
